Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Lucep.
Initiating customers’ interest in your product is the foremost thing to do in marketing. Businesses in any industry have to generate leads to initiate their business. Lucep is a SAAS product that can be integrated into Facebook, Instagram, or Google campaigns to automate lead qualification. It connects the leads to the sales team and helps the business grow.
Read the startup story of Lucep, its founders, the industries it is serving, the marketing strategy, and more about it.
Founded in 2014, Lucep is a SAAS Startup to helps businesses in getting direct digital leads efficiently. It is a lead distribution platform.
The Lucep mobile app helps your business connect directly with your digital leads. Businesses can plug Lucep into their marketing campaign to automate lead generation.
Lucep – Industry
EdTech (global market): USD 85 Billion in 2021, it is expected to reach over 230 Billion U.S. dollars by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 15% during 2022-2028.
Automotive (India): Rs. 16.16-18.18 trillion (US$ 251.4-282.8 billion) by 2026.
Real Estate (India): Expected to reach US$ 1 trillion in market size by 2030, up from US$ 200 billion in 2021.
Banking (global market): The global digital banking market size was valued at $803.8 Billion in 2018, and is anticipated to reach $1610 Billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 8.9% during the forecast period.
SaaS startups (India): $8 billion in 2021, poised to touch as much as $100 billion in revenues by 2026.
Lucep – Founders and Team
Kaiesh Vohra is the Co-founder and CEO of Lucep and Zal Dastur is the Co-founder and COO of the startup.
“We don’t carry our personal prejudices or preconceptions when we sit down on a table to make a decision. I know Kaiesh since we were 10 and the bond that we share is beyond that of colleagues in an organisation…“It all started one evening when I was out with some friends, drinking, and Kaiesh called. He told me that he wanted to start off and that he wanted me to move to Bangalore and join him. He gave me 1 hour to respond. I made the call an hour later, and here I am”. – Zal Dastur, Co-founder and COO, Lucep
Lucep – The Idea and Startup Story
We handled several enterprise clients when we started off as a tech company to make calling queue management software, but in the process realised its unseen potential for SMEs. That is when the idea was born and we took it up right away. But then we were turned down by 3 major investors. Lucep is still bootstrapped.
Lucep – The Product and Service
Lucep is an automated lead response, qualification and distribution system that integrates into your existing marketing and sales technology stacks. The API can be consumed as needed, with the overall goal of improving your customer experience.
For example, form fills from Facebook Lead Ads or Google Adwords landing pages can be picked up by Lucep instantly through our integration with the forms, and pushed through into a CRM, responded to instantly using automated lead qualification sequences, and distributed to the right sales team member(s) as a callback request.
Lucep is still bootstrapped, and we send millions of leads to thousands of SMB and startup clients worldwide. At the same time, we are grateful for innovation support from companies such as Daimler and Metlife that has helped us develop dedicated solutions for them and other enterprise clients in the automotive, financial services, real estate and education sectors.
Lucep is still bootstrapped, but we are now working with the world’s largest companies in the verticals where we already have dedicated solutions. Lucep’s servers route millions of leads to sales and customer service teams all over the world.
Lucep automated lead qualification platform – One-time setup charges for platform usage, plus per lead cost based on channels selected. Custom pricing based on lead volume. Use our pricing calculator to figure out the cost per lead – https://lucep.com/get-a-quote.
Lucep – Customer Acquisition
The strategy for the first 30-50 users was to go after our own personal connections. Friends, family, ex-colleagues, and anyone we could think of that might find the tool useful. Once we got an understanding of which types of businesses and personas matched with our product and business then we started actively targeting people on LinkedIn with a compelling reason for them to talk to us. We used a combination of outbound calls and emails along with inbound from blogs, social media advertising, and email campaigns.
Lucep – Marketing Strategy
Our focus is on content marketing for inbound and email marketing for outbound, complemented by social media and event participation for raising brand awareness. As mentioned above, we have also participated in acceleration programs by Metlife and Daimler, which helped us develop enterprise solutions and generated more visibility and leads from companies curious to learn what kind of innovation we could bring to their sales processes. Most importantly, we make use of our own martech and sales app to improve and automate lead generation, response and qualification from our website, social, email and other digital channels.
Lucep – Challenges Faced
Our integration for a client required us to pick up social media form fills in a particular region and use our smart lead distribution algorithm to pipe the leads through instantly in real-time to the right sales team member in the right location nearest the customer.
The problem was that their social media in that region did not generate that many forms fill for it to be worth investing in, and it looked to be a waste. Then they decided to run a paid social campaign to generate leads and see if it made any difference. The results showed a 21% increase in qualified leads, as compared to their other regions running the exact same campaign. Since then, we work with clients who are already running paid advertising campaigns to generate leads. This shows the ROI from using Lucep (between 20-50% more leads qualified) very clearly when compared to their previous campaigns.
Lucep – Tools Used in the Company
A few tools which they use to run the startups are:
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Apple.
The Apple logo is very identifiable whether you’re walking down a crowded street in a major city or travelling through the highways. Whenever you spot a MacBook, an iPad, or an iPhone, you immediately recognize the logo and know who built it. Apple has accomplished more than just technological domination. The corporation has achieved something that many people strive for: international name recognition and a reputation that will outlast everyone alive today.
The company’s tagline from 1997 to 2002, “Think Different,” may have contributed to Apple’s success. While not always hailed as a triumph, it is the result of foresight in the current competitive market. While many of us possess Apple devices, few are familiar with their history. When did Apple get its start, and how popular was it at its inception? When did Apple become well-known? And why did Apple come so close to going bankrupt? However, such achievement does not happen instantly and is difficult to duplicate. So, what is this mysterious Apple sauce? Let’s have a look.
Apple – Company Highlights
Startup Name
Apple
Formerly Called
Apple Computer Company (1976–1977), Apple Computer, Inc. (1977–2007)
Industry
Consumer electronics, Software, and Online services
Apple Inc. is a global technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, that specialises in portable electronics, software applications, and internet services. Apple is the fourth-largest personal computer vendor by unit sales, the world’s second-most valuable company, the largest information technology company by revenue (totalling US$365.8 billion in 2021) and the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer. Along with Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta, it is one of the five American behemoths in information technology businesses.
Apple Inc. produces, builds, and sells computers and associated computing and communication devices, as well as services, software, networking solutions, and peripherals. Apple distributes its goods through its online shops, retail locations, direct sales representatives, resellers, and third-party wholesalers all around the globe.
The iPhone is Apple’s series of cell phones that run on Apple’s operating system called iOS. The Mac range of computers is centered also on the business’s macOS operating system.
The iPad is a range of multi-purpose tablets from Apple that run on the iPad OS operating system. Apple TV, Air Pods, Apple Watch, Home Pod, Beats products, iPod touch, and other Apple-branded and third-party accessories are included under Home, Wearables, and Accessories.
The Company’s wireless headphones that interface with Siri are known as Air Pods. The Apple Watch is the firm’s smartwatch series. AppleCare, Advertising, Cloud Services, Digital Content, and Payment Services are among its offerings.
Apple – Industry
The worldwide economy has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many end-user sectors, including electronics manufacturing, have been impacted. According to data from an IPC study conducted in March 2020, 40% of global electronics manufacturers and suppliers polled anticipate that the COVID-19 outbreak will have the greatest impact on consumer electronics. Another 24% of respondents said that industrial electronics would be the worst hit, with 19% predicting that the automotive electronics category would be the most brutal damage.
Electronic computers, such as mainframes, laptops, pcs, workstations, and software services, as well as computer peripheral devices, are manufactured by companies in this business. Apple, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dell, IBM, Lenovo (Hong Kong), ASUS (Taiwan), and Canon (Japan) are the companies that belong to this sector or industry.
Annual global unit sales for 2021 hit 340 million units, up 15% from the previous year. With large exports, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, as well as the Asia Pacific, excluding Japan, led to the rise of this industry. During the projected period, which is 2021-2026, the Electronics Manufacturing Services Market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 9%.
Apple – Name, Logo, and Tagline
Jobs revealed in his biography written down by Walter Isaacson that he was now on one of his fruitarian diets. He was driving back from an apple farm when he came up with the name for the firm that would transform his life. Steve Wozniak’s book, “iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon,” confirms this. Wozniak, who drove Jobs home from the airport following that trip, claimed that the firm name came to him during the journey. According to Jobs, the “apple orchard” he mentioned was a commune.
