Megavenues Business-To-BusinessMarketing for Membership Enrolment

Project Report submitted to Symbiosis Institute of BusinessManagement, Bengaluru in partial fulfilment of the course

“Summer Internship Programme” for the award of the degree of Master of Business Administration

Submitted By

Students Name: Hitesh SinghalPRN: 13020841017

Under the guidance of

Prof. Biranchi Narayan Swar

SYMBIOSIS INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, BENGALURU

95/1 & 95/2, Electronic City Phase-1, Hosur Road,Bengaluru – 560100

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Certificate

This is to certify that Mr. Hitesh Singhal of MBA(2013-15 Batch) of Symbiosis Institute of BusinessManagement, Bengaluru has done the project entitled“Megavenues Business-To-Business Marketing forMembership Enrolment” under my guidance.

Signature of the faculty guide

Name: Dr. Biranchi Narayan Swar

Designation: Associate Professor

Date: 16th June, 2014

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project work submitted by meentitled “Megavenues Business-To-Business Marketing forMembership Enrolment” done during my Summer Internship Program(SIP) is submitted as a partial fulfilment of the requirementof MBA program at Symbiosis Institute of Business Management,Bengaluru.

Project Details:

Project Title: Megavenues Business-To-Business Marketing for

Membership Enrolment

Company: SCRN Technologies LLP – Megavenues.com

Company guide name: Mr. Rahul Rane

Faculty guide: Dr. Biranchi Narayan Swar

Place: Bangalore

Name: Hitesh Singhal

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Date: 16th June, 2014

PRN: 1302081107

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I want to express my deepest gratitude tothe God Almighty for giving me an opportunity to be one of thelucky few to get a chance to pursue MBA from a prestigiousinstitution like Symbiosis Institute of Business Management –Bengaluru.

I thank my college for providing us with a great learningenvironment which is a perfect mixture of theory andapplication. It is like learning the recipe one day and beingtaught to cook it by oneself the next day.

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I would like to thank the Placement Committee without whosehard work we would not have such good companies coming to ourcollege. They are unsung heroes in any institutions.

My deepest gratitude to Ms. Sanaya Ranade, who was my IndustryGuide for one month, before she left the company. After that,a director of the company Mr. Rahul Rane took me under hiswing. I learnt more in these two months than I could havehoped for. It was a pleasure working with Megavenues.

My thanks go out to my Faculty Mentor, Prof. Biranchi NarayanSwar. The concepts which he taught us in classes took acompletely different meaning for me when I applied and sawothers using those techniques out in the field.

Finally, my thanks go out to my parents who supported methrough my 2 months of internship. Their guidance wasinvaluable and I cannot describe in words the value of thelove which they bestowed on me.

ContentsChapter 1..........................................................7Industry Analysis................................................8

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Industry Overview..............................................8Hurdles for Online Classifieds Industry........................9

Company Analysis................................................12Business Model................................................12Assumptions of Business Model.................................13Opportunities.................................................14

Introduction of the Project.....................................15Project Overview..............................................15Objectives of the Study.......................................18

Chapter 2.........................................................19Literature Review...............................................20Online Classifieds by AJ Classifieds (Source: AJ Classifieds website)......................................................20Online Classifieds (Source: CCAOI)............................24

Research Methodology............................................29Chapter 3.........................................................31Analysis of data................................................32

Chapter 4.........................................................35Findings and Conclusions........................................33Limitations of the Study........................................34Suggestions.....................................................35

Bibliography......................................................36

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Chapter 1

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Industry Analysis

Industry OverviewThe world’s second largest country by population isn’t really known for its internet penetration. That number stands at a lowly 12.6 percent where people who surf the internet only once a month are also counted. Even so, ask any blue collar worker in the nation about olx.in and you’ll be surprised at how much they know about the free online classifieds site.

Online classifieds, an offshoot of traditional classifieds still found in abundance in newspapers began emerging in the USA in the 1990s as internet usage started becoming mainstream. Traditional offline classifieds were known to be cash cows for print publications around the world, so it only made logical sense to extend the concept online. Technology pioneers who foresaw the impact of the information

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superhighway in the future saw a clear opportunity to enlarge and grab a share of the $100 billion classifieds marketplace; their solution, create the online classifieds industry. Onlineclassified ads offered benefits beyond traditional classifieds. The Internet provided a medium for buyers and sellers to independently manage, post, and search ads while allowing for easy interaction with one another. It also provided a vehicle for quick transactions. As Internet usage grew worldwide, so did the attractiveness of the online classifieds industry.

Today, the industry is composed of a handful of dominant players and numerous smaller sites, all of which can be categorized into four strategic groups: General Local, GeneralGlobal, Vertical Local and Vertical Global. General sites suchas OLX include postings from buyers and sellers in a wide range of categories (jobs, rentals, goods for sale, personals,etc.). Vertical sites on the other hand focus on specific categories (cars, homes, jobs…etc). Their geographic scope defines them as Local or Global. Monetization and revenue generation for the players in the marketplace normally comes from online advertising, featured listings, and value added services.

