Since its launch on July 1, 2020, the Udyam Registration Portal (URP) of the Ministry of MSME has recorded that MSMEs owned by women make up 20.5% of all MSMEs registered on the Portal. The employment created by the total Udyam registered units is 18.73%, with 11.15% of the investment going to these women-owned MSMEs. Out of all the registered MSMEs in Udyam, the percentage of women-owned businesses accounts for 10.22% of total turnover. Results show that women-owned IMEs account for 70.49 percent of all IMEs (as of 11.01.2023) and 70.84 percent of all jobs, according to data from the Udyam Assist Platform (UAP), which records IMEs.
Appreciating and on the same line suggesting some changes to the current government, Shreya Sharma, Lawyer and Founder, Rest The Case stated, “Women’s participation in the MSME workforce has grown over the last couple of years and an increase in the Mudra loan upper limit to 20 lakhs, is surely an encouraging prospect for them. However, there are a few challenges that still hinder the further growth of the sector. There is a high level of compliance required to set up the business, and this is surely impacting the participation of women. Women entrepreneurs often face obstacles in securing credit due to the strict collateral requirements imposed by financial institutions. Additionally, the societal role of women as primary caregivers can restrict their time and mobility, limiting their ability to fully engage in and develop their businesses.”
“The difficulties are further compounded by a shortage of effective mentorship and networking opportunities, which means many women lack the crucial guidance and support to successfully manage the business environment. Nevertheless, the future holds considerable promise,” she added further.
Echoing similar sentiments, Bhavik Vasa, Founder, GetVantage opined, “The Indian government and Hon’b Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiatives, led by the Ministry of MSME, to empower women entrepreneurs are truly transformative. Programnes like Udyam Sakhi, Mahila Coir Yojana, and MUDRA are paving the way for women-led MSMEs to thrive. At GetVantage, we fully support these efforts, which is why we launched the INR 100 crore Rise-Up fund—India’s first non-dilutive fund dedicated to women entrepreneurs.”
Steps Taken by the Ministry of MSME to Help MSMEs Owned by Women
Initiatives to register micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) owned by women through the Udyam Registration Portal.
In 2018, the Public Procurement Policy was revised to ensure that Central Ministries, Departments, and Undertakings purchase a minimum of 3% of their yearly procurement from micro and small businesses owned by women. This change was made to support female entrepreneurs.
Two measures have been added to the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro & Small Enterprises to assist female entrepreneurs starting their businesses as of December 1, 2022. These include a 10% reduction in the annual guarantee payments and an extra 10% coverage of up to 85% for the guarantee, compared to 75% for other entrepreneurs.
As part of its Coir Vikas Yojana initiative, the Ministry of MSME runs the “Skill Upgradation & Mahila Coir Yojana,” a training program specifically for women craftspeople working in the coir industry, with the goal of encouraging more women to start their businesses.
Initiatives by the Government to Increase the Participation of Women in MSMEs in the Country
To assist traditional artisans and young people without jobs in both rural and urban areas, the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has launched the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), a large credit-linked subsidy program that encourages the creation of micro-enterprises in non-agricultural sectors. Compared to the non-special category, women beneficiaries receive a greater margin money subsidy from PMEGP (35% vs. 25%). The percentage of women receiving benefits from the PMEGP is 39%. In addition, the Ministry’s Procurement and Marketing Scheme (PMS) offers a 100% subsidy to female entrepreneurs, compared to an 80% subsidy for male entrepreneurs, so that they can participate in domestic trade fairs.
Providing Financial Support to Female Entrepreneurs
To promote gender equality in the business world, it is essential to support companies that are owned by women. The MSME Insights Report 2024, compiled by Kinara Capital, examined 44,821 MSMEs in six different industrial states of India. It found that compared to MSMEs owned by men, those owned by women hired 11% more women. Cost optimization, income growth, and repayment of business loans were all areas in which the survey found that MSMEs owned by women fared better than those owned by men. The societal benefits of economic progress can only be fully realized if women business owners are granted equal opportunity to compete and flourish, according to this data-driven argument.
“I believe that financial support schemes for women entrepreneurs, such as increased money subsidies, are essential to address the workforce divide that has persisted for centuries. However, financial aid alone will not achieve the ultimate goal of empowering women and recognising their contributions to the MSME sector. This must be complemented by robust skilling, training, and guidance to ensure their success and sustainability in the business world,” commented Pallavi Jha, Chairperson and Managing Director of Dale Carnegie Training India and Walchand PeopleFirst Ltd.
To encourage startups in the food processing industry, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) held a Startup Conclave called SUFALAM (Startup Forum for Aspiring Leaders and Mentors) in New Delhi on February 13th and 14th, 2024. New goods from entrepreneurs were on display during the event’s expo, which also featured a panel discussion, networking opportunities, and a pitching session.
MoFPI’s two independent institutes, NIFTEM-K in Kundli, Haryana, and NIFTEM-T in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, have provided funding to 38 startups between them. Last year, six of them were given INR 3 lakh apiece as winners of the National Level Startup Grand Challenge.
In addition to connecting startups with mentors and resources, these institutes offer incubation services, quality testing, research and development assistance, networking events, pilot plants, food testing labs accredited by the National Association of Blood Banks (NABL), and more.
These new businesses in the food and related industries are improving the economy and its prospects for all its citizens by creating value-added goods, introducing ground-breaking technologies, increasing processing efficiency and productivity, encouraging entrepreneurial spirit, creating jobs, and teaching people new skills.
Current Market Size of Food Processing Sector in India
With a growing middle class, more disposable income, and more people living in cities, the food processing industry in India is expected to experience explosive growth, going from an anticipated US$ 866 billion in 2022 to an estimated US$ 1,274 billion in 2027.