According to Jobs’ biography, he believed the name “Apple Computer” sounded “energetic, fun, and not intimidating” – all crucial elements for a firm that intended to transform computing and make it far more approachable. And, that’s where the logo came from.
Apple Logo
Apple’s tagline says, “Think Different.”
Apple – Founders
Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne, and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computers Company as a business deal on April 1, 1976.
Founders of Apple – Steve Jobs (left) and Steve Wozniak (right)
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was the co-founder and former CEO of Apple and Pixar Animation Studios. Jobs attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon after graduating from Homestead High School in Cupertino, California in 1972. He dropped out after one semester and went on to study philosophy and other cultures.
Steve Jobs had a keen passion for technology, therefore he went to work for Atari Inc, a major video game producer at the time. He became acquainted with Steve Wozniak, a fellow designer, and attended Homebrew Computer Club meetings with him. On August 24, 2011, Jobs resigned as Apple’s CEO and became Chairman of the Board of Directors. Jobs passed away on October 5, 2011.
Ronald Wayne
Ronald G. Wayne is mainly remembered as one of the co-founders of the Apple tech firm, with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, the company’s primary drivers. It was a brief journey compared to the years he spent inventing and manufacturing slot machines and other professional gaming devices. He’s a skilled innovator with over a dozen US patents under his belt, covering a wide spectrum of essential concepts.
Steve Wozniak
For the past three decades, Steve Wozniak has been a Silicon Valley star and philanthropist. His design of Apple’s original line of devices, the Apple I and II, impacted the popular Macintosh.
With Wozniak’s Apple I personal computer, Wozniak and Steve Jobs launched Apple Computer Inc. in 1976. He unveiled his Apple II personal computer the next year, which had a central processing unit, a keyboard, colour graphics, and a floppy disc drive.
Wozniak was active in several corporate and humanitarian endeavours after leaving Apple in 1985, concentrating mostly on computer capabilities in schools and emphasising hands-on learning and promoting student creativity.
Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne created Apple in 1976 to sell Wozniak’s hand-built PC, the Apple 1. The Apple 1 was supplied as a motherboard that had a Central processing unit, RAM, and some rudimentary textual-video chips. It had no built-in keyboard, monitor, casing, or other Human Interface Devices at the time.
The Apple 1 was released in July 1976 and sold for $666.66. Only a few weeks after the firm was created, Wayne chose to quit. He accepted an $800 check, which was worth about $72 billion forty years later. Wayne was the one who hand-drew the initial Apple logo, which was later replaced with Rob Janoff’s bitten apple symbol in 1977.
On January 3rd, 1977, Apple Computer Inc. was founded. Mike Markkula, who was interested in the Apple-1, gave the team the necessary funds and commercial acumen. Mike Markkula, the third employee, owned a third of the firm. He nominated Michael Scott as the company’s first president and CEO because he believed Steve was too young and not responsible enough to handle the role.
The Apple II, designed by Wozniak, was released in 1977. The Apple II computers were able to stay on top of market leaders Tandy and Commodore PET thanks to VisiCalc (the world’s first ‘killer-app’), a revolutionary spreadsheet and computing software. Because of its office compatibility, VisiCalc provided customers with another reason to acquire the Apple II. The Apple II was able to change the computer industry by introducing colour graphics. Apple had a genuine office with many workers by 1978, as well as an Apple II production sector.
Revenues for Apple doubled every four months in the following years. Between September 1977 and September 1980, their annual revenues increased from $775,000 to $118 million (an average annual growth rate of 533 per cent).
On December 12, 1980, Apple came out publicly for $22 per share. Apple’s $4.6 million shares sold out very instantly, raising more money than just about any other IPO since Ford Motor Company in 1956. Steve Jobs, the largest shareholder, gained $217 million from the IPO. The company’s IPO also made 300 additional people millionaires overnight.
Apple – Apple without Jobs
As tensions between Jobs and John Sculley, the company’s third CEO, developed, Jobs sought to depose Sculley through a revolt, which collapsed. Apple’s board of directors sided with Sculley and relieved Jobs of his work responsibilities. Jobs subsequently left his position and started NeXT, a firm that makes powerful workstations. Around the same time, Steve Wozniak sold most of his stock, and left the company, claiming that the firm was heading in the wrong way.
With Jobs gone, the board members were willing to decide what type of computers Apple might create. They chose to sell more costly Macs to high-end clients. Because Steve Jobs was resistant to raising prices, this strategy could not be implemented until after he had departed. They concluded that even if lesser units are sold, profitability will be comparable or greater. This approach was known as “55 or die,” and Jean-Louis Gassée required that the Macintosh II had to make at least 55% profit per unit. Sculley hired Gassée to take the role of Steve Jobs.
Although Apple computers were more costly than other computers on the market, they offered advantages such as the UI that attracted customers. In 1991, Apple released the PowerBook laptop with the System 7 operating system. System 7 was responsible for providing the Macintosh OS colour, and it was utilised until 2001 when OS X was introduced.
Apple attempted to expand into new areas throughout the 1990s. Gassée was also involved in the creation of innovative products like the eMate and the Newton MessagePad, with the hope that they would propel the business to an unprecedented level.
When IBM clones became inexpensive and Microsoft’s influence grew in the latter part of the decade, Apple’s “55 or die” strategy failed. Even while Macs had an extensive software library, they were constrained. On the other hand, Windows 3.0 was on sale for low-cost commodity machines.
Apple intended to re-enter the industry, so they released a new range of devices called the Quadra, Centris, and Performa. Because Apple computers were only accessible by mail or authorised dealers at the time, the Performa was designed to be a stocking item for lifestyle merchants and department stores. Back then, there has been no Apple Stores. Customers, on the other hand, were confused by this since they didn’t comprehend the differences among the variants.
Apple has tried portable CD audio players, digital cameras, speakers, TV appliances, and other items, but they all failed. Apple’s stock price and market share dropped sharply. To compound the error, Sculley spent a significant amount of time and money porting System 7 to the new IBM/ Motorola PowerPC CPU rather than the Intel processor. Apple had no luck regaining market share since most software was designed on Intel CPUs, which were cheaper.
The Apple board had enough with the very disappointing line of devices and the pricey choice to switch to PowerPC. Sculley was then replaced as CEO by Michael Spindler, a German expatriate who had worked with Apple since the 1980s. Gil Amelio succeeded Spindler as CEO in 1996.
Amelio implemented significant reforms, including mass layoffs and cost reductions. His term was also marred by the shares of Apple hitting a 12-year low. In February 1997, Amelio chose to buy Jobs’ NeXT Computer for $429 million, bringing Steve Jobs back to Apple.
Apple – When Did It Become A Big Name?
The iPod, another Apple invention, was introduced in 2001. It was advertised as having thousands of music tracks worth of memory on its 5GB hard drive, which was an astonishing accomplishment for an MP3 player at that very time.
In 2003, Apple launched the iTunes Music Store to augment this. This followed the introduction two years before of iTunes, Apple’s digital music software solutions. In 2003, Apple introduced a variant for Windows, and over the next several years, it began moving out to the rest of the globe. The iTunes Music Store was a convenient method for US residents to legally purchase music online; in 2006, it changed its name to the iTunes Store to include video services too. In 2005, Apple computers had Intel chips, allowing them to run Windows. All Apple PC hardware, including iMacs and MacBook Pros, will be Intel-based in the future.
In 2007, Apple Computer Inc. changed its name to Apple Inc. to reflect its expanded product line. 270,000 iPhones were ordered during the first 30 hours after its release, earning it the moniker “Apple’s destiny changer.”
The debut of the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad devices were met with overwhelming success. Apple introduced the App Store in July 2008 to offer third-party iPhone and iPod-Touch software. The App Store sold 60 million apps in a month and generated an average daily income of $1 million. Because of the iPhone’s success, Apple became the world’s third-largest mobile device provider.
In October 2010, Apple stock achieved an all-time high of $300. On August 24, 2011, Steve Jobs stepped down from his role as CEO owing to health concerns and was succeeded by Tim Cook. Jobs died on October 5, 2011, bringing an end to a great period for Apple and a major shift in the company’s history.
Apple, on the other hand, continues to dominate the market with ground-breaking technical marvels.
Apple’s mission is “to bring the best user experience to its customers through its innovative hardware, software, and services.”
