Manpower export likely to increase by 25%

The manpower export is likely to increase by around 25 percent to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Libya besides other Middle Eastern states in 2009 as compared with last year, Pakistan Overseas Exporters Promotion Association (POEPA) said.

“The recession in world economy including in Middle East except SA is blessing in disguise for semi and skill manpower of the country,” Chairman POEPA, Hanif Rinch said Thursday.

He said around 25 percent manpower export to KSA was expected during 2009 besides 20 percent more to Libya on back of huge development projects.

He said around 0.5 million manpower in different workmanship categories is needed in KSA and around 50,000 is needed in Libya besides in other Middle East countries.

Rinch said despite expected decline of 3 percent growth rate in several Middle Eastern countries, KSA remains steadfast before the economic recession.

He said the construction of Jeddah New Port City, automation of motorways and building of modern Madina and Mekkah cities would absorb 70 percent of the manpower of the country.

He further said around 140 million people in different cadres are working in Middle East, out of which around 18 percent are working in private sector.

He said around 80 percent of the locals are working in the government sector while rest of the working class is in the Middle East countries including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and KSA are overseas workers.

He said the share of manpower export promoters in private sector was around 90 percent, which were contributing a large share in foreign exchange earnings in the country.

He said the projects in KSA would be completed by the end of 2011 and promoters in private sector were striving hard to meet this challenge.

He said the manpower export to Libya would be catered from Northern parts of the country including Peshawar and Lahore.

The Ministry of Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistani has allowed four to five overseas manpower exporter promoters in private sector for export of manpower to Republic of Korea.

Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Korean Labour Ministry and Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC), Ministry of Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, around 6500 workers are required in South Korea.

Rinch said OEC, a public sector organisation has been authorised to recruit, train and send Pakistani workers to Korea on work visa.

OEC is also imparting training to workers in line with the market requirements and it has so far trained around 3000 workers.

He said the demand of skilled Pakistani labour was growing in Korea as the Korean Labour Ministry has already lauded the performance of Pakistani workforce.

The Korean government and entrepreneurs face lesser problems in recruiting Pakistani workforce as compared to labour from other countries like India and Sri Lanka.

He asked the government to reactivate commercial sections in the Pakistani embassies to generate opportunities where highly skilled and skilled workforce is required, as our labour has always been hardworking overseas. He said over 7.5 million overseas Pakistanis live in various countries including Middle East and Far East, Europe, United States and Canada.

Source: dailytimes

New Zealand’s Groser Says Free-Trade Talks With India Planned

New Zealand and India will begin negotiations to establish a bilateral free-trade agreement later this year, Trade Minister Tim Groser said today.

Groser and his Indian counterpart Kamal Nath agreed to the talks after reviewing a joint study, which concluded there was “considerable potential” to expand trade between the two countries, according to a press release on a New Zealand government Web site. The Asia-Pacific nation exports coal, timber, wool, and hides to India, the statement said.

“We agreed that, subject to the approval processes of both governments, the two countries will look to commence FTA negotiations as soon as possible,” Groser said in the statement. “I expect the negotiations will get under way later this year.”

Securing more trade accords may help underpin demand for New Zealand’s commodity exports amid the deepening global economic slowdown. New Zealand has free-trade deals with China, Singapore and Thailand and is studying similar agreements with Japan and South Korea.

Source: bloomberg

Comments highlight concerns over the safety of B2B data lists

While maximising the potential of B2B data lists may have emerged as a key issue in the current economic conditions, new comments from a major independent body have also highlighted the importance of handling such details responsibly.

After releasing research on data breaches last week, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) claimed in a statement companies that fail to protect such information responsibly "risk losing the trust and confidence of the public".

It is not the first time this year that the organisation, which is an independent body responsible for the promotion of good data practice, has made such comments as Richard Thomas, the information commissioner himself, echoed the opinion just last month.

Speaking at the launch of the Personal Information Promise (PIP), he said firms are "waking up to the fact that privacy is now so significant that lapses risk reputations and bottom lines".

The PIP is a new pledge backed by major companies including Royal Mail and British Gas to encourage firms to handle information such as B2B data lists responsibly and Mr Thomas said such a move is vital.

"Data protection is good for business. We say so and businesses say so," he explained.

"What company wants inaccurate records on its customers? What public body can afford to take risks with sensitive personal details? I urge leaders across government, the public, private and third sectors to take a positive attitude to data protection."

Last year, research from PayPal backed-up the need for growing businesses and other bodies in the UK to take such a stance on client information.

The study revealed one in seven people in the UK that shop online have fallen victim to identity theft. However, it also highlighted that it is not just businesses that need to ensure they are taking data protection seriously, as 40 per cent of the consumers polled claimed they were "clueless" as to how their details had been obtained.

All of this leads to one question - how can companies do their bit to ensure the misuse of information such as B2B data lists is avoided? Richard Thomas concluded at the PIP launch that the solution lies with the leaders and owners of UK organisations.