The birth of the online classifieds industry actually happenedin 1995 when Craig Newmark started Craigslist as an email distribution list for friends and co-workers publicizing events in the San Francisco Bay Area. The subscriber list grewrapidly through word of mouth and an online community began toform. In 1996, Craigslist became a web based service and for many years it was the only known name in the online classifiedarena. The immense success of Craigslist enticed a number of competitors to enter the industry which boasts of an easily reproducible model that can be customized for different citiesand countries. Even today, Craigslist is the most popular online classifieds site in the United States but it operates

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as a not for profit, making it one of the rare exceptions in an industry where growth is directly proportional to the levelof internet penetration in the world.Jobs / Recruitment

Here are some statistical observations about the onlineclassifieds industry in India:

Online classifieds business (Rs 250 crores) is largerthan online advertising business without classifieds (Rs.150 crore)

Online ad industry is just 3.3% of total ad industry.Whereas online classifieds are already 33% of the totalclassifieds business.

Online classifieds as percentage to total onlineadvertising at 62.5% is disproportionately large when wecompare it with classifieds as percentage of total mediaadvertising volumes which is at just 4.3%.

Online jobs as a category is double the size of printalready!

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Mckinsey’s prophecy coming true would make OLX India evenstronger if it continues to command the same market share thatit does today. 60% of the market share by 2015 would give thesite a user base of almost 200 million users making it almostas big as LinkedIn or Twitter.Apart from India, OLX has also done well in other countriessuch as Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. A key reason behindits success is the way the organization has been shaped by itsfounders Fabrice and Alec, who brought in their tremendousexperience in Internet entrepreneurship when they started thecompany in 2006. One on of the hallmarks of the organizationis its super-lean operational structure where resources arecommitted only where there is tremendous growth. Its hard toimagine that a company with the scale of OLX has less than 500full time employees and yet it is known for its excellentcustomer service.

Today, more and more internet enterprises are going publicwhich highlights the fact that the digital economy is workingitself towards maturity. As the evolution continues at a briskpace it remains to be seen what will become of legacymarketplaces such as the online classifieds industry. Manyoutcomes are possible, they can be usurped by bigger playersor search engines, they can go public or even morph into moresocial platforms such as Airbnb.

Hurdles for Online Classifieds Industry

Growth in the online classifieds sector is expected to slow from 22% in 2010 to 11% in 2014 as a result of the sluggish economy and the fact the migration of ads from print to onlineis almost complete.The forecast, from research firm Frost & Sullivan, suggests online advertising revenue will hit $682 million in 2011, up from $617 million in 2010. Over the four years to 2014, Frost

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& Sullivan is tipping an annual growth rate of 9.5%, with the strongest growth coming from the automotive sector.

Challenges for online classifieds industry in India

PESTEL ANALYSIS

The factors that a new online classifieds website must keep inmind while starting a new website in India at this time ofyear when the whole world is recovering from recession is:

Political Factors:Any content related to any offence related to our currentpolitical system or the government should be avoided.Any material related to the country with which India doesn’tenjoy a good relation for e.g. Pakistan, should be avoided inthe website.

Economic Factors:Online classified is expected to hit newspaper revenue aswell. But with the current economic scenario companies do nothave enough money to test the success rate of onlineclassifieds. So, they prefer old methods of marketing.

Social and Religious Factors:There is a general deterrence in minds of people towardsbuying the products online. People in India still like to buythe products in the conventional way i.e. from stores so thatthey are able to touch and feel the product. Same goes for theads. Suppose a person wants to select a hotel for a wedding,people still want to see the hotel in person, not by seeingthe pictures online.

Technology Factors:

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This is the one of the main hurdles, represented by inadequateelectronic infrastructure, lack of technological culture andawareness among the masses and of course the shortage of thetrained technology professionals.The Internet is heavily censored and the prices are 5-10 timesthe price of connectivity in Europe and USA and hence thisfactor has to be kept in mind while opening up a website.

Environmental Factors:The environment consists of the competition from the existingplayers, wages of staff etc. In India as a whole, there arenot a large number of existing players in online classifiedsand hence there may not be a very stiff competition faced by anew online classifieds website.

Legal Factors:Court proceedings in India generally take a lot of time andthere are no juries, only a single judge or a three judgepanel hear all the casesAn approval/registration with the Municipal Corporation may berequired before starting a new website and hence the legalobligations must be kept in mind.The advertisement of the banned content or banned servicessuch as VOIP should be strictly avoided.

The Indian classified market needs to solve at least one of the following problems:

Information hoarding: Take rental apartments – even though

you know (from sources other than the broker) that a

rental apartment is available, you still need to pay the

brokerage! Brokers hoard the info, they almost own the

information.

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Sellers are not online, while buyers are all over the

Internet.