Apple – Business Model
Apple’s business model is divided into two parts: products and services. In 2021, Apple earned more than $365 billion in revenue, with $191.9 billion coming from iPhone sales, and $38.3 billion from accessories and wearables (AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, Home Pod, iPod touch, and accessories), $35.2 billion from Mac sales, $31.86 billion from iPad sales, and $68.4 billion from services.
Products – iPhone, Mac, iPad, as well as wearables, home, and accessory devices, are among the product lines (Air Pods, Apple-Watch and more)
Services – AppleCare+, Digital Content Stores and Streaming Services, and the AppleCare Protection Plan, Apple’s Cloud Services, Licensing, and other services like Apple ArcadeTM, Apple News+, Apple CardTM, and Apple Pay, a cashless payment service, are all part of the services business.
Apple – Investments
Date
Organization Name
Round
Amount
May 5, 2022
CNote
Corporate Round
$25M
Dec 6, 2021
Trala
Venture Round
$6.9M
Nov 4, 2021
Lime
Convertible Note
$418M
Aug 26, 2021
VamosVentures
Corporate Round
–
Aug 26, 2021
SweetBio
Corporate Round
–
Jun 22, 2021
Alabama A & M University
Grant
$1.3M
Jun 17, 2021
Morgan State University
Grant
$6.3M
May 7, 2021
II-VI
Post-IPO-Equity
$410M
Mar 31, 2021
UnitedMasters
Series B
$50M
May 7, 2020
Copan Diagnostics
Grant
$10M
Apple – Acquisitions
Acquiree Name
About Acquiree
Date
Amount
Joby Aviation
Joby Aviation is an aerospace transportation company developing electric aircrafts.
Apr 1, 2022
–
Credit Kudos
Credit Kudos is a credit bureau that uses financial behavior and data through open banking to measure creditworthiness.
Mar 23, 2022
$150M
AI Music
Exploring the relationship between music and AI to enable a new age of music consumption
Feb 7, 2022
–
Paws, Inc
Paws, Inc., was founded in 1981 by cartoonist Jim Davis, as a creative house to support Garfield licensing.
Aug 30, 2021
–
SourceDNA
SourceDNA is a code similarity engine enabling companies that make or sell code to track what’s inside apps.
May 6, 2021
–
Vilynx
Vilynx increases engagement, efficiency, and insight with leading products for Publishers in the digital world.
Oct 27, 2020
$50M
Scout FM
Scout FM is a hand-curated podcast radio stations personalized with the power of data and artificial intelligence.
Sep 24, 2020
–
Spaces
SPACES designs VR, AR and MR experiences for theme parks, retail, and other public locations worldwide.
Aug 24, 2020
–
Mobeewave
Mobeewave is a Canadian-based startup that allows any mobile app to accept in-person payments with no extra hardware.
Aug 1, 2020
$100M
Fleetsmith
Fleetsmith puts Apple device management and security on auto-pilot.
Jun 24, 2020
–
Apple – Competitors
Microsoft, Samsung, Lenovo, Dell, Sony, HP, Xiaomi, Asus, Huawei, and Oppo are the top competitors of Apple.
Apple – Future Plans
Every year in June, Apple has its global Annual Developers Conference, and in 2022, the keynote will be held on June 6. Apple will use the event to debut its next-generation software, which will be available in the autumn.
Apple is said to be developing a folding iPhone with a screen size of 7.5 to 8 inches and a release date of 2023 at the utmost. Apple is reported to be working on interactive virtual goggles with an inbuilt processor, dedicated high-end displays, and a Reality Operating System. The gadget will combine hand gestures, touch panels, and voice activation for interaction, and it is projected to cost around $3,000. In 2023, the AR/VR headset is projected to be released.
Apple is working on upgraded 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max processors. The M2 Max processor will include a 12-core CPU and a 38-core GPU, and the new computers will be available in 2023.
The storyline of Apple’s electric vehicle research has undergone numerous plot twists, but reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that the company is still targeting a completely autonomous automobile, instead of just a technology offering, with a launch date between 2023 and 2025.
Apple – FAQs
What does Apple do?
Apple Inc. is a global software company headquartered in Cupertino, California, that specialises in portable electronics, software applications, and internet services
When was Apple founded?
Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne, and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computers Company as a business deal on April 1, 1976.
Which companies do Apple compete with?
Microsoft, Samsung, Lenovo, Dell, Sony, HP, Xiaomi, Asus, Huawei, and Oppo are some of the companies Apple competes with.
World eCommerce business emerged in the year 1982 by a company named Boston Computer Exchange where the primary motive was to sell computers online. These days, the eCommerce business is thriving as people are looking for new ways to become bosses of their businesses. The eCommerce trend is even going higher since the world has hit the pandemic. It has given ample opportunities to various business executives and entrepreneurs for selling their products and setting up their online stores.
However, setting up an online store is not enough. In this time of increasing competition, it is essential for you to indulge in great marketing strategies to attract more customers.
One of the best ways to market your store is to run ads for the store on different platforms. This way, you will be visible to a large audience and thus, more chances of attracting potential customers. So, before starting an eCommerce business, certain things must be taken into consideration to effectively generate revenue from the online purchases made by the customers.
Now that you have prepared your mind to be your boss, you should be thinking about the initial steps towards a successful eCommerce platform. Here are a few important keys that you should consider:
Design a superb website.
Use high definitional quality for your product display.
Make a distinctive selling presentation.
Ensure an outstanding customer network & support.
Create a marketing budget.
Apart from all these, fetching traffic to the online store to reach a more targeted audience is also a prerequisite. Therefore, before you offer customer support to your clients, you have to make sales of your products first, through an exceptional voice.
Thus, you have to keep in mind all of the above-mentioned key points are necessary and should work hand in hand for you to run your eCommerce business successfully.
Many entrepreneurs often open online stores and focus on any one of the key elements and run into a loss. So, to prevent your business from losses, make sure to have a proper plan in hand.
Factors for Selecting Ecommerce Platform
Now that you already have a business plan for launching your eCommerce store, there are a few key points that you should consider before investing in the online store. These are as follows:
Costing
Different eCommerce comes with several packages, you should always go for the one that looks cost-efficient to you. Often it is seen that lump sum payments have resulted in a bad investment. Therefore, prepare a budget in your mind and stick to that. You can select web hosting after comparing the prices with different providers to get the best deal.
Web Designing
The website should look user-friendly for the customers. From the capture page to the sign-out page your customers should get an excellent experience so that they keep coming back to shop from your online store.
Various eCommerce platforms make their websites theme-based. You can get these themes free of cost or even pay prices ranging for the premium themes.
Function & Programming
You can also customize the functionality of our eCommerce business with the help of coding and programming methods in the background. This can benefit you if you are trying to set up your online business effectively and competitively as compared to others.
Security
Customer data protection should be on the top priority list for an eCommerce business owner. There will be a lot of payment transactions happening on your online store page. Therefore, you should select the platform where the data of these customers are secured properly. Hence, your company will not lose any loyal customers.
Maintenance
To run a successful eCommerce online site, you cannot pay the fee once and get done with it. You will have to check if it is working smoothly and effectively to reach your targeted audience or not.
If the eCommerce site has no subscription price then you have to pay for an SSL certificate which is a yearly cost.
Per Month Hosting
You can independently host your eCommerce business which has no subscription cost as a hosting charge. For instance, Woo-commerce is such a platform that will help you to get the hosting management depending on the traffic of the web.
Business Software Integration:
It is indeed frustrating to begin from the scratch and shift to a new platform when your eCommerce has a business software aligned. Therefore, you need a platform that can smoothly combine with the existing system and provide solutions without any extra price.
Advertisement & Sales
A comparison amongst the best eCommerce platform for running ads for enhancing the digital platform is necessary. When you go through the evaluation process, you should keep in mind that every platform has its unique advantages and disadvantages regarding advertisements. On the other hand, you have a specific budget. Therefore, choose a platform that can suit your requirements.
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Top Platforms to Run Ads for Your Ecommerce Store
Cost-per-click of ads on social media platforms worldwide (2021)
The eCommerce market is highly competitive. Hence, every entrepreneur is searching for new ways to promote their goods and services. Often marketing the products becomes a complicated task and sometimes even after putting in the effort, it does even reach the targeted audience.