The Indian food and grocery industry ranks sixth globally. With a 32% share of the food market, a 13% share of total exports, and a 6% share of industrial investment, the food processing industry is one of the biggest industries in the nation. Within the regulated manufacturing sector, the food processing industry employs around 1.93 million people, but the unregistered sector additionally employs roughly 5.1 million people.
Future Scope for Food Processing Startups
Recognized as a key priority industry under the “Make in India” initiative, the Indian food processing sector offers a potential growth journey and has numerous chances. Several programs have been launched by the MoFPI to encourage investment in the food processing industry by improving infrastructure and supporting startups in this field. To boost the value of their produce, the Indian government has been trying to enlist the help of several food processing startups to strengthen supply chains that connect farmers to processing and marketing, as well as to local grading and storage facilities.
Facilities such as specialized processing units, sewerage treatment plants, testing laboratories, common warehouses, and logistical assistance are part of the Common Infrastructure for Industrial Parks, which encompasses 31 projects with strong investment prospects totaling US$ 2.36 billion.
The government of India is continually engaging in several initiatives under the Startup India program to foster the expansion and improvement of the startup ecosystem within the nation. Startups can get help at different points in their business cycles from the flagship schemes, which include the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS). This helps them get to the point where they can ask for money from commercial banks, angel investors, or venture capitalists. Consequently, as of July 31, 2024, there are over 1.43 lakh startups in India that have been recognized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
Initiatives by the Government
The Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0) Scheme was launched in 2019 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (‘MeitY’) with a budget of INR 264.62 crore, spread out over 5 years. It provides institutions of higher education and leading research and development organizations with financial and technical support so that they can assist ICT companies that are utilizing new technologies. So far, 51 TIDE 2.0 Incubation Centres have received funding and are up and running.
Aiming to assist current and future accelerators in their selection and acceleration of promising IT-based startups to scale to address India’s technological challenges and make a positive social impact, the Startup Accelerator of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development, and Growth (SAMRIDH) Scheme was established. Selected accelerators will get one-to-one matching funds up to INR 40 lakh from the SAMRIDH initiative, which they can use to offer accelerator services to start-ups. Out of a total of 22 national accelerators, 175 entrepreneurs will receive help in 12 cities across 14 states in the initial cohort. Among these accelerators, you can find investment firms, corporate accelerators, academic institutions, and government-supported organizations.
A large chunk of the 2019 National Policy on Software Products (NPSP) and the software product ecosystem can now be supported through the Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS). Agartala, Bhilai, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Dehradun, Guwahati, Jaipur, Lucknow & Prayagraj, Mohali/Chandigarh, Patna, and Vijayawada are the twelve cities that are planned to begin the scheme. With a total budget of INR 95.03 crore, the scheme intends to support 300 tech startups in Tier-2/3 cities over three years through its solution-oriented architecture.
To promote national self-sufficiency and develop capacities to capitalize on new and developing technological sectors, MeitY has planned and implemented 42 Centres Of Excellence (CoEs) in various areas of national significance. Through democratizing creativity and realizing prototypes, these domain-specific CoEs facilitate India’s rise to the position of innovation hub in emerging technologies.
To facilitate the development of innovation-led electronic systems and designs, the Government of Bihar, IIIT Patna, STPI New Delhi, and Makers Village in Cochin, Kerala, as well as the Fabless chip design incubation unit at IIT Hyderabad, have all collaborated to construct Entrepreneur Parks.
Over the past five years, the government has provided financial support to over 10,000 tech startups through various programs and schemes run by relevant ministries and departments. Incubators have distributed a total of about INR 580 crore to these businesses, with 3,600 tech startups receiving INR 212 crore from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
According to a media agency, several prominent fintech companies have decided to participate in the digital currency pilot program run by the Indian central bank. These companies include Google Pay, PhonePe, Cred, Mobikwik, and AmazonPay.
According to sources who spoke with the news agency, the corporations will accomplish this by providing e-rupee transactions.
Notably, the digital currency pilot program was launched by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in December 2022.
At first, the only financial institutions authorized to sell e-rupee through their mobile apps were the central bank. However, fintechs were also permitted to offer e-rupee transactions after RBI’s permission in April of this year.
Then, rumor has it that fintech companies are requesting the central bank clarify the norms of interaction with banks so they can implement use cases for central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Fintech companies are reportedly collaborating with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), and the domestic payment authorities in preparation for the e-rupee’s launch in the coming three to four months, according to a prominent news agency’s report.
According to the research, the number of digital currency transactions has dropped significantly from over 1 million per day last year to about 1-2 lakh each day.
Use Cases for Retail CBDCs
This news arrives as reports surface that banks are collaborating with fintech entrepreneurs on a range of fronts to launch retail use cases for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs).
The first round of the CBDC retail trial for NBPSOs is testing two significant use cases. One involves corporate cost management and the other involves subsidy payments for agricultural supplies.
Banks are presently focussing on deploying these use cases, and they will now also collaborate closely with fintech firms to support the CBDC trial.
Following the beginning of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) experiment in December 2022, RBI deputy governor T Rabi Sankar announced in April that 2.2 crore transactions had been handled.
What is CBDC?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has created CBDCs, a digital token equivalent to the Rupee. Using distributed ledger technology (DLT), it could one day replace physical currency with digital transactions.
The CBDC pilot has been serving both the wholesale and retail sectors since its start in 2022, and an increasing number of institutions are rushing to become a part of it.
The country’s Central Bank unveiled new features, like the ability to make CBDC retail payments offline and using user-defined algorithms, in February of this year to boost CBDC sales.
Aditya Sharma, Co-Founder & Director of The Souled Store discusses his entrepreneurial journey, building a D2C apparel brand around pop culture and upcoming trends with host Gautam Srinivasan.
The startup ecosystem of India has grown tremendously in the last decade. India has emerged as a predominant player in the global startup ecosystem and is home to various successful startups and innovative entrepreneurs.