One of the most significant challenge in the Indian classifieds industry is that sellers are not online. How many apartment landlords are willing to put up their rental ads on a website? Infact, how many landlords are Internet savvy? Veryfew, I believe.And that leads to information hoarding and bluntly speaking, information is free, while the transaction costs hell of a lotof money. Essentially that means, we cannot have a craiglist like model. Having said that, the majority of online classifieds solutions should focus on solving the information problem; and instead of being a pure online model, should alsohave an offline component.

To me an ideal Indian online classified player should have:

A strong offline process to get the content from sellers

(ditch the Internet, why can’t people use their mobiles to

send their classified ads?)

edgio like ability to disperse the seller ads to multiple

places (BharatMatrimony’s IndiaList.com is probably an

attempt in that direction?)

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Company Analysis

Business Model

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My employer Megavenues was a Limited Liability Partnership(LLP). Hence, there is no data available in the public domainto work with. Any analysis made about it is, therefore, is onthe basis of my experience and knowledge of how I perceive theLLP worked.

Megavenues falls under the category of online classifiedsindustry. It is a website which enlists all the various typesof venues used for private and business gathering purpose. Thevenues are listed under city heads. Currently, there are 8cities enlisted in Megavenues. Under each city, there must bean average of about 50 venues listed.it connects peopleplanning events with the right venues to meet their uniqueevent needs. Our goal is to simplify and streamline the eventbooking process for both organizers and venues. We want you totake all the credit for a great event but do none of the work.Think of Megavenues as your new best friend that always knowsthe best place to hold an event.

We are your FREE personal, online event planner. You tell uswhat you want and we comb our extensive database of venues andcollect all the pricing, package and availability informationfor you. No more hours and hours on the phone checkingavailability and negotiating contracts.We are currently focused on bars, restaurants, loft spaces,galleries and general event spaces in New York but will beexpanding to other cities soon. Need help planning an Alumnievent? Fundraiser? Birthday party? Corporate event? Cocktail?Marriage? We can help with most events.All these data are then relayed back to the head office inPune via the internet.

The initial listing is free. After a period of a few months(they did not specify as to how many), the venues would haveto shift to a paid membership. This was not part of the

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initial pitch as it was difficult enough to get people toenlist under free membership.

Assumptions of Business Model

Customers reach the company either by calling or through its portal. It was the first mover in this space in India and has been able to build a stable model. If a business or an SME wishes to be given priority in listing or prominence ahead of others, Megavenues charges a fee which is the source of revenues for the company.

If you look at the business model per se, there are four

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things which are required in this business model to be successful. I am talking about the local search in model. The no. 1 is data base where Megavenues has a decent database of around 10000 entries up till now & planning to have at least 2million entries within next 2 years. The second is distribution or reach where they are able to garner paid campaigns out of this database. So they have givenaround 4x growth in four years. For a company like this, the third thing is search request which depends a lot on their marketing and brand building. They have been able to shore up numbers by 3x over last four years and as of last FY, they have around 80,000 search request and the fourth thing is technological platform. They have been able to migrate from a pure voice only search to a mix of voice plus internet based platform.

Opportunities

The Online classified market has experienced significant growth since its inception and the growth will still continue due to increasing internet penetration, simplicity in usage and being a better suited platform for a larger set of consumers across the country. As internet user base grows in India more businesses will be driven online and spending on online classified will increase. According to an Edelweiss report the global online classifieds segment stands at USD 10.5 billion, which translates to 17% of global internet ad revenues. The size of India’s online classified industry is about INR 11 billion and is expected to grow to INR 31 billionby 2016.The report also says that the growth potential in segments such as real estate, cars and general classified is ripe to becaptured. However, the supply side is not adequate to meet such large demand despite the readiness of users. Further, theonline classified industry in India has grown through vertical

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sites in different segments unlike the US where the biggest classifieds site is Craiglist, a horizontal portal. Some of the Indian classified portals working in with a horizontal model are OLX.in, Quickr.com and Clickindia.com.

Introduction of the Project

Project Overview

The main objective of the internship is to get as many venuesof banquet halls, conference rooms and board rooms as possibleto be listed on the website. This would help in making thebase stronger. The website can be described, in simple terms,as a directory of these venues. The website provides a easyuser interface which helps customers get the list of all thoseevent venues only specific to a particular location.

Also, the website list down various specifications likeavailability of DJ, liquor, etc on the venue page itself, so,that the user can check the specifications & decide for thebest event venues. We also list things like payment optionsavailability, conferences room setups. The best feature isthat unlike other websites like makemytrip or bookmyfunction,

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we list the contact details of the event venues on our websiteitself, so, that the customers can directly contact the eventvenues without our intervention.

We also mention the availability dates of the venues, but wedon’t mention the prices as we believes that the prices areseasonal.

Procedure of work:

When I began, I was provided with a list of venues to visit.The list consisted of the venue’s name, address, phonenumber and website. My instructions were to sort through thevenues on the basis of my choice and to schedule my day howI saw fit. The venues are grouped together on the basis ofgeographical proximity. That ensures that maximum number ofvenues are visited in a day.