Again for a single user or entrepreneur, it becomes a tedious job to do all the tasks like handling social media, tracking products, checking emails, testing, analysis, etc at one time.
So, to ease up the things a bit and take the most advantage of your marketing strategies, the following are some of the best platforms where you can run ads for your eCommerce store:
Google Ads
Google Ads – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
No one can beat the efficiency and effectiveness of the strategies led by Google in the digital marketing industry. Google’s marketing platform is running the digital business for a long time. All the analysts and marketers have appreciated the advanced tools present in Google ads.
A user can use the Google Ad services via paid promotion on SERPs. For advertising purposes, the users can use the Google Display Network facility from where the ads will be produced on relevant websites. To get new clients or even boost up your brand, Google ads can be the best platform.
It was previously known as Double click where there was a combination of establishing tool buildings and an interface for huge data. There are few platforms like Shopify or Magento which can smoothly connect to Google ads via API.
There is no doubt in the fact that Google is known to everyone all over the world. Also, a great benefit of using this platform is its excellent display network. So, in case you want your brand name to reach a huge audience of shoppers, then it can be very helpful.
You can manage analytics, surveys, optimizations, tagging, or even display ads, etc from this platform.
Pros
It is ideal for small businesses.
It is an affordable platform to run ads.
Provides a huge networking display giving accessibility to over 2.3-3.0 billion audience searches.
It boosts brands easily.
You can integrate it into any other software for marketing.
Cons
Rates can rise up to $100,000-$150,000 each year for larger business units.
Customer service is limited.
Marketers can often get confused and face difficulty in handling the software.
Microsoft Bing – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
After Google, Bing has also reached popularity over the years in networking and ad promotions. According to Microsoft, around 14.5% of approximately global market share is ruled by Bing.
As an entrepreneur, if your target audience consists of shoppers, then you should go for Bing ad services. Also, a feature in Bing is launched called Bing shopping which is the same as Google Shopping Ads. This makes it a great and efficient platform for running ads for your eCommerce store.
Pros
The competition between Bing and Google is less. It has been observed that the cost per click on the ads here is around 70-72% less in regards to that of Google ads.
If you want a different set of audience bases, then a Bing ad is apt for you. The best part of advertising on Bing is to get the ad promotion on AOL, Yahoo, etc. add campaigns.
Cons
The features of the tool are not as advanced as compared to the other ad platforms.
The target audience reach is less in comparison to Google ads.
Facebook Ads Manager
Facebook ads – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
In 2022, no one can think of advertisements without social media ad campaigns. Here, the first name that comes to mind is Facebook Ad manager. This is a popular choice for all business units to promote their brands across a large audience. Starting from whirly ads to extensive stories, there are numerous features in these social media platforms for promoting any brand.
To fetch relevant customers based on their interest, behavior, demography, etc. these social media ad campaigns are the best idea for your eCommerce store.
According to the studies of 2020 data, it is seen more than 2.7 billion people are on Facebook. Therefore to reach potential clients and users making use of this platform is important. Facebook ads definitely play a vital role in advertising your brand, selling the products, and retaining loyal customers.
Pros
It is easy to reach a large audience.
Different and unique formatting for ads.
Cost-effective & budget-friendly.
Reaching the targeted clients becomes easier according to their age, gender, demographics, and interests with the help of this platform.
Cons
Small brands may face challenges to get specific ads.
The conversion data is not reliable due to the latest Apple IOS 14.5 update.
Instagram Ads
Instagram ads – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
In this context, you should know two vital things about Instagram;
81% of Instagram users utilize the platform for enquiring about the products and brands.
Around 130 million users tap or click on the shopping-related posts per month.
The promoters can either create reel videos or image-based ads for branding the products or services entitled to them. It becomes easy for reaching the targeted audience here. Moreover, you can link the ads directly to your shopping websites or product pages which again results in a significant amount of customer engagement.
Pros
Reaching the target audience in less time.
The effective sale is guaranteed through the unique ad formats for instance stories, IGTV videos, reels, etc.
Any client can purchase the product without even logging out from Instagram as the ads displayed are aligned with the landing page of the products or websites.
Cons
It can be an issue for aged clients to purchase products or services via Instagram as many are not very well-equipped with the platform yet.
The contents posted on the Instagram platform require top-notch visual strength. This will make your brand different from others and people will be bound to choose your service. So, all this can be pretty expensive at times.
YouTube Ads
YouTube ads – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
To enhance brand promotion and awareness, YouTube is doing fantastic business all over the world. The best part about these ads on YouTube is that they are helpful to drive enough traffic to your store. Therefore, if you are planning to set up your online store, YouTube ads can be a considerable option that can successfully give you revenue leads.
Pros
Youtube is a part of Google’s promotion. Hence, there is already a strong data presence and tremendous capability to reach the audience.
It can reach different and diverse clients all over the world in less time.
You can expect inbuilt engagement of customers, viewers, or audience. For instance, if anyone is researching educational videos, the YouTube ads in between can take them to your store landing page through video ads.
Cons
It is a bit expensive as compared to other platforms.
Often users skip the videos because of the format of the ads displayed.
Twitter Ads
Twitter ads – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
Twitter started in 2006 as a popular social media platform. This is probably not the first platform that comes to people’s minds when they think of running ads. It is mainly created for opinions and news from people all over the world. So, this makes it a meaningful platform with a huge user base that should be taken into consideration for running ads.
Pros
The high engagement rate with the Twitter ads is possible as Twitter has a re-tweet option with which it becomes easy to reach more people and get more views.
Cons
Twitter ads are expensive as compared to Facebook ads.
Pinterest Ads
Pinterest ads – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
Pinterest plays a significant role in marketing via visual illustrating ads similar to Instagram. It also helps in boosting the audience’s reach like any other social media platform. In core search results, there is promoted ad facility provided by Pinterest which are shown as pinned posts. This is a great way to get your store the visibility it needs.
As of January 2021, it is seen the number of female audiences is 78% as compared to the male audience on Pinterest. The platform helps over 444 million users every month and 91% of weekly pinners in their shopping decisions.
Pros
The conversion rate is pretty high here.
Pinterest is less annoying or disturbing for the users who are using Pinterest as the ads are less interruptive.
Cons
The platform is not user-friendly in terms of sales in comparison to Google Ads.
Amazon ads – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
Amazon mainly focuses on reaching customers who love shopping. This helps to portray the products in the key results or search results. Therefore, it becomes an easier task for the shoppers to get a view of the wide range of products available on the site which is offered by your eCommerce store.
The easy way to set up the interface and ad portrayal help to make the advertisement process smooth. Moreover, the customers can see them and select their products in a quick time.
Cons
As an entrepreneur, you have to pay an extra referral fee apart from the advertisement rate. The amount may go up to 10-15% approximately depending on the variation of the products.
Amazon has few strict rules for the sellers. For instance, at times, there are shipping rates, order cancellation charges, etc.
Taboola
Taboola – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
Taboola is significantly known for its advertising base, especially for the newbie business owners looking for marketing platforms through advertisements. Exceptionally creative promotional ads have campaigned through this platform. They either use informational content or advertorials which they produce on the sites.
Taboola ads do not resemble anything like regular advertisements hence, it becomes a hassle-free task to engage customers’ interest. Again the presence of domestic tools for advertisements helps in tracking, publishing, and producing the regional promotional campaigns. It serves best for brand promotion, brilliant audience visibility, and other contexts in various marketing channels.
Pros
Awesome customer response.
User friendly.
Smooth campaign report projections.
Uncomplicated calculation of performance metric possible.
Cons
Approval of the contents from Taboola is a very time-consuming process.
Points to Consider
Pay per click policy is more on Google shopping ads.
Bing Ads till now, is not as great as compared to Google Ads as it faces challenges in reaching more audiences.
Fashion, DIY, Beauty, Jewellery, Shopping, and Food – Ads regarding all these fields on Instagram reach targeted clients in an uncomplicated way. The best way to showcase the product or service is to use HD images or Reel videos.
Similar to Instagram, Facebook Ads work hand in hand.
To make successful revenue from clients on Youtube, the creators should focus on explanatory videos or review videos. These videos should be high end and there should be accurate clarity. The exact visual presentation of the products or services and comparison between other services or products can help clients understand it in a better way. It enhances more chances of an effective sale.