The “Crafting Bharat – A Startup Podcast Series” powered by AWS, and an initiative by NewsReach, in association with VCCircle, unlocks the secrets behind these successful entrepreneurs’ journeys aiming to equip aspiring entrepreneurs and business enthusiasts with invaluable insights. The podcast series is hosted by Gautam Srinivasan, famed for hosting a diverse range of TV and digital programs, currently consulting editor at CNBC (India), CNN-News18, Forbes India, and The Economic Times.
Digital adoption has made shopping online effortless, and a zestful and passionate entrepreneur, Aditya Sharma, Co-Founder & Director of The Souled Store, is putting the ‘pop’ in pop culture. In the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series, Sharma talks about his entrepreneurial journey, building a D2C apparel brand around pop culture and upcoming trends.
Explore the tales of Indian startup founders’ transformation from dreams to reality, navigating challenges to seize opportunities through the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series.
Crafting Bharat, Episode 9 With Aditya Sharma, Co-Founder & Director of The Souled Store
Segment 1: The Incubator
How confident were you of a product-market fit considering India was a very nascent market for such options?
The only way to get official merchandise in India was either to call a relative who is abroad to get it for us or to buy fake merchandise from the street side. We saw the gap and knew that there definitely was a demand because people wanted it. There is a very low barrier to entry to start an apparel brand in India as it requires very less capital.
Dealing with challenges of ecosystem peer pressure and an urge to grow fast. How did you handle this phase?
When we raised our first round of funding, I wouldn’t call it pressure but more like responsibility to use the funding at the right place. We had a lot of cash in the bank, so we decided to increase the marketing spend which in turn increased our revenue. We burned cash in the short term but eventually it helped us in the long term. We did two things with the cash, one we increased the marketing and branding spend and second, we started hiring aggressively. To cut the long story short, we wanted to achieve the growth in 2 years which would have ideally taken us 5 years to achieve. After 2 rounds of funding and making the same mistake of achieving fast we established that the business would take its time to grow, we need to make sure we’re not burning cash, is profitable and at the same time if your product is good then your success is going to be a little delayed but it will come for sure.
What was the reasoning behind going physical considering most of your revenue still comes from the website and mobile app?
We did real-life AB testing with the store. The store was 500 sq ft in size, which was a lot of cost to us back during that time. To our surprise the store worked well. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit, and we had to slow down but we managed to pick up the pace and reached 23 offline stores. There was no pressure from the investors, but we wanted to give the offline channel a shot. The Indian audience loves to shop online but there is a great chunk of the audience who wants to shop offline to get the touch and feel of the products.
Segment 2: The Accelerator
From a cost-benefit perspective for a startup, what are the dos and don’ts of working with influencers and celebrities to drive brand popularity?
I would say that be true to yourself and the brand. What we’ve seen through our journey is that whenever we try to do something for views it never works out. Our brand endorsement with Hardik Pandya aligned with the brand because the type of apparels he wears is like what we sell, and he genuinely loves our products. If we would have done this with someone else from the Indian cricket team whose vibe doesn’t align with our brand, it won’t work as effectively.
As you evolve beyond Superheroes and Sitcoms, what’s the next pop culture phenomenon that you are looking to tap into at The Souled Store?
The next pop culture phenomenon we aim to tap is Anime. We’ve been working heavily to get a Japanese brand like Attack on Titan. We are trying to get these brands to India and generally Japanese brands have very strict requirements. It’s a matter of them understanding that there’s a huge market here in India and we want to be the first ones to bring it to India.
The Indian startup ecosystem has not only disrupted the traditional market but also created new markets and opportunities, showcasing India’s potential for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Stay tuned to the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series as they bring you these inspirational entrepreneurs for insightful and candid discussions with Gautam Srinivasan.
We are more than halfway towards the conclusive end of 2024, and we can rightly say that the digital arena is going bonkers, and no brownie points for guessing – AI is at the forefront of this explosion in innovation and technological push. From content creation to customer engagement, AI tools are reshaping how marketing agencies operate, thereby boosting efficiency and delivering impressive results.
In this article, we’ll have a look at the top 5 tools that are causing a massive impact in the marketing world. You’ll discover how these innovative solutions can streamline your workflow, enhance your creative output, and give your agency a competitive edge. No matter who you are, and whether you’re looking to improve your content strategy, optimize your digital advertising, or just trying to build intelligent chatbots, we’ve got you covered. Here are some game-changing AI tools that will take your marketing agency to new heights in 2024.
Notion AI
Tool
Notion AI
Launched
2022
Rank
4.7 out of 5
Free Trial
Free Plan available
Top AI Tools for Marketing Agency – Notion AI
When it comes to productivity, Notion AI might just be the game-changer you need. This powerful tool is causing a revolution in how agencies manage their workflows, streamline tasks, and boost overall efficiency. It’s a veteran add-on from a veteran company. They know what they are doing, and boy-oh-boy, they are doing it pretty well.
Notion AI Features
Notion AI is more than just a note-taking app. It’s an intelligent assistant that can transform your agency’s operations. Here are some standout features:
Smart Note Summarisation: Enough of messy meeting notes. Notion AI can summarise your bullet points, extract key action items, and even create a timeline plan. This means you can focus on the discussion rather than frantically scribbling notes.
Insight Extraction: With the “/summarise” command, Notion AI can analyze a page’s content and pull out crucial insights. This is particularly useful when you’re dealing with complex documents or large volumes of information on tight deadlines.
Action Item Identification: Use the “action items” command to quickly analyze a page and get a list of tasks you’ve committed to doing next. No more sifting through pages of notes to find your to-do list.
Idea Formatting: When creativity strikes, you can jot down your ideas quickly and ask Notion AI to format them into a clear, bullet-pointed list. This makes it easy to share your thoughts with your team without confusion.