At first, attempt will be made to secure interview withvenue authority through a direct walk-in. In case that isunsuccessful, meeting will be sought to be arranged bytaking appointment. For the purpose of the meeting, alwayscarry a laptop through which we can easily show & explainhow the listing is done on the website & also show them adummy outlook of their venue, how it would look once itsposted on our website.

The venue owner may respond positively, in which case thedeal will immediately be sealed by obtaining the requisiteinformation and getting the form signed. If the owner ishesitant or postpones or rejects, then effort will be madefor a follow-up or not depending upon the facts of the caseat hand. The venue authority after filling the enlistmentform may or may not have the venue photographs at thatmoment. In case he does not, then a follow-up email will besent to obtain the photographs via email.

The venue authority may choose to contact either the officeor the intern directly. In that case, the intern will haveto try to receive the issue to the best of his ability andforward the case to the office representative if the needarises.

In this manner, I proceeded with all the venues in astandardized manner. Upon completion of the list, I asked

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the team to update it again. I am also at liberty to enlistany venue which has been missed out in the list.

At this point, the work can be classified into two types:

1. We have an option for the event venues to promotethemselves through our website which is known aspromotional packages. Our main revenues comes throughselling the promotional packages. So, we would visitthe event venues whose who have already listed with us& will try to sell them the promotional packages. Thevarious type of promotional packages that we have are:-

a. Megavenues Ad boost :i. Home page : Best of Megavenues Sectionii. Search  : Top score in search resultsiii. Sidebar Ads :  Ads on other venue listing

pages.

2. Corporate engagements also is the main revenuegeneration item where we will have various engagementswith corporates & side by side with the eventmanagement companies to cater the needs of both.

Objectives of the Study

The main objective is to enlist venues on the website. Thishas been broken into the following sub-objectives:

1. Through appointments or direct walk-ins, have face-to-face meetings with the venue in-charge or any person inposition of authority.

2. To pitch to and convince the venue authority about thebenefits of enlisting their venue on the website. If theresponse is positive, then to get a form filled withrequisite venue information.

3. To ask for soft copy of photographs either through pendrive or else via email. To forward by email photographsand scans of forms to the office.

4. To provide support to venues before, during or afterenlistment of venues.

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The following formed were my tasks and duties which formed apart of my job. These were not only my day-to-day duties butalso work of a non-recurring nature.

1. Generation of List- The list of venues to be approachedare provided by the office. Any places which have beenmissed out in the list can be added of our own accord.

2. Grouping of Venues- The venues are grouped together onthe basis of geographical proximity. That ensures thatmaximum number of venues are visited in a day.

3. Method of Arranging Meetings- At first, attempt will bemade to secure interview with venue authority through adirect walk-in. In case that is unsuccessful, meetingwill be sought to be arranged by taking appointment.

4. Demonstration Effect- For the purpose of the meeting, atablet device will be kept at hand in order to show thewebsite – how the interface looks, how the search resultswill look and how the listed venue will look. Thatincreases the credibility of the website and gives weightto the presentation.

5. Securing the Deal- The venue owner may respondpositively, in which case the deal will immediately besealed by obtaining the requisite information and gettingthe form signed. If the owner is hesitant or postpones orrejects, then effort will be made for a follow-up or notdepending upon the facts of the case at hand.

6. Obtaining the Photographs- The venue authority afterfilling the enlistment form may or may not have the venuephotographs at that moment. In case he does not, then afollow-up email will be sent to obtain the photographsvia email.

7. Customer Support- The venue authority may choose tocontact either the office or the intern directly. In thatcase, the intern will have to try to receive the issue tothe best of his ability and forward the case to theoffice representative if the need arises.

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Chapter 2

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Literature Review

Online Classifieds by AJ Classifieds (Source: AJ Classifieds website)

The global advertising market, estimated to be worth over $200billion, has for a long timed remained the purview of newspapers, television and radio media, but slowly the growinginternet penetration has brought in another big player into the game. Online classifieds has somewhat made big inroads into print publications’ once secure monopoly. In many other parts of the world, the most popular sections in the online classifieds are recruitment, automobiles, real estate, education and other miscellaneous ads. These classifieds are also growing fast and a major section of national print dailies or local area dailies are filled up with these ads.

Online Classifieds – HistoryOnline classifieds has its origins in the USA in the 1990s andthe time when internet usage had started becoming more popular. The drive behind this emergence was that traditional offline classifieds were perceived to be cash cows for print publications all over the world, so it was prudent to extend the concept wider. The pioneers of technology foresaw how advancements in information could expand over $100 billion classifieds industry and suggested that the solution was to create the online classifieds industry with benefits far beyond the conventional classifieds. Monetization and revenue generation for the players in this industry normally comes from online advertising, featured listings, and value added services.