Twitter can be a platform for boosting service or job-related brands. The audience present on Twitter is mainly school, college-goers, or even freshers or working employees looking for a job change or part-time jobs. Again, any teaching or education-related brands or websites can also fetch customers from there.
The female audience is mostly found on Pinterest. Thus, this platform has a beautiful opportunity for brands dealing with crafts, DIY, and gardening products.
Brands that have a high-profit outcome and already have a stable customer base should opt for Amazon ads.
Ad Platforms & Conversion Rates
There are several contents available on the internet every day. Now when you are planning to set up your brand you have to understand that the conversion rate should be high to get a successful sale of your products and services.
What is the Conversion Rate?
The digital retail market is growing every day and is becoming highly competitive. Setting up an online store is not an easy task if you are not getting any sales.
Imagine you have already a promising website with an amazing product display. The reach of the product is also high. Hence, there is a decent amount of traffic.
You have to make shoppers buy the products from the website and not only view them. Here comes the concept of conversion in the eCommerce business. In simple terms, conversion rate refers to the number of conversions divided by the total number of visitors to a website.
It can be dependent on a few things like the cost of the product, the niche of our industry, and of course your audience. Therefore, all conversion rates in every eCommerce industry are not the same.
Advertising Channels and Their Conversion Rates
Average conversion rate by advertising channels
According to Heap, Google ads stand number one in turning the high conversion rates of 8.2%. Next up are Bing ads with a conversion rate of 7.6% on an average. Facebook has a conversion rate of around 4.7%, Instagram 3.1%, and Pinterest 2.9%. Other ad platforms which turn to fewer conversion rates but are effective are Twitter (0.9%), Snapchat (0.6%), and YouTube (0.5%) respectively.
Conclusion
The primary aim of social and digital ads is to manage traffic and bring about more revenue. With the evolution of digital media and content marketing, an entrepreneur needs to select a faithful platform to showcase their products and bring more sales. Therefore, before choosing any of the ad platforms, you should check the limitation and advantages of your own business and brand. It should match the appropriateness of the platform to reach more audiences and engage them successfully.
FAQs
Which platforms are the best for online advertising?
The following are the best platforms for online advertising:
Google Ads
Facebook Ads
Instagram Ads
Bing Ads
Twitter Ads
Amazon Ads
Can I advertise online for free?
You can advertise online for free by registering with Google My Business. It is a free tool that enables you to create a listing for your business so that it can be easily located on Google searches.
Which is the number 1 eCommerce site?
Amazon is the number 1 eCommerce site, not only in America but also in most other countries.
Which social media platform is the best for my business?
The following are the best social media platforms for your business:
A landing page is the first page a customer lands on after they click on your ad. It is often overlooked by marketers, but in reality, it can make or break your business. With the recent changes in Google’s algorithm, it is imperative to have a plan to ensure that conversions are increased.
Online businesses can be made profitable only when the marketers and business owners have information about the activities of the visitors visiting their website. This includes sending responses via forms, subscriptions, and purchasing products through the site. So, when a person visits your website and completes a desired action that makes for the conversion rate. Your website might be getting a lot of traffic but it is of no use if it is not converting. Thus, there are various different factors responsible for increasing or decreasing the conversion rate. In this article, we will learn about different factors that affect the conversion on the landing page.
First, let us understand what Conversion rate means.
When users visit a website, they either complete the action or not. The conversion rate is the percentage of users who complete the desired action on a website. The rate is calculated by dividing the total number of converting users by the total number of users who visited the website. It is then converted into a percentage.
For instance, if there are 150 visitors on the landing page out of which only 10 visitors took action, then the ratio will be 10 divided by 150, or approximately 7%.
Factors Affecting Conversion on the Landing Page
You may get a lot of traffic on your marketing landing pages, but not many visitors get converted into leads. It can be difficult for a marketer to determine the cause of poor conversion rates. The conversion rate is one of the most important metrics of a successful website. It directly corresponds to the company’s revenue growth. Conversion rates can be optimized in different ways and with different intentions. A good landing page influences consumers to take the desired action. Here are 7 factors by which you can increase your conversion rates:
Source of Traffic
Highest Average Conversion Rate by Traffic Source
The source of traffic has a significant impact on the overall conversion rate. The chances of conversion are higher when a visitor is already interested in your products or services. Warm traffic sources, like those from emails and referrals, have a much higher conversion rate than cold traffic sources, like social media and paid advertisements. Wasting your marketing budget on irrelevant traffic will only result in a higher bounce rate.
The conversion rate of referrals and email traffic are 5.4% and 5.2% respectively, while the Adwords traffic conversion rate is 1.4%. You may review your pay-per-click campaigns to drive more traffic to your website but, more importantly, it is the source and relevance of the traffic that will improve the conversion rate of your webpage.
Page Load Time
Conversion rate optimization is equivalent to consumer experience optimization. If a webpage takes too long to load, the user tends to leave and go to other websites. Studies have shown that conversion rates are directly related to page loading speed. You can vouch for it as well, being a consumer yourself elsewhere.
The page loading time depends on several factors including user behavior, website host, page type, plugins, and efficient code. Unfortunately, most mobile webpages take longer to load as compared to their desktop counterparts. Google considers page loading time as the search engine ranking factor which means that the loading speed impacts both SEO and conversion rates. A webpage should ideally load within 2 seconds. Thus, this is another important factor that affects conversion on your landing page.
Another factor affecting conversion on a landing page is CTA. A call to action (CTA) is a prompt on the website to encourage the user to take the desired action. A large amount of information available on the internet prevents visitors from going through the entire content of a webpage. Most visitors only pay attention to the key elements of a webpage. This is why it is important to understand the psychology behind an effective CTA when competing for people’s attention. A CTA can include text, image, button, video, or animation.
Make sure that the CTA is user-friendly, creates a sense of urgency, and doesn’t come off as pushy or aggressive, which can offend the visitors. You must understand your target audience as factors like age, gender, location, and status largely affect the choice of CTA. Lastly, it should go well with the rest of the website to make it aesthetically pleasing.
Social Proof
Social proof is a concept based on social influence, stating that people follow the actions of others in an attempt to get liked or accepted among their peers. When someone is thinking of making a purchase or deciding between two brands, they would often turn to look at other people for their experience with the product. User testimonials, celebrity endorsements, social media stories, and case studies are all examples of social proof.
When a consumer visits the landing page, social proof is often the deciding factor in whether or not they will take the desired action. Social proof is a powerful marketing tool and can help you boost your conversion rates. It is similar to the bandwagon effect, which is a psychological phenomenon where one does something primarily because others are doing it.
Website Design
The design of a webpage is an important factor that affects the conversions on a landing page. Most visitors decide if they want to stay or leave a website in a matter of seconds. The psychology of color is often an underrated concept in marketing but it plays an important role in conversion, as different colors have different effects on consumers. It can distinguish your product from competitors, convey the meaning of a brand, and can set the overall mood of a website. Also, picking the right color scheme creates a sense of aesthetic balance and cohesiveness on your website. Also, consider the device your audience will be using while designing your web page.
Conversion rates on desktops are higher than those on mobile devices as many websites are easier to use on desktops. Another aspect is to use infographics to your advantage. Images can bring life to your webpage, build trust, and even help you go viral. Use high-quality images with alternate detailed views and an option to zoom in. Ensure continuity in the design, avoid using distracting backgrounds and using too many banners or animations that can take away the consumer’s attention.
Unbounce Landing Page Example
Good Content
Providing good content on your webpage is one of the most important factors that affect conversions on a landing page. Writing a great copy for your website resonates with the readers, entertains them, and thus, helps increase the conversion rates. Like any other marketing strategy, writing content begins with identifying the target audience. Once you know your target audience, it becomes easy to figure out what they want. Analyze the sales funnel stages to find the most suitable topics that empathize with your customers.
For example, if you sell fashion products, you can share how-to’s, give fashion hacks, and publish interviews with influencers. The idea is to give out valuable information that the visitors would want to know. This shows your willingness to build connections and trust with your potential customers.
No matter how well you implement a strategy to optimize conversion rates, it will not be effective unless your brand can be trusted. Nothing breaches a consumer’s trust more than doubt and ambiguity. So, to build a trustworthy brand, you need to be honest and credible. While creating a website, including an ‘about us’ section where you tell your brand’s story and its values. Introducing the visitors to your team that has helped shape your business is a good way to develop trust among them.
