BURO, Tangail's Approach to Product Development: A Case Study

This paper states that BURO, Tangail differs from other MFIs because it provides market friendly service at sustainable prices. One of its unique selling propositions is the open access savings service that it offers to its clients. Buro, Tangail's operational self sufficiency (OSS) of 124% and financial self sufficiency (FSS) of 99% points to its success.

The paper discusses BURO's:

• Extensive research and experimentation;
• User-friendly, client responsive financial services;
• Product innovation.

The paper states that:

• BURO's market research is informal:
  • The top and middle management talk and listen to clients,
  • Frontline workers deal with clients on a day-to-day basis.
• The process of concept/ prototype testing is done through carefully controlled pilot testing;
• BURO has not conducted a formal product-by-product costing analysis of its products.

The paper states that implementation of the product is done through:

• Pilot testing, which allows BURO to:
  • Determine the impact of the new product on staff work loads,
  • Recalculate the cost and pricing estimates,
  • Project product demand.
• Roll out, which is decided once the product-testing process is complete;
• Marketing, which is done in the weekly meeting with clients and through periodic special marketing drives.

The paper concludes that:

• The complexity of the product development process depends on the nature of the product;
• Introducing new products beyond the scope of the MFIs operations is complex and risky;
• BURO's impressive range of financial services has made it the market leader in Tangail in terms of market responsive products.