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The father was Craig Newmark, who in 1995 created an email distribution list with co-workers and friends to publicize events in the San Francisco Bay Area. The subscriber numbers grew very fast through word of mouth, and that is how it all began, with the Craigslist becoming web based in 1996. Up to today, Craigslist remains the most popular online classifieds website in the US. But in India, the world’s second largest inpopulation size, the most popular site is OLX. Want to create classifieds ads site like OLX, Try with AJ Classifieds V4 – classified software .You can find here the success story of OLX Classifieds.

The nature and scope of the classifieds industryFrom selling items you no longer need, a car, real estate, jobopportunities to virtually anything you can think of, the online classifieds market can do it. And because it is a cheaper form of advertising than the conventional media, the industry’s growth will continue booming for years to come. Theonline classifieds industry continues to be a major boom in, thanks to the internet penetration that has allowed the posting of classifieds on the web to reach a wide client base.

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The online classifieds are gaining popularity every now and then. The many websites, internet enabled tablets and mobile devices increasing day by day, has contributed a lot to the growth of the industry. The online classifieds industry has become a major internet market and a lot of people take a regular access to internet only to explore these classifieds online.The matrimonial’s has grown to occupy the better sections of online free classifieds in India today, largely because they are looked upon nearly by every household and millions of people end up getting married through the matrimonial classifieds. Job listings make the other popular online classified segment, with many people looking for jobs every now and then. Private investigative agencies are also growing in popularity because people do hire private investigators to look into some important matters. As is the education sector where many coaching agencies have come up to help students getadmission to their desired colleges, and they advertise on these platforms.

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How big is the online classified market?The Online classified market has experienced significant growth since its inception and the growth will still continue due to increasing internet penetration, simplicity in usage and being a better suited platform for a larger set of consumers across the country. As internet user base grows in India more businesses will be driven online and spending on online classified will increase. According to an Edelweiss report the global online classifieds segment stands at USD 10.5 billion, which translates to 17% of global internet ad revenues. The size of India’s online classified industry is about INR 11 billion and is expected to grow to INR 31 billionby 2016.The report also says that the growth potential in segments such as real estate, cars and general classified is ripe to becaptured. However, the supply side is not adequate to meet such large demand despite the readiness of users. Further, theonline classified industry in India has grown through verticalsites in different segments unlike the US where the biggest classifieds site is Craiglist, a horizontal portal. Some of the Indian classified portals working in with a horizontal model are OLX.in, Quickr.com and Clickindia.com.

WebsitesToday listing a free ad on classifieds has become lot easy than what it was earlier.

Here is a list of some of the leading online classified websites in India:Olx.in– Founded in 2006, this is considered the leading next generation free online classifieds platform. Its growth in India has been quite phenomenal, with items being sold just within hours of ad posting. This has enabled its annual earnings rise to over $5 million. All attributed to its astronomical growth.

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Quikr.com , Click-in, Locanto.in, vivastreet.co.in, Others include: justdial.com, Adoos.in, Indialist.com, Khojle.in, adeex.com, asklaila.com, yellowpages, indiapages.com, jippy.in, qbyme.com/ and many others.

Technology and Buyer Behavior PatternsTechnology has played a major role in changing consumer behavior. Today, we have many internet players going public with many things, explaining why the digital economy is working towards maturity. Therefore, to create more sustainable consumption, organizations need to reshape their demand to a more personalized and customer specific approach to leverage on the power of technology. So the challenge is the need to change the consumer behavior to match the changes in technology by using more advanced advertisement methods, like online classifieds platforms to reach the buyer and convince them to buy.

ChallengesChallenges with the online classifieds Industry in India include information hoarding (forcing payment of brokerage fees) and the mismatch between the buyers and the sellers, that is, sellers are not online (because few are tech savvy), while buyers are all over the Internet. And that leads to information hoarding and bluntly speaking, information is free, while the transaction costs hell of a lot of money. Thismeans that the majority of online classifieds solutions shouldfocus on solving the information problem; and instead of beinga pure online model, should also have an offline component.

The Future OutlookIn the early years of online classifieds, verticals such as jobs and matrimonials helped the transition of consumers from newspapers to online. However, now consumers are moving to horizontal classified platforms that address their multiple needs much faster at a single place. According to Pranay Chulet, CEO, Quikr.com, the online classifieds industry has

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been growing very fast and will continue to do so in the coming years. This is primarily due to the simplicity in usageand it being a better suited platform for a larger set of consumers across the country.The consumer also likes to browse around, see a variety of products, negotiate on price, and see value in the product before the final transaction. This again offers a huge opportunity for a horizontal classifieds platform like Quikr that helps the consumer in all these things. A variety of suchfactors will lead to continued growth in digital classifieds which really speaking is a simple, mass market form of eCommerce.So, there is a continuous growth in the online classifieds industry and online classifieds business is the best business idea to start earning money. But how to start classifieds sitelike craigslist, olx etc. This is can be made easy with ready made classifieds software. Creating a classifieds site from scratch would be a difficult option. AJ Classifieds classifieds software with lots of advanced features helps you to create complete classifieds site & will make the job easierfor you.