People rely heavily on the brand’s previous track record to trust your brand. Therefore, you must dedicate a section of your website to client reviews and testimonials to help build your brand’s reputation.
Conclusion
Overall, the most important factor that affects conversion on the landing page would be the landing page itself. If your landing page is not interesting, easy to navigate, and offers user-friendly options then your conversion rate will also be low. Conversion rate optimization is a continuous process and requires a lot of experimenting along the way. It plays a very important role in promoting and growing a brand. So, to get a higher conversion rate on a landing page, you should take the above-stated factors like good content, website design, source of traffic, and more into consideration and you will begin to see improvements.
FAQs
What is a landing page conversion rate?
Landing page conversion rate refers to the number of people who completed the desired action out of all the people who landed on your page.
What does high converting mean?
It means that people are interested in whatever you are offering and they are also able to get it easily. This shows that the visitors are completing the desired actions leading to a high conversion rate.
How can I increase my landing page conversion rate?
You can increase your landing page conversion rate by the following:
Once you start a new business in this age, just accepting cash is not enough, even though it’s a small business but nowadays people prefer paying cashlessly. Maybe you have started a new business or startup and you are wondering how to accept credit card payments from your customers. Or maybe you have an established business but haven’t yet made arrangements to accept credit card payments but now you want to. The process might seem to be difficult in the beginning but it is actually pretty easy.
In this article, we will talk about how to accept credit card payments for your small business and why it is important for small businesses to accept them. So, let’s take a look at it.
Why Should You Set up a System to Accept Credit Card Payments?
People are shifting toward digital payment methods nowadays. Digital payment options provide a sense of security to the customer and it is also very easy to pay through digital methods. Whether shopping online or offline, people nowadays prefer digital payment options to pay for the services/products they buy. Therefore, it becomes essential to set up systems to accept digital payments.
Some of the advantages of accepting credit cards are:
Your business cash flow increases and you don’t have to wait long for your payments to process.
Payments disputes are avoidable if credit cards are taken into consideration in small businesses.
How to Accept Credit Card Payments in India?
To accept payments from credit cards, you will need a machine called ‘Point of Sale or PoS’ machine. The PoS machine is a small device that allows customers to pay to your account directly from their credit cards. Every bank offers PoS machines to licensed merchants. In this article, we will see how to apply for a PoS machine in the State Bank of India (SBI), but the process will almost be the same for all the other banks.
Go To PoS SBI Website
The first step is to go on PoS SBI website. Here you will find about 8 different types of PoS Machines which are:
PSTN
Desktop GPRS
Portable GPRS
Mobile PoS
ECR Based Terminals
Bio-Metric Desktop GPRS
Bio-Metric Portable GPRS
NFC Enabled Terminal
Apply For PoS Machine
The next step is to apply for a PoS Machine. Just click on the ‘Apply Now’ button below the ‘New Merchant’ label. You will be asked to fill out a form asking for details about you and your business. Fill out the form and submit it.
Confirmation
If your application is approved, your details will be shared with the nearest branch of SBI. You will be asked to go there with your documents. Your personal and business documents will be checked and verified.
Installation of PoS
After your documents have been successfully verified, a person from the bank will visit your store and set up the payment terminal. He/she will also tell you about the functionalities of the machine and tell you how to use the machine.
And that is it. You have successfully set up a method to accept credit card payments from your customers. Please note that there are only one-time installation charges for the PoS or ‘Point of Sale’ machine and no bank will charge you anything apart from that. All the payments made by customers are directly transferred to your account with no additional fee. This is a very simple process. Therefore, any business, whether large or small should set up PoS for credit card payments.
Conclusion
All the payments made by customers are directly transferred to your account with no additional fee. This is a very simple process. Therefore, any business, whether large or small should set up PoS for credit card payments. Digital payments are
FAQs
What is the best way to take credit card payments for small businesses?
5 best ways to accept credit card payments for small businesses:
Square: Chances are, you’ve seen Square being used by many merchants and retailers.
Stripe: For those with businesses that need to go beyond credit card payments, Stripe is a good option.
ProPay.
PayPal.
Authorize.net.
How many POS terminals are there in India?
PoS terminals in India are: India has more than 4.7 million PoS terminals, as of 2021, to serve a population of over 125 crores. India has the least number of point of sale (POS) terminals among advanced economies and other emerging market economies.
How do I set up credit card payments for my business?
Setting up credit card payments for small businesses: Small businesses can accept credit card payments by using an online merchant gateway like Stripe or PayPal, by setting up a POS system with a merchant account, or by using a mobile card reader to accept credit card payments through a smartphone app.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Lido Learning.
These days conventional on-campus, in-person education is being replaced by online education. According to some research done in 2019, it was shown that the online education industry will surpass $230 billion by 2025, and considering the significant influence of the COVID-19 outbreak, online programmes are expected to experience much more growth by 2025.
In reality, the pandemic has proved how effective and long-lasting e-learning can be. It ensures that education is available in the event of a public health emergency, natural calamity, or another event that prevents students and instructors from travelling. It may serve students from all around one country and beyond, bringing in perspectives from all over the world. In addition, it has also been observed that the e-learning atmosphere promotes a better work-life balance.
Lido Learning is an ed-tech business that uses an engaging online platform to transform education for every kid in India. So, there are several other online platforms for Indian students to engage with. What is Lido Learning doing differently?
In Lido Learning’s online platform, students benefit from cutting-edge content such as interactive games and animated videos as well as a personalised platform for homework, quizzes, tasks, and motivating professors, thanks to their fascinating and enjoyable live online lessons. Despite all such perks, Lido Learning surprisingly shut down its operations in February 2022.
Read this article further to know more about Lido Learning’s founder, business model, revenue model, funding, downfall, and more.
Lido is India’s top Small Group Tuitions platform, offering sessions in Math, Science, English, and Coding to children from Kindergarten to children in 10th standard. Cutting-edge interactive animated video material and gamified learning taught by India’s top 5% of teachers are part of the Lido experience. Each class has a maximum teacher-to-student ratio of 1:6 to ensure that the students get ample mentoring, feedback, and clarification.
A student requires a face-to-face connection in a group of no more than 6 students with an instructor to educate them, interactive content to keep them interested, and tailored technology to boost results for optimal student learning. These three elements have been integrated at Lido to create a 21st-century classroom that is entertaining for children, trustworthy for parents, and empowering for its instructors.
Lido Learning’s exclusive Roblox game development platform is for kids to take their first leap in a game development environment.
Roblox teaches youngsters how to:
Basic understanding of the Lua code language for Roblox studio scripting.
Roblox game development fundamentals such as model creation, terrain editing, cutting through portions, and adjusting game lighting.
How to use Roblox to publish and share functional games so that others could benefit from their new game production abilities.
Lido is the finest option for kids because it outperforms all other digital learning applications and tutors.
Individual Attention: Every Lido lesson is engaging and interactive with just 6 students, ensuring that each child receives personal attention, continuous feedback, and the chance to clear up any doubts right away.
Interesting Content: Each lesson includes interactive games, HD animated films, and live quiz contests in class, all designed by Stanford, Harvard, and IIT alumni to ensure that the kids learn ideas and enjoy learning.
Real-world Qualities: Lido addresses both school and non-school abilities such as teamwork, leadership, and imagination, preparing children to be job creators rather than job seekers.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the education sector in India has been the most impacted. Today’s learning is no longer restricted to specific conventional classrooms. The government’s limits and tight safety measures have prepared the way for the new approaches.
The government, public and private schools, coaches, coaching institutions, students, and instructors have all been inclined towards embracing the digital style of the learning experience, which is a result of COVID disruptions, resulting in the EdTech revolution we are experiencing today.
The Indian EdTech business is reported to have garnered $16.1 billion in venture capital financing, up from $500 million in 2010. The K-12 segment, higher education, and upskilling sectors are driving this industry’s expansion.
India’s EdTech business is expected to reach $30 billion in the next ten years, thanks to the increasing popularity of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and distance education.
The widespread usage of mobile phones, on the other hand, is thought to improve students’ connectivity and learning capacities. Nevertheless, even as accessibility improves, pricing remains an issue for specialised EdTech devices, particularly for lower and lower-middle-income families, restricting their reach.
EdTech startups in India are looking forward to focusing on improving educational objectives, results, and student engagement through improved technical and innovative solutions.