He said: "I urge all chief executive officers and their executive teams to take personal responsibility for treating data protection as a corporate governance issue affecting the whole organisation.

"They have to make sure that safeguarding the personal information of the customers and staff is embedded in their organisational culture."

Source: businessstrata

Tips for Success

Industry experts agree that the best B2B marketers understand precisely how their prospect buy, work to integrate marketing with sales, and deploy the right technology for the right jobs. To improve your odds of success, follow these words of advice.

First, as Andrew Spoeth, Enquiro's Director of Marketing advises, invest quality time to understand exactly how the customer really buys, both online and offline. Online research, focus groups and usability testing can all play a role. You may be surprised to learn, Spoeth says, that "the buying process doesn't follow a neat progression" as you might expect from looking the typical buying funnel. People jump around, so be prepared to engage when the buyer is ready.

Marketing and sales leaders must then clearly define a "qualified lead" and agree to work together toward a common goal. Their boss can encourage this by giving them shared revenue objectives, and fixing measurement systems that motivate lead volume over quality. Developing a mutually agreed leading scoring and reporting process is crucial.

To engage with prospective buyers, the right offer delivered at the right time is paramount. Billy Martin, VP of Marketing at Weather Trends International, said the company uses Eloqua's system to help deliver messages that are "high value and relevant" at a frequency that will increase engagement, not stimulate opt-out behavior.

Finally, deploy the right solutions. Eloqua and Vtrenz pioneered B2B marketing solutions a decade ago, and now offer powerful suites of functionality. As the industry has expanded and matured, upstarts like Marketo and Marketbright have entered with fresh designs and innovative features. And, there are many more solutions in the market from specialty vendors, while mainstream CRM vendors are adding basic capabilities that are bound to grow over time.

In the end, the point of B2B marketing is not about contact generation, it's about creating qualified opportunities for reps and increasing revenue. Marketing needs creative professionals, and sales needs artful reps to close deals. But both can benefit by taking a more systematic approach to B2B lead management, to better connect with buyers and increase the overall effectiveness of the marketing/sales process.

Source: customerthink

B2B Marketing 2.0: How to Engage Social Buyers and Break Marketing/Sales Gridlock

Buyers in businesses have embraced the web and social media tools to find and research solutions, just like individual consumers. Of course, a "considered" purchase of an enterprise software system costing $50,000 or more is much more complex than buying a $200 digital camera.

Still, the process often starts with research on the web and ends with a purchase. Business-to-business (B2B) marketers are optimizing what happens in the middle with strategies and tools to engage with buyers more effectively, and increase the flow of qualified leads to sales reps.

B2B marketing tools, first introduced a decade ago, have moved into the mainstream. CSO Insights' 2008 Lead Life Cycle Optimization study found that technology is playing a larger role: 51 percent of marketing organizations are using lead management systems and 60 percent are using some form of lead scoring before passing leads to sales. The global economic crisis may boost demand further, because it has "turned the spotlight on improving efficiency," says Will Schnabel, Silverpop's VP of international markets and former CEO of Vtrenz, a lead management pioneer acquired in 2007 by Silverpop.

Buyer-Centricity

Alight, a software maker of planning tools for finance and product managers, exemplifies a new breed B2B marketer that matches marketing and buying processes. Typically buyers find Alight through a Google search with keywords like "budgeting software" and then click on a paid ad promising to help the buyer "learn the 5 capabilities budgeting software should deliver." A landing page invites the prospect to fill out a short form to view an online demo.

Whether the offer is a white paper, webinar, demo or free trial, there's nothing remarkable about this. Anyone can easily place ads on Google or other search engines, create a registration form, and collect "leads."

The key is how these leads—more accurately called contacts or inquiries—are handled. Done right, it's magical. Alight uses Marketo's lead management solution to collect the leads, generate stats on what users do after they click, and hand over qualified leads to sales via a Salesforce.com connection. Prospects who don't reply immediately to a phone call are put on an automated "nurturing" program to received targeted messages with other offers designed to revive interest at a future date.

Quite possibly the company couldn't exist without this "B2B marketing 2.0" approach. According to Alight's VP of Sales Ben Lamorte, VCs didn't think the company could sell software solutions to mid-market enterprises at a price point from $10,000 to $50,000 without expensive feet on the street—which can increase the cost of sales to the point that the business model isn't viable. Alight is beating conventional wisdom by combining effective search campaigns with affordable tools like Marketo for lead management, Salesforce.com for sales automation, Citrix GoToMeeting for online meetings, and Camtasia to turn recorded demos into short video clips.

Understanding the Buying Process

Consumers research online, so do business buyers. A 2007 study by Enquiro Search Solutions found that 65.3 percent of B2B prospects in the Awareness phase started their search with general search engines. As they move through the Research and Negotiation phases, prospects increase their usage of B2B vertical search engines and vendor web sites.

Source: customerthink