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Online Classifieds (Source: CCAOI)

Looking to sell your used merchandise or property? Log on to the numerous classified Web sites and sell anything, from mobiles to furniture and even cattle! Recently, a seller had listed a ‘milk giving black young buffalo, with a yield of 20 liters milk per day.’ Describing the animal, the seller said that it was used but in a healthy condition.

Similarly, there are umpteen posts on sites such as OLX.in where users buy and sell used merchandise and, at the same time, hunt for property or jobs. Gone are the days when the only means to locate a house, find a job or sell used cars wasthe classifieds section in a newspaper. Today the online industry is a viable option.

“The online classifieds industry in India is catching up and growing exponentially. Most traditional newspapers now also have online versions and most of the classifieds booked in some way, shape or form also show up in the online space. It is very important to consider that almost 80% of the ads placed in big newspapers in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities will havean online element to them. In this light, the online market isquite significant. As regards traditional media, they too realize that the power of classifieds in the digital space is significantly higher since the matchmaking ability is many times more,” said Siddharth, CEO, GetIt Infoservices.

"Almost 80% of the ads placed in big newspapers in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities will have an online element to them." Siddharth CEO, GetIt Infoservices

It is probably due to this fact that the market has witnessed some major acquisitions and mergers. Last year, Naspers Ltd. infused $40 million into the Nexus-backed OLX and in July, Mid-Day Infomedia Ltd. acquired SnatchKing Online Pvt. Ltd. Naaptol Online that has been famous for offering cheap look-

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alikes of aspirational gadgets including Blackberry phones, received $7 million in venture capital funding from Canaan Advisors Pvt. Ltd. while Nexus India Capital Advisors Pvt. Ltd. invested $1.5 million in Magic Rooms Solutions, which offers an online hotel inventory distribution software.

The market has been abuzz with various shopping and classifiedWeb sites. The sector, which had started mushrooming a couple of years back, is now going ahead full steam. However, consolidation is the need of the hour wherein only the seriousand long term players would survive while the small fishes would either be acquired or absorbed by the market.

Defining the scope

Classifieds consist of general Web sites offering everything from apparel to groceries and those that are specific in nature such as naukri.com or shaadi.com offering limited services. Usually the majority of business for these online companies comes from Tier 1 and metro cities given the Internet penetration and awareness. According to experts, classifieds portals like jobs, matrimonial and real estate, bring in almost 96% of the total online classified revenues. Given its popularity, the industry has been receiving large scale PE funding in accordance with its estimated growth.

Based on the spurt of these sites and also the consumer behavior, one can easily derive a few factors that have been responsible for the industry's growth including increasing Internet penetration, cost effective advertisements, growth inonline advertising, favorable demographics, growth in the services sector, growth in print media, vernacular presence and growing circulation and customer base.

Sizing the market

The online classifieds industry in India is huge and has greatpotential. The market figures for this industry vary between Rs 800 to Rs 1,500 crores.

“The online classified industry in India is now worth over Rs 800 crores. The sector has seen exponential growth in the

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fields of jobs, matrimonial and real estate. As the Internet continues to penetrate into various sectors and remains a cheaper medium for advertising, the online classified industrylooks promising compared to the conventional classifieds industry as far as revenue generation is concerned,” said Aditya Verma, Senior Vice President and COO, Makaan.com, a popular real estate site.

Amarjit Batra, Country Manager OLX.in estimated the market to be somewhere about Rs 1,500 crores and believed that online classifieds were the second largest revenue churner after the online travel industry. “People are evolving and they are replicating their behavior online. With everything available at a click of a button, operational costs are saved and it is also much more convenient,” he said.

"We get about 35 - 40 million page views every month. Ours is a utilitarian site & it has gained instant popularity." Parikshat Dar Founder & Director, Bigtree Entertainment

Currently, it is the multipurpose sites that are getting the maximum mileage out of this opportunity. This includes Web sites like OLX.in where people can sell their used merchandiseor bookmyshow.com, where one can not only book movie tickets but can also find out various other means of entertainment in their city.

Parikshat Dar, Founder & Director, Bigtree Entertainment, said, “We get about 35-40 million page views every month. Oursis a utilitarian Web site and it has gained instant popularity.”

"Ad sales banners are a good source of additional revenue as are partnerships and alliances with used car houses." Satya Prabhakar CEO, Sulekha.com

Talking about hits and sales, Satya Prabhakar, CEO Sulekha.com, a leading yellow pages Web site explained, “We get close to six million page views and one million

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visits/month in classifieds and 80+ million page views and 20+million visits/month in Sulekha.com that includes all segments—cars, property, etc. Sulekha’s user base has evolved over a number of years and we have always had good organic traffic.”