Lido Learning – Name, Logo and Tagline
Lido Logo
The tagline of Lido Learning says, “#MakeSuccessAHabit”
Lido Learning – Founders
Founder of Lido Learning – Sahil Sheth
Lido Learning was founded by Sahil Sheth in 2019.
Sahil Sheth
Lido’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer is Sahil Sheth’s purpose is to use technology to aid students to realise their maximum potential by making learning engaging and exciting. Sahil has been involved in India’s EdTech movement since its inception, about a decade ago. He sold his first firm, Infinite Student, to Byjus and served as the business’s vice president until 2018.
During his time at Byjus, Sahil discovered that, while children enjoyed viewing self-paced videos, they favoured the real-time engagement and flow of opinions with friends and peers which can only be achieved during face-to-face, small group, live tuition lessons. Sahil completed his bachelor’s in science, mathematics, and economics from Duke University, America.
Sahil has been involved in India’s EdTech movement since its inception, about a decade ago. He sold his first firm, Infinite Student, to Byjus and served as the business’s vice president until 2018. During his time at Byjus, Sahil discovered that, while children enjoyed viewing self-paced videos, they favoured the real-time engagement and flow of opinions with friends and peers which can only be achieved during face-to-face, small group, live tuition lessons.
After figuring out all the prevailing shortcomings of conventional tuition classes, Sahil created Lido learning to compensate for the same. Lido Learning was founded with one clear aim, which is, to revolutionize the conventional local group tuition class sector by providing tech-enabled learning tools to tutors and world-class learning to all children, allowing them to achieve their maximum capabilities in the classroom and even beyond.
In 73 days, Sahil Sheth and his team built the platform. The platform’s testing began with kids in Delhi and Mumbai, followed by Chandigarh and Lucknow. Moreover, the creators discovered that their concept was more interesting and engaging than traditional tuitions throughout the testing.
During the trials, they discovered that parents in smaller cities were delighted that their children were receiving the same high-quality education as children in larger cities.
Sahil Sheth commented on this, saying, “Students in smaller towns were thrilled to be getting the same product and the same quality of teachers that students in the bigger cities were getting. That is when Lido’s vision changed. It was not just about making tuition classes convenient anymore, it was about democratizing education for all.”
The student-to-teacher ratio at LIDO is 1:6. LIDO is also giving their kids a “Rockstar teacher” who will educate them with “interactive content” to keep them engaged. They also have a customised platform to help them enhance their outcomes.
Lido Learning – Vision and Mission
Lido’s mission is to inspire and empower every child for the future.
Lido Learning – Business Model
Lido’s business model is B2C Education Solutions – companies that provide online courses, tutoring, educational materials, interactive toys, learning games, and so on.
Lido is a platform enabling students to take live online lessons. Math, English, and science are among the disciplines taught online. It offers self-paced lessons, discussion-based lectures, individualised practice, performance monitoring, and other features for smaller groups of students.
Its income strategy is subscription-based. Lido Learning now offers materials and tutorials for classes V through X, however, for the firm to stay afloat, customers must pay a price to have yearly access to the tutoring.
Lido Learning – Funding, and Investors
Some of the most well-known angel investors sponsored the EdTech firm, Lido Learning. Mukesh Bansal, founder of Myntra, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm, Anupam Mittal, founder of Shaadi.com and a Shark Tank India judge, Ronnie Screwvala, founder of UpGrad, and Ananth Narayanan, founder of MedLife.
Date
Round
Amount
Lead Investors
Sep 10, 2021
Series C
$10M
Unilazer Ventures
Nov 25, 2020
Seed Round
–
–
Mar 29, 2020
Series B
$7.5M
BAce Capital
Nov 11, 2019
Series A
$3M
Ronnie Screwvala
Lido Learning – Competitors
Lido Learning’s top competitors include Vretta, Cuemath, WhiteHat Jr., Vedantu, BYJU’s, ENpower, Lawpilots and Uvaro.
Lido Learning – Downfall
Lido Learning is an EdTech firm, based in India, whose demise came as a huge surprise to the market. Lido Learning abruptly pulled the plug on February 4, 2022, leaving 150 employees with serious doubts about the future of the company.
Inability to Pay the Workforce Their Salaries
Employees are a firm’s foundation; without them, the firm would not be able to run properly. Now, a corporation must adequately care for its employees to achieve this. When the teachers and personnel of Lido Learning were not paid, a red flag was raised. Teachers and employees resorted to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the firm when their salaries were not paid. They still haven’t paid pending salaries for the people they fired back in January 2022.
Inability for Collecting Funding
Even though Lido Learning has raised $24 million in funding to date from well-known investors such as Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Anupam Mittal, several organisations who intended to participate in the startup backed out at the last minute owing to the epidemic. Several investment arrangements with firms like CureFit and ByteDance were cancelled. As a result, the company’s reserves were depleted, causing financial troubles.
No Refunds for Customers
Another major cause for this EdTech’s collapse is that the company’s consumers were not effectively treated, their needs were not satisfied, and the service was poor. Some expectations were not met when clients requested to end the trial period, and refunds were not issued. The termination of their memberships resulted in poor word of mouth and negative comments from consumers, and the company’s image suffered as a result.
Marketing is the elixir of a business, if done properly it can take your business to the top of the world and make it invincible. It is the most important step of a business. Without marketing, the survival of your business and the accomplishment of the dream of your entrepreneurship is not possible. Therefore, before emerging into the path of business, you need to be aware of marketing and its strategies
Once anyone developed the marketing strategy there is a “7P formula” to evaluate and grow the business. The 7Ps model was originally devised by E. Jerome McCarthy and published in 1960 in his book Basic Marketing. Staying ahead of the digital marketing game can be tough, especially in the world of more competition and many trends and tactics. As products, markets, customers, and needs change rapidly, you must continually revisit these seven Ps to make sure that you are on track so that you achieve the maximum results possible in today’s marketplace.
The marketing professionals who shape and implement a marketing strategy contribute directly to the economic growth of the nation. Marketing focuses on the most fundamental requirements of companies to identify customers, and research their needs and preferences. In this article, we will discuss the 7P of marketing, so let’s get started.
The product is the goods or services that the customer buys. When you market your product you need to think about the key features and benefits that the customers want or need. Ask yourself critical questions like “Is your current product or service, or a mix of products and services, appropriate and suitable for the market and the customers of today? Is the product or service you’re offering enough for your customers?”
The perfect product must be given value to the customers and also make a good impression. Some points you must keep in mind while deciding what product you should offer are below:
Quality
Image
Brand
Features
Variants
Mix
Support
Customer service
Use occasion
Availability
Warranties
Price
It tells how much the customer pays for the product. This refers to the pricing strategy for your products and services and how it will affect the customers. Your pricing should be in such a way that it brings profit to your business. It is the only element in the marketing that generates revenue others represent the cost. Develop the habit of continually examining and reexamining the prices of the products and services you sell to make sure they’re still appropriate to the realities of the current market and its trends. Many companies have found that the profitability of certain services and products doesn’t justify the amount of effort and resources that go into producing them.
Pricing positions you in the marketplace. The more you charge, the value or quality your customers will expect for their money. Some points you must be kept in mind are below:
Positioning
List
Discounts
Credit
Payment methods
Free or value-added elements
Place
The place is all about how the product is distributed to the customer. The place where the customers buy a product, and the means of distributing your product to the right place will be appropriate and convenient. The product must be in right place at the right time in the right quantity. Customer surveys have shown that delivery performance is one of the most important criteria for the supplier. Sometimes change in place increases the sale from the previous place.
The place also means the display of your products in customer groups it may be in varieties ways like High Street, Mail Order, or the more current option via e-commerce or an online shop. Some points you must be kept in mind are below:
Trade channels
Sales support
Channels numbers
Segmented channels
Market Segments for Method Products
Promotion
Promotion talks about how the customer is found and can be persuaded to buy the product. Promotion is the way of communicating what it does and what it offers to the customers. It includes activities such as branding, advertising, PR, corporate identity, sales management, special offers, and exhibitions. Promotion must gain attention, be appealing, and tell a consistent message above all to give the customer a reason to choose your product.