User Research Analysis: Notion AI can help you make sense of open-ended survey responses. It can create a list of common answers and points made by users, saving you hours of manual analysis.
Notion AI Pricing
Notion AI is available as an add-on to all Notion plans, including the Free Plan. Here’s what you need to know about pricing:
Plan
Price
Free
$0
Plus
$10 per seat/month
Business
$15 per seat/month
Enterprise
Contact Sales
Cost: $10 per member, per month
Annual Billing Discount: 20% off for all workspaces on any plan
Free Trial: Everyone can use Notion AI for free to test its capabilities before purchasing
Workspace-Wide Access: When purchased, Notion AI is available to all workspace members (except guests)
To add Notion AI to your plan:
You must be a workspace owner
Access Notion on desktop
Click on ‘Settings & members’ in your sidebar
Click on ‘Plans’
Under ‘Notion AI’, click ‘Add to plan’
Notion AI Benefits for Agencies
Implementing Notion AI in your agency can lead to significant improvements in your workflow (at least, that’s what people say). Anyway, here are the perks:
Time-Saving: By automating time-consuming tasks, Notion AI frees up your team to focus on more strategic and creative work.
Increased Efficiency: With features like quick summarization and action item extraction, your team can work smarter, not harder.
Better Collaboration: Notion AI makes it easier to share and understand information across your agency, improving teamwork and communication.
Faster Insights: Whether it’s from meeting notes or user research, Notion AI helps you extract valuable insights quickly, enabling faster decision-making.
Improved Client Service: With more time and better-organized information, you can provide even better service to your clients.
Notion AI isn’t new to the internet. It has been a seasoned campaigner and enjoys backing from veterans, founders, and professionals who make the most out of the platform for their daily outings on the internet, as an agency/business. The call is yours to make, our job is to just be unbiased and tell you things, the way they are.
Originality.ai
Tool
Originality.ai
Launched
2022
Rank
4.4 out of 5
Free Trial
Available
Top AI Tools for Marketing Agency – Originality.ai
In the age of AI-generated content, how can you ensure that your marketing agency’s output remains authentic and original? Enter Originality.ai, a game-changing tool that’s disrupting some sorts of content verification. This powerful AI content detection software helps you maintain your agency’s reputation by identifying artificially generated text and plagiarised content.
Originality AI Features
Originality AI offers a range of features to help you verify the authenticity of your content:
AI Content Detection: The software uses advanced AI models, including modified BERT and Roberta, to predict whether the content is human-written or AI-generated.
Plagiarism Checker: Originality AI’s feature-rich plagiarism detector ensures your content is original and free from copied material.
Multilanguage Support: With capabilities in 15 languages, Originality AI breaks down language barriers for global content verification.
Fact-Checking Aid: An automated fact-checking tool helps you save time and ensure accuracy across your organization.
Readability Score Checker: This feature provides ideal scores to help your content rank better in Google searches.
Chrome Extension: A free extension allows you to visualize the entire human writing process, helping to identify false positives.
Originality AI Pricing
Originality AI offers flexible pricing options to suit different needs:
Plan
Pricing
Pay As You Go
$30 one-time
Pro
$12.45 per month
Enterprise
$179 per month
Pay-As-You-Go: Ideal for one-time scanning needs or occasional use.
Pro Plan: The best solution for most users, offering regular access to premium features.
Enterprise Plan: Provides API access, more credits, and priority support for larger operations.
Each credit costs $0.01 and allows you to scan 100 words for either AI content or plagiarism. For example, checking 100 words for both content duplication and AI content would cost $0.02.
Originality AI Benefits for Agencies
Originality AI is quite cool, um. Yes, it’s quite handy when compared to its peers, who are more of a fancy skin on a product that’s more of a hit and a miss. Why is the former better? Well, here is why agencies love it! Read along.
Quality Assurance: Verify the work of freelancers and outsourced writers easily, ensuring it meets your standards.
Reputation Protection: By detecting AI-generated and plagiarised content, you safeguard your agency’s reputation for producing original, high-quality material.
SEO Compliance: With Google potentially penalizing AI-generated content, Originality AI helps you stay on the right side of search engine policies.
Time and Cost Efficiency: The tool provides a cost-effective alternative to hiring multiple human editors for content verification.
Versatility: Whether you’re producing blog posts, articles, or website copy, Originality AI can handle various content types.
Listen, Originality.ai flags human content as AI-generated too. There are two sides of a coin and Originality is no different. No tool is hundred percent accurate and no tool would ever be. There have been times when we’ve got accurate results with the tool, and there also have been instances where we got disappointed real quick. Nonetheless, the verdict doesn’t change the fact that Originality.ai is better than its wannabe friends (no offense).
Albert.ai
Tool
Albert.ai
Launched
2024
Rank
–
Free Trial
–
Top AI Tools for Marketing Agency – Albert.ai
Disclaimer, disclaimer! We haven’t used this one personally but heard many good things about this tool. These folks are building a ‘digital marketing ally’ to your agency and the product looks promising. Users who have been there, say that this AI-driven platform can transform how businesses optimize their digital advertising campaigns, offering unprecedented efficiency, precision, and intelligence.
Albert.ai Features
Albert.ai is more than just a technology platform or algorithm. It doubles down as an autonomous ally in the digital advertising world. Here are some standout features that are quite cool. Here we go:
Holistic Campaign Orchestration: Albert.ai serves as your single point of execution for comprehensive digital campaign management across multiple channels, including search, social, and programmatic advertising.
AI-Powered Optimisation: The platform uses artificial intelligence to continuously adjust bids, shift budgets, and optimize campaigns in real time, ensuring your ads get in front of the right customers at the right time.