Almost all the classifieds Web sites average to about 20 million plus visits every month and this number has been growing.

Evolution of user behaviour

User behavior has certainly changed and evolved over the yearswith advances in technology, search techniques, faster and easier access etc. As far as the use of online classifieds is concerned, it has become simpler and better for both buyers and sellers.

To elaborate, it has become easier for buyers to find what they are looking for as it's easier and faster to search and browse online. It's more effective to qualify interest when listings contain more descriptive information (more space for characters and text, upload photos, virtual tours etc.). It's quicker to make contact.

For sellers on the other hand, ads can be purchased more cheaply and in many cases for free. Moreover, it is easier to accept inbound requests via e-mail and SMS. Listings attract better prospects when they contain more descriptive information and advertisers can edit or delete a listing at any time as per their convenience.

Explained Batra of OLX.in that though jobs and real estate arebig, OLX is the local classified Web site for its customers. “We offer jobs at a local level, PG accommodations to those who are new in the city, and also second hand vehicles for convenient travel. Basically we offer the same services that others are offering but with a slight twist,” he said.

Minting money

Making money online comes easy as it is a low cost business model and there is not much pressure on the entrepreneurs.

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“Ours is a free classified model and most of our users don't pay us anything. Hence, we thrive on advertisements. We deal with companies individually and also use Google ads,” said Batra of OLX.

"Free membership gives access to global buyers or suppliers, up to 50 product displays, advanced trade tools etc." Nayan Thakkar Sales & Services Operations Manager, Alibaba.com India

On the other hand, Alibaba.com which provides its users a platform for direct trade between businesses over the Internetthrives on membership fees. “Our B2B e-commerce platform has been providing small businesses with a cost- effective way to establish their presence on the Internet. An online marketplace like Alibaba.com offers different types of membership based on the needs of its customers. Our free membership gives access to global buyers or suppliers, up to 50 product displays, advanced trade tools along with access tovalue-added features. Gold supplier is our highest level of membership for our supplier members and allows them to maximize their exposure to overseas buyers,” said Nayan Thakkar, Sales and Services Operations Manager, Alibaba.com India.

Verma of makaan.com stuck to the fact that it was advertisements that kept the business going since paid memberships were not very popular with customers.

Sulekha.com however, has more than one means to earn. Besides the usual ads, the company welcomes ad sales banners, which itsaid were a good source of revenue. “Partnerships and alliances with used car houses are another means to earn money,” said Prabhakar.

Tech trends

For customers to have a seamless experience most of these sites opt for product suites from the likes of Microsoft or Google. There are others who believe in open source technologies and also developing them in-house.

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“At Sulekha, we focus equally on both heuristic measures as well as technology to enhance the user experience. The companyhas a ‘user experience lab’ where we constantly get real usersto review new designs before launching them to the market. We also visit the user’s environment where the product is used toget real time feedback on user experience. For this, we have our own portal framework to support all of these functions. Analysis of real time user behavior using technology is done so as to understand the nerve of the market better. Apart fromthese, we also provide many value-added services like ‘click to call’, ‘map direction’ and ‘compare products’ to make the user’s experience more rewarding,” said Prabhakar of Sulekha.

Most of these classified portals have also launched mobile applications for seamless, hassle free experience. There are apps of almost all these sites available for Android, iPhone, Blackberry and Windows phone. Some of them also have Java versions available.

Challenges

The key challenges of the market include language barriers, online payment mechanisms, low scope for advertisements and low visibility and coverage. Key trends in the market have also been analyzed, which includes the emergence of mobile classifieds, value-added services, new ventures in the online space and the emergence of local classifieds.

Other challenges that the classifieds industry have been facing are the number of ‘real’ buyer responses. “However, Sulekha has managed to effectively solve this challenge and has been successful in providing a robust marketplace for realbuyers and sellers to meet and interact. Each buyer response is verified by us before it is sent to the prospective seller,which not only helps the seller to close the deal faster, it also helps to reduce or eliminate the clutter of non-serious buyers,” said Prabhakar.

Outlook ahead

The outlook is positive for the digital classifieds industry. It thrives on a simple model namely free of cost and virtual

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tours. Hundreds of people buy and sell everyday or get a job through these sites and if they had to pay then these sites wouldn't have been as successful as they are.

Take the case of matrimonial Web sites. They are doing spectacular business given the ease of getting in touch with the same community bride or groom. Gone are the days when families had to travel miles to see their prospective brides, now at a click of a button the bride and the groom can not only can see each other but also court virtually.

Media convergence is another factor that has contributed to the growth of online classifieds. The Internet is one medium that can be accessed not just over a laptop but also over other cheaper devices like phones. It incorporates all other media as well.

Matrimonial sites’ growth is mainly driven by the massive young Indian population and the existence of a strong culture of arranged marriages. Compared to the west, where dating sites are popular, matrimonial sites have established a huge market in India.

Studies show that in between 2010-2030, India will add 241 million people in working-age population. This indicates a further growth of online classifieds.