Promotion does not just mean communicating with customers. It is just as important to ensure your internal stakeholders are aware of the value and attributes of your products. Some of the elements of promotion are:
Marketing communications
Personal promotion
Sales promotion
PR
Branding
Direct marketing
People
This P of marketing says that the people who make contact with customers in delivering the product. The reputation of your brand rests in people’s hands. When you give excellent customer service you create a positive experience for your customers, and in doing so market your brand to them. Having the right people is essential because they are as much a part of your business offering as the products/services you are offering. Develop the habit of thinking in terms of the people inside and outside of your business who are responsible for every element of sales, marketing strategies, and activities.
To be successful in business you must develop the habit of thinking I term exactly who is going to perform each task and responsibility. Some points you must be kept in mind are below:
Individuals on marketing activities
Individuals on customer contact
Recruitment
Culture/Image
Training and skills
Remuneration
Process
It tells the systems and processes that deliver a product to a customer. The process of giving service and the nature of those who deliver are crucial to customer satisfaction. Having a good process ensures two things:
Small improvements in the processing or external appearance of your product or service can often lead to completely different reactions from your customers. Customers are not interested in how your business runs only matters is that the system works. Process in one of the ‘P’ which is frequently overlooked. Many customers will give up, go elsewhere and tell their friends not to use this company due to the poor processes provided by the company.
This part of the process is the first expression of a company that many customers have. As a consequence, this ‘P’ could be a great source of competitive advantage if used wisely. Some points you must be kept in mind about the process are:
Customer focus
Business-led
IT-supported
Design features
Research and development
Physical
The last ‘P’ tells the elements of the physical environment the customer experiences. A service cannot be experienced before it is delivered. Physical evidence refers to everything your customers see when interacting with your business. This includes:
The physical environment where you provide the product or service.
The layout or interior design.
Your packaging.
Your branding.
Almost all services include some physical elements even if the bulk of the customer is paying for them is intangible. The physical evidence demonstrated by an organization must confirm the assumptions of the customer. Restaurants are known to be 3 stars, 4 stars, and 5 stars. All such differentiation, and the target customer that accompanies such differentiation, is because of the use of physical evidence in marketing. Some points you must be kept in mind are below:
Once you implement all the 7P in your business, it is ready to rock. Marketing helps people educate about a business’s products, services and the business overall. If a business aspires to be successful then it must implement all the 7P step by step, without missing one. These 7P are the reason for proper marketing of several popular brands.
FAQs
What are the 7P marketing mix?
The seven P of the marketing mix are:
Product
Price
Promotion
Place
Packaging
Positioning
People
What is marketing mix?
A marketing mix consists of all the various areas of a marketing plan.
These days, technology and, more specifically, software development is crucial to the development of new ideas and the advancement of businesses and startups. The city of Kolkata, which is said to be the IT capital of Eastern India, is allowing for an unconstrained path regarding technological advancements. It can be challenging to choose the best software service provider from the many that have a base office in Kolkata.
But not to worry because CBNITS, a leading provider of enterprise solutions and IT services, is the best of the best. On July 4, 2018, CBNITS India Private Limited, a private corporation, was established in Kolkata, West Bengal and is an organisation that strives to help a company transform and reach above and beyond with their digital solutions.
But why is it the best software service company, you might ask. Numerous elements make them outstanding, such as their cutting-edge technologies that enables businesses to meet the obstacles at every stage of growth. But that’s not all; let’s dig a little further and discover why CBNITS is among the top providers of software services in Kolkata.
CBNITS claims to assist you in bolstering your IT foundation and realising new opportunities that enable quicker growth with its team of over 300 skilled cybersecurity experts, cloud engineers, expert-level software engineers, UX/UI designers, and data scientists.
Back Startups up with excellent Software Support
CBNITS is designed to provide you with the greatest ERP Solutions, support you as you move your project ahead, and help you thrive. This includes the initial idea to execution, ongoing support, and managing business growth.
Overcoming The Skills Gap
Is your company not particularly technically inclined? No issue! Because CBNITS knows where to put the right people for the right project with amazing skills and talent tailored to your needs.
Cutting-Edge Technologies
The engineers at CBNITS are skilled and experienced in advanced techs like Big Data & Hadoop, Cybersecurity, Blockchain, Data Science, AI & Machine Learning, IoT & Connected Devices, Software Development, SAP, DevOps & Infrastructure, Mobile & Wearables, UX/UI and Cloud Solutions which can help you and your firm touch the skies.
What Domains does CBNITS Specialise in?
CBNITS Logo
Healthcare
Health professionals and patients looking for help frequently use Teamwellness as a platform. The software simplifies the medical facility by connecting patients and practitioners for an online consultation. From start to finish, the patients and practitioners can do everything whilst sitting at home.
The entire platform has been built by the company’s designing team using CSS and HTML and is available on iOS and Android. The technology used to make this platform includes Read Native, AWS, MySQL, CSS, Bootstrap, React, Node and HTML.
The app allows the patients to select a medical speciality, view the doctors’ profiles and portfolios, view availability on calendar requests and make an appointment, schedule an appointment, view booking status, acquire confirmation and review and make payments.
The app allows the practitioners to add medical experience and education, send meeting URLs, receive payments, and much more.
Businesses can securely communicate confidential papers with anyone within or outside the firm, thanks to the SaaS application from i2Chain. In accordance with GDPR and CCPA privacy rules, i2Chain enables banks, hospitals, accounting firms, mortgage companies, and others to securely transfer their IP, PHI, and PII with co-processing businesses. The zero-click technology from i2Chain protects documents with encryption, rules, and immutable audit logs. It is also independent of the type of cloud and storage used.
This platform was built using Electron, Node, Cryptography, AWS Cognito, React, and Blockchain technologies.
EdTech
Both parents and students can utilise the site, which is adaptable for all platforms and gives them access to their courses and assignments. Additionally, there is a forum section where users can talk with other students and teachers about their assignments and classes.
The dashboards allow parents to see their child’s progress.
The platform has a number of secure payment gateways, including Stripe, credit card, PayPal, and others, to make it simple for students to pay and for instructors to receive payment.
This platform was built using Node, AWS, React, CSS and HTML technologies.
HR Tech
To assist professionals, this platform uses machine learning and artificial intelligence by identifying their formula for professional growth and success. The behavioural skill level and in-depth analytical report of all users within the company are provided by the artificial intelligence and machine learning analytics, along with 16 free personality factor assessments, to help users identify their potential, suitability, and areas that need improvement.
The platform is easy to use, responsive on all platforms and highly secure and was built using Tiger Graph, Javascript, React Native, CSS, Java Spring, AWS RDS and HTML technologies.
E-Commerce
The platform was created by the engineers at CBNITS to enable the delivery of everyday things and household goods to your home. You can select from three possible user options, namely, admin panel, buyers, and sellers. The Seller must sign up and list all relevant information about their products on the platform. Customers can browse products, add them to carts, and check out. Customers who have purchased things have the option of leaving reviews. The admin will be in charge of maintaining the platform’s overall functionality.
The technologies used to create this platform include Node, Bootstrap, AWS, MySQL, React, CSS, and HTML.
Conclusion
Now you know why CBNITS is one of the best software services companies in Kolkata. With over seven years of experience and 1000 projects in over 20 countries, CBNITS has everything you might need to grow your business.
FAQs
Who is the founder of CBNITS?
Rajdeep Bose & Naveen Chand Bachkethi are the founders of CBNITS.
When was CBNITS founded?
CBNITS was founded in 2018.
What Domains does CBNITS Specialise in?
Major domains for which CBNITS provides software solutions are:
Healthcare
Security
EdTech
HR Tech
E-Commerce
How many employees does CBNITS have?
CBNITS has 200-500 employees.
What is the revenue of CBNITS?
The operating revenue of CBNITS ranges from INR 1 Crore – 100 Crore annually.
As we all know, two-wheelers constitute a considerable part of the Indian motor vehicle ecosystem and are an integral mode of transportation in some regions. Though two-wheelers have been around since the early 20th century, it is only a decade old that they have started to make their way into the daily lives of millions of Indians.
The number and types of two-wheelers available in India have expanded to include scooters, motorcycles, mopeds, and motorcycles that are mostly fuel-driven. On the other hand, there is a relatively small but fast-growing segment of electric two-wheelers, also known as e-two-wheelers.
These are gaining popularity and have been making headlines due to the apparent benefits they bring with them. But how long will these e-two-wheeler companies sustain? Well, this must be a question that every potential buyer has in his mind when he or she decides to buy one.
In the recent past, though, India