Cross-Channel Learning: Albert.ai leverages insights from one channel to improve performance across others, creating a truly integrated advertising approach.
Creative Optimisation: The platform can test and optimize ad creatives at a pace and scale not humanly possible, ensuring you find the most effective messaging for your audience.
Detailed Reporting and Insights: Albert.ai provides comprehensive analyses of various aspects of your campaigns, including pattern identification, KPI trends, audience performance, and creative performance.
Albert.ai Pricing
While specific pricing details aren’t publicly available, Albert.ai offers flexible options to suit different agency needs:
Customized Plans: Pricing is typically based on the scale of your advertising operations and the specific features you require.
Proof of Concept: Albert.ai often offers a 3-month proof of concept period, allowing you to measure KPIs, progress, and efficiency compared to the same period in the previous year.
Cost-Effective Solution: Despite being an advanced AI platform, Albert.ai is designed to be accessible to advertisers of all sizes, providing a cost-effective solution for improving marketing efforts.
Albert.ai Benefits for Agencies
Implementing Albert.ai in your agency can be a breath of fresh air in your digital advertising strategy:
Increased Efficiency: By automating time-consuming tasks like bid management, optimization, and budget allocation, Albert.ai frees up your team to focus on strategy and creativity.
Improved Performance: Agencies using Albert.ai have seen remarkable results. For instance, one in-store and online retailer saw a 96% decrease in cost per lead, while a full-service agency experienced a 130% increase in conversions.
Data-Driven Insights: Albert.ai’s detailed reporting capabilities provide valuable insights that can inform your overall marketing strategy and help you make more informed decisions.
Scalability: The platform’s AI capabilities allow it to manage and optimize campaigns at a scale that would be impossible for human teams alone, making it easier for your agency to handle larger clients and more complex campaigns.
Competitive Edge: Through the tool’s advanced technology, your agency can offer cutting-edge digital advertising services, setting you apart in a crowded market.
Book a demo, see it in action, and then – take a call. We don’t endorse any tool as our own. Just the added confidence and words of praise are because we believe in using our reach to serve as a platform for products and founders who are genuinely doing some great work.
This one is a rockstar. We said it. Chatfuel solves a problem that many have solved before but in a better way. Simply put the tool helps businesses/agencies automate their communication across multiple channels, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and websites.
Multi-Channel Support: Automate communication on Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and your website.
AI-Powered Chatbots: Leverage ChatGPT integration for human-like conversations.
Lead Generation: Effortlessly capture and qualify leads with AI agents.
Sales Automation: Boost your sales with intelligent chatbots that can recommend products and place orders.
Post-Purchase Engagement: Enhance customer loyalty and optimize post-purchase interactions.
Customizable Templates: Save time with ready-to-use bot templates for various industries.
Chatfuel’s intuitive interface makes it easy for everyone, from business owners to marketers and social media managers, to create effective chatbots without any coding skills.
Chatfuel Pricing
Chatfuel offers flexible pricing options to suit different agency needs:
Plan
Price
Business
from $14.99
Enterprise
from $300
User-Based Pricing: Plans are priced according to the number of chatbot users.
Bulk Purchasing: Premium Agency customers can buy a certain number of users in bulk and distribute them among managed bots.
Single Transaction: After purchasing, you can charge each client based on allocated users.
While specific pricing isn’t provided, Chatfuel offers a range of plans to accommodate businesses of all sizes. It’s worth noting that their pricing structure allows for easy scalability as your agency grows.
Chatfuel Benefits for Agencies
Chatfuel is cool, and a hot cake simultaneously for your agency, if there’s a lot of client service involved. Here are the benefits:
New Revenue Stream: Add chatbot development to your service offerings, creating a new income source.
Impressive Client Results: Achieve remarkable outcomes for your clients, such as $2-5 per high-quality insurance lead or less than $10 per high-intent real estate lead.
Time and Cost Efficiency: Automate repetitive tasks, allowing your team to focus on strategy and creativity.
Enhanced Customer Support: Provide 24/7 support to your clients’ customers, improving satisfaction and retention.
Data-Driven Insights: Gain valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences to inform marketing strategies.
See, we know that you are looking to grow and expand. And, with tools like Chatfuel, your marketing agency can offer advanced chatbot solutions that drive engagement, boost sales, and provide personalized experiences for your clients or customers.
Fullstory
Tool
Fullstory
Launched
2024
Rank
4.5 out of 5
Free Trial
Available
Top AI Tools for Marketing Agency – Fullstory
What’s a business that doesn’t understand its user base? Nothing to discourage anyone, but Kings & Queens – it’s 2024 and you’re on the battlefield against numerous other businesses who want to get, serve, convert, and retain the same customers that you want to. So, how will you stand out? How is this relationship going to mature? This is where user behavior and its understanding become important. Fullstory is a savior and its powerful Digital Experience Intelligence (DXI) solution is changing the way businesses understand and optimize their digital interactions. Read along, and decide for yourself.
Fullstory Features
Fullstory offers a range of features to help you make the most out of your digital experiences:
Data Direct: A new solution that syncs clean, structured, AI-ready behavioral data to your destination of choice. This allows you to activate web and mobile sentiment signals to transform customer engagement.
Comprehensive Behavioural Data: Fullstory captures quality behavioral data across the web and mobile, revealing the untold story behind user behaviors.
AI-Ready Data: With automatically captured, indexed, and semantically structured first-party data, Fullstory’s behavioral data is extensible anywhere in the enterprise and ready-made for AI.
Powerful Analytics Tools: Use Conversions analysis, Funnels, and Dashboards to assess areas that are either delighting or frustrating end users.
Machine Learning Insights: Fullstory’s AI illuminates key changes in your user data and shows you how patterns are shifting, keeping historical data context in mind.
Fullstory Pricing
Fullstory offers flexible pricing options to suit different agency needs:
Plan
Price
Startup Programme
$1,920/year
Basic Plans
from $299/month for 25k sessions
Mid-Range Plans
$750/month for 200k sessions/month
Enterprise Plans
$10,000 to well over $50,000 per year
Startup Programme: $1,920/year or $1,000/year after negotiation.
Basic Plans: Starting from $299/month for 25k sessions and 1 month of data history.
Mid-Range Plans: Around $750/month for 200k sessions/month, 4 months of data history, and 21 seats.
Enterprise Plans: Can range from $10,000 to well over $50,000 per year, offering additional perks like advanced analysis and dedicated support.
It’s worth noting that Fullstory’s pricing isn’t always transparent and can be negotiable. Many users have reported success in getting better rates through negotiation.
Fullstory Benefits for Agencies
Digital experiences are worth their weight in gold, and they pretty much decide what the next big thing is going to be. There are patterns everywhere and we just need the right tools to understand them:
Enhanced Personalisation: With AI-driven insights, you can tailor offerings, communication, and recommendations to meet each customer’s unique preferences.
Improved Customer Support: Fullstory’s tools can help you deliver a level of service that boosts customer satisfaction and efficiency.
Real-time Sentiment Analysis: Decode customer emotions by analyzing feedback from reviews, social media, and surveys, allowing you to address concerns promptly.
Data-Driven Decision Making: You can use Fullstory’s insights to make informed decisions that resonate with your audience, building trust and enhancing engagement.
Proactive Problem-Solving: Identify and address issues before they impact your customers, improving overall user experience and satisfaction.
When you know what they need, you can cut the chaos and deliver exactly what’s asked to make a difference. Again, no endorsements. DYOR and get a behavior analysis tool to genuinely improve conversion rates, reduce customer frustration, or personalize experiences. There are endless tools out there with hundreds popping up every single day. By the time you read this, there may be better ones and you may contemplate getting one of them. At ST, we don’t promote. We just let you know so that you can be a gainer. The call is yours!
End Note For Our Readers
The future of marketing is undoubtedly intertwined with AI, and agencies that imbibe these technologies into their daily workflow will be well-positioned to thrive. Well, to stay on top of the latest developments in AI tools and get insider insights, consider subscribing to StartupTalky’s Newsletter ‘Smell The Coffee’ where we decode more of such gamechanger tools, strategies, exclusive invites to member-only products, events and communities, early access to LTDs and much more. Remember, while AI tools are powerful allies, they’re most effective when combined with human creativity and strategic thinking. So, as you understand and explore these tools, keep experimenting, learning, and adapting to find the perfect blend of AI assistance and human expertise for your agency’s success. Good luck, and keep rocking and talkying!
FAQs
What are the top AI tools for Marketing Agencies?
The top AI tools for Marketing Agencies are as below:
Notion AI
Originality.ai
Albert.ai
Chatfuel
Fullstory
What are the benefits of Originality.ai?
The benefits of Originality.ai include quality assurance, reputation protection, SEO compliance, time and cost efficiency, and versatility.
Are there any free AI tools for marketing agencies?
Yes, there are quite a few free AI tools for marketing agencies which are Fullstory, Chatfuel, Notion AI, Originality.ai, and many others.
By launching a new app called District, the food aggregator Zomato is expanding its operations beyond its main business of providing food delivery and quick shopping. The “going-out” business, which includes dining, movies, sports ticketing, live performances, shopping, vacations, and other activities, will be consolidated by introducing this new vertical space.
Deepinder Goyal, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, made the announcement in a letter to the shareholders. In the letter, he stated, “We believe that there is an opportunity to further expand our going-out offering, building on with our dining-out business.”
Other use cases for customers in the going out area include things like going to the cinema, purchasing tickets to live performances, shopping, staying at home, and other similar activities. Some of these use cases have already been established, and others are currently being developed.
In addition, Goyal stated, “We intend to do exactly that with our new District (by Zomato) app, which is to build a one-stop destination app for going out.”
This might be a game-changer for each of these use cases. Going out has the potential to become Zomato’s third-largest business-to-consumer (B2C) business if we are successful in executing this plan.
Zomato’s Recent Financial Report Card
The major food technology company declared a net profit of INR 253 crore, which is significantly more than the net profit that it had posted during the same quarter of the previous year. Over the June quarter, Zomato’s revenue reached INR 4,206 crore, which is a year-on-year rise of approximately 74% compared to the previous year’s figure of INR 1,416 crore.
During the quarter, Zomato’s Gross Order Value (GOV) reached INR 15,455 crore, representing a 53% rise. Specifically, the organization defines GOV as the aggregated GOV of consumer-facing enterprises like meal delivery, quick-commerce, and going out.
It is essential to keep in mind that Zomato has not developed a great app in the same way that its competitors Swiggy and BigBasket have. The Going-out business vertical of Zomato is a combination of the Zomato Live and Dining-out business verticals.
As a result of this decision, Zomato is now in competition with apps such as BookMyShow. In June, Zomato confirmed the exchanges that it is, in fact, in negotiations with Paytm to purchase the latter’s media and ticketing operations.
The technology industry, particularly in the realm of digital integrity and security, plays a crucial role in shaping online experiences for billions of users worldwide. With the rise of social media platforms, ensuring that content adheres to community guidelines and regulatory policies has become an essential function. Integrity engineering focuses on protecting users from harmful content, misinformation, spam, and various forms of online abuse.
Arjun Reddy Lingala, with his expertise in software and data engineering, has been instrumental in tackling critical global events such as the US 2020 elections, COVID-19 misinformation, and the Black Lives Matter movement. “The challenge is not just about detecting harmful content but about acting on it swiftly to prevent widespread impact,” he explains. “Integrity solutions must be scalable, efficient, and adaptable to evolving risks,” he emphasizes.
He played a key role in the Rapid Response system, which was important in detecting and mitigating policy-violating media. This system has helped in crucial moments such as the US 2020 elections, COVID-19 misinformation, and the Black Lives Matter movement by identifying and removing content that violates platform policies. “Handling misinformation is a massive challenge, but we built a framework that ensures rapid detection and action,” he shares. These contributions have helped create a proactive approach towards content moderation, ensuring the platform remains safe and reliable for users worldwide.
The Rate Limiting System has been another major breakthrough in addressing integrity challenges. “Spammers constantly evolve their tactics, and we needed a solution that adapts dynamically to new threats,” he notes. This system, which processes about 2 billion events per minute, has successfully mitigated various types of spam, including comment spam, messaging spam, live video comment spam, and link spamming. The system’s ability to configure rate-limiting parameters based on specific keys, such as account, IP, or username, ensures that spammers are restricted effectively without impacting genuine users.
The Observation Layer, which acts as a middle layer between products and problem areas, providing a one-stop solution for integrity needs, was a critical project he worked on. Without this solution, there would be excessive API calls between different teams, making it difficult to track issues effectively. “The Observation Layer ensures that all products, from posts and comments to live videos, are connected to integrity solutions with an SLA of less than 800ms,” he explains. The impact of this project has been significant, handling over 5 billion events per minute and improving operational efficiency across multiple teams.
Building and maintaining large-scale integrity systems comes with its own set of challenges. One of the biggest hurdles Arjun faced was integrating with various partners across multiple teams, each with unique requirements and use cases. “Collaborating across multiple functions, understanding diverse datasets, and ensuring smooth integrations require a deep technical and strategic approach,” he says. His ability to navigate these challenges successfully has allowed him to develop scalable integrity solutions that benefit the entire organization.
Arjun believes that the future of integrity engineering lies in continuous innovation and adaptation. “The threats we face today will evolve, and we must always be a step ahead,” he asserts.
He advocates for a combination of machine learning and real-time monitoring to detect harmful content more accurately and efficiently. While ML models take time to train and gain accuracy, regex-based filtering, text extraction, and rate limiting can be used as interim solutions. He also emphasizes the importance of transparency; ensuring users understand the actions taken on their content to maintain trust.
Through his dedication and technical expertise, Arjun Reddy Lingala has set new standards for content moderation, ensuring that harmful media is swiftly identified and removed, spammers are kept at bay, and platform safety is upheld at a massive scale.
At StartupTalky, we’re excited to explore the story of Burger Singh with its CEO and Founder, Kabir Jeet Singh. Singh shares how his love for adding an Indian twist to burgers, which started during his MBA studies in Birmingham, led him to start Burger Singh in 2014. The franchise has since won over Indian customers with its unique flavours and local touch.
With a smart business model and big plans for growth, Burger Singh is making its mark in the fast-food industry. In this exclusive interaction, Singh shares insights into the company’s journey, the challenges it has faced, and what’s next for this popular burger chain.
StartupTalky: Can you tell us about the journey of Burger Singh? How did it all start?
Mr. Singh: The inspiration behind starting Burger Singh came from my experience when I was working at a local burger outlet in Birmingham while pursuing my MBA. I found myself captivated by flavors and tried to give the typical burgers an Indian touch that also garnered positive feedback from customers. This was my Eureka moment to launch Burger Singh in 2014. With the first outlet in Gurugram, we marked the beginning of our journey to bridge the gap in the market, where foreign brands catered to an Indian audience with flavors unfamiliar to them.
StartupTalky: What makes Burger Singh different from other burger chains in India?
Mr. Singh: As I experimented with typical American-style Burgers to give it an Indian twist, I saw a huge potential when people actually started liking it. And, the way we bring out the amazing taste of Indianised burgers, sets Burger Singh apart from other burger chains. It is the perfect fit for the Indian Market in both taste and value for money. Along with this, our commitment to quality, affordability, and a strong local identity has resonated with Indian food enthusiasts, making Burger Singh a beloved choice.
StartupTalky: Can you explain the business model of Burger Singh?
Mr. Singh: Burger Singh operates a hybrid model with 70% franchise-owned stores and 30% company-owned. It has four different forms of outlets.
Express: Kiosks in high-footfall areas like malls and airports.
Food Court: Small spaces (200-300 sq ft) in busy streets and food courts.
Dine-In: Larger spaces (800+ sq ft) in Tier 2/3 cities.
Drive-Thru: Large spaces (1000+ sq ft) on highways for quick ROI.
StartupTalky: What are the key requirements to become a Burger Singh franchise?
Mr. Singh: To become a Burger Singh franchise, We provide locations to franchisee owners, the ability to open the store within, the required capital as per the chosen model, a marketing launch budget of INR 2 lakhs + GST, and an additional 300 sq. ft. for raw material storage. More details are available on burgersinghonline.com/franchise.
StartupTalky: What kind of support and training does Burger Singh provide to its franchisees?
Mr. Singh: Burger Singh’s management team gives franchisees in-depth training to teach everything one needs to know about running a profitable store. This training can take place either online or in person at our headquarters in Gurugram. We also provide a New Store Opening Team that visits the location to guide the new staff until they are fully trained.
In special cases, the staff may need to visit existing Burger Singh stores for additional hands-on experience.The process doesn’t end here, as we offer refresher training sessions based on one’s needs to ensure that staff remain up-to-date with the latest practices and standards.
StartupTalky: What is the initial investment needed to open a Burger Singh franchise? Are there any ongoing fees or royalties that franchisees need to pay?
Mr. Singh: To open a Burger Singh franchise, the minimum investment starts from INR 13.3 lakhs + GST. This covers the setup cost, franchise fees, and operational expenses. However, factors like the location of the outlet, rentals, revenue, etc. define the investment more precisely. The franchisee will also need to pay 6% for royalty and a 2% administrative fee to help Burger Singh provide ongoing support, marketing, and operational guidance.
StartupTalky: How does Burger Singh ensure quality and consistency across all its outlets?
Mr. Singh: At Burger Singh, we ensure food safety and quality by following the rules set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). We maintain strict hygiene in our kitchens, check the quality of our ingredients, and regularly train our staff on safety practices. We source ingredients from trusted suppliers and use technology to monitor food safety. Regular audits and inspections help us stay compliant with safety standards, ensuring we serve safe and high-quality food to our customers.
StartupTalky: What kind of marketing support does Burger Singh offer to its franchisees?
Mr. Singh: Burger Singh helps its franchisees with marketing in several ways. We do brand-level campaigns for the whole brand and manage social media. This helps each franchisee get more customers and keep them coming back.
StartupTalky: Can you share some insights on the profit margins for a typical Burger Singh franchise?
Mr. Singh: The ROI on a franchise’s investment depends on multiple factors like location, rentals, expected revenue, etc. There is no one answer to that question. To get a better idea of what it is likely to be, the franchise can contact Burger Singh’s franchise support.
StartupTalky: Are there any new products or services that Burger Singh is planning to introduce?
Mr. Singh: We have recently introduced a new kiosk model, “Burger Singh Express,” at airports, metro stations, universities, etc., replicating our successful plug-and-play model currently present at 25 metro stations in Delhi NCR. We will further introduce 16 more of these kiosks in airports of Tier 2 cities like Guwahati, Chandigarh, Imphal, Varanasi, etc. We have launched a delicious and affordable meal combo called the“Inflation Mukt Combo,”priced at just INR 99. This low-priced, high-quality combo is to be available to the audience from all Burger Singh outlets.
StartupTalky: What are Burger Singh’s plans for expansion in the next 5-10 years?
Mr. Singh: We are planning to open 120 new outlets and increase our total to over 300+. States like Maharashtra, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Chennai, and cities like Guwahati, Chandigarh, and Varanasi are on our radar for outlet launches. In 3 years, we aim to boost our transit retail share, including stores in train and bus stations.
This article has been contributed by Mr. Mahesh Krishnamoorthy, Managing Director, Core Integra.
It is increasingly becoming evident that India will be a global leader in the Startup ecosystem with the highest number of Entrepreneurs in the next decade. To fuel this segment, there are a plethora of benefits and schemes provided by the Government, and in every budget, this segment has been a key focus area for the last few years. The added advantage is increased domestic demand and consumption of products and services along with the Make in India initiative.
The benefits for promoting growth in this sector include reduced interest rates, collateral-free loans, tax exemptions, and protection against delayed payments, there is no discount or subsidy from the Government when it comes to adherence to Compliance. Non-compliance is viewed seriously and could result in heavy penalties including imprisonment thereby affecting the reputation and business continuity.
Understanding the Scope of Labour Law Compliances
It is often misunderstood that labour law compliances are restricted to workforce-related compliances alone such as compensation, benefits, work conditions, disputes, etc but actually it is far more comprehensive including Establishment compliances, Factory compliances if engaged in manufacturing, Environment, Health, Safety compliances, Contractor compliances and in recent times ESG compliances is gaining relevance. Further, there are specific compliances related to the nature of business as well. The majority of the labour law compliances are applicable to startups irrespective of the scale of operations, vintage, revenue size, or profitability. This is an important perspective that needs to be kept in mind by the leaders of such organizations.
Key Areas of Labour Law Compliances for Startups
Some of the important areas of labour law compliance that would be relevant to the startup organizations would include the following:
Licenses and Registrations under the various Labour Laws/Acts as applicable under the State and Central Laws depending upon the nature of business of the entity.
Statutory benefits such as Provident Fund, Employee State Insurance, Profession Tax, Labour Welfare Fund, Statutory Bonus, Gratuity, Superannuation, Leave encashment.
Registers are to be maintained under the applicable laws of the State and Centre.
Returns are to be filed on a periodic basis under the applicable laws of the State and Centre.
Other important laws such as Minimum Wages, POSH, Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Engagement of Apprentices, Inter-State Migrant Workers, and Industrial Disputes.
To begin with, a startup needs to understand the Laws and Acts applicable to the entity under State and Central Laws depending on the nature of the business and location of operations. From this emanates the next steps which involved procuring the licenses and registrations, many of which are currently available through the online portal of the respective authority. If there are any exemptions offered for startups, the same needs to be considered while checking the applicability of the Laws, Acts, and Registration/Licensing requirements. Post obtaining the requisite license and registration, the appropriate deductions and payments need to be made to respective authorities and acknowledgments need to be maintained for future records, inspections, and responding to notices from authorities, if any. Appropriate policies need to be drafted for defining procedures under labour laws, training, and education initiatives for the employees, and periodic documentation such as registers, and returns need to be maintained.
The above-mentioned could seem to be elaborate and cumbersome, and indeed to some extent it requires diligent fulfilment which may be time-consuming, and with proper knowledge of procedures, there would also be some cost involved towards appropriate adherence to compliance. Larger organizations could afford to have a department with a set of knowledgeable resources which may not be the case with boot-strapped startups which would prefer to have their bandwidth and financial resources used for business growth rather than compliance costs. There are many professional firms and software available in the market at affordable prices that take care of a large part of labour law compliances in a efficient and simple manner. The startups may use these options to utilize their time and efforts on core business while compliances are taken care of by professionals or software.
It is easy and important to comply with labour laws, this is critical from a startup perspective as they will at some stage of their business lifecycle want to raise capital for growth through various means, whether listing in the capital markets or through investors where the due diligence process captures every element of compliance adherence and gaps could result in issues detrimental to the growth and reputation of the entity.
Subham Kumar