Although online classifieds have started playing a major role,it would be foolhardy to believe that they would replace printclassifieds in the near future. However, for the companies in the business, the prospects look good. With the government gearing up to increase broadband penetration, customers for this sector will continue to rise. 

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Research MethodologyThe following formed were my tasks and duties which formed apart of my job. These were not only my day-to-day duties butalso work of a non-recurring nature.

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1. Generation of List- The list of venues to be approachedare provided by the office. Any places which have beenmissed out in the list can be added of our own accord.

2. Grouping of Venues- The venues are grouped together onthe basis of geographical proximity. That ensures thatmaximum number of venues are visited in a day.

3. Method of Arranging Meetings- At first, attempt will bemade to secure interview with venue authority through adirect walk-in. In case that is unsuccessful, meetingwill be sought to be arranged by taking appointment.

4. Demonstration Effect- For the purpose of the meeting, atablet device will be kept at hand in order to show thewebsite – how the interface looks, how the search resultswill look and how the listed venue will look. Thatincreases the credibility of the website and gives weightto the presentation.

5. Securing the Deal- The venue owner may respondpositively, in which case the deal will immediately besealed by obtaining the requisite information and gettingthe form signed. If the owner is hesitant or postpones orrejects, then effort will be made for a follow-up or notdepending upon the facts of the case at hand.

6. Obtaining the Photographs- The venue authority afterfilling the enlistment form may or may not have the venuephotographs at that moment. In case he does not, then afollow-up email will be sent to obtain the photographsvia email.

7. Customer Support- The venue authority may choose tocontact either the office or the intern directly. In thatcase, the intern will have to try to receive the issue tothe best of his ability and forward the case to theoffice representative if the need arises.

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Limitations of the Study

Some of the limitations of the study were:-

Since being new to Bangalore the grouping up of the venues was difficult.

More often arranging meeting were the biggest headache, so we interns followed the concept of directly reaching the venue location & contacting the concerned person.

Many customers wanted customized demonstration of their venue, which was an issue with the free membership holders.

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Chapter 3

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Analysis of Data

Customers were required to fill a form to get associated with us. That form would then be analysed by our back-end team to check the specifications of the customers. This form will alsobe the main source of demonstration effect.

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The above photo is a sample of the form used to collect information about the venue. It has details such as:

Venue Name

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Venue Address Contact Info Venue Description Venue Suitability Features and Facilities Minimum and Maximum Capacity Payment Options Starting Rate Discount, if any

This form served as an all-info-in-one-page document. Its uniqueness is that it reduces the paperwork thereby not makingthe filing process unattractive.

The form was then converted into digital format through a photograph. This photo was then uploaded onto a team management website called Basecamp.

Key Learning Points:

Understanding the subject matter of the project and doingdue diligence on the topic beforehand.

Preparation about the subject matter which included planning my daily route and schedule, creating a sales pitch and reviewing my errors of the day.

Split second decision making on the field. I was representing my company on the field and if I showed any weakness then that weakened my credibility.

Treating people big and small, watchman or manager, with equal degree of etiquette, respect and politeness.

Confidence to carry oneself and express opinions is crucial in a business environment.

Presentation skills are indispensable to a successful leader.

Effective Communication plays an important role to for a leader to gain acceptance from his pupils.

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Humility and Respect to nurture relationships is a true attribute of great leaders.

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Chapter 4

Findings and Conclusions

Once the market adapts to the online booking of event venues, the business model of just dial will be followed by Megavenues.

Consumers are finding it comfortable to check the event venues online.

Posting an ad is often free to the user. However, if you want your ad to stand out, it helps if you pay a little money. So, most online classifieds companies channelise arevenue stream from what are called premium listings — where the user has paid some money so that his ad is displayed prominently.

Globally, the classifieds market is pegged at $100 billion. The size of India’s online classifieds industry

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is about Rs 1,100 crore, which is expected to grow to about Rs 3,100 crore by 2016, implying a CAGR of 22%, according to a report by Edelweiss. This gives an immense opportunity for Megavenues to have the first movers advantage.

Suggestions

Now that online classifieds has helped us break our reluctance to buy used goods online, the next step is to make it easier. The real action is likely to shift to mobile phones. India is now what is called a mobile-firsteconomy. This means that megavenues should also come up their app ASAP.

Some of our customers have problems of making changes after the venue goes live. So, a good customer support isrequired to help them understand the technological aspect.

Mentioning the details like food & drinks menu available in banquet hall would be a great option for the consumers.

Price negotiation option should be available through online chat platform will be of great help.

Bibliography

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http://www.outlookbusiness.com/article_v3.aspx?artid=283621 http://www.nextbigwhat.com/online-classifieds-industry-in-

india-complete-coverage-297/ http://www.delhiplanet.com/index.php/2013/09/02/online-

classifieds-industry-craigslist-olx-india-growth/ http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/press-release.pag?

docid=290690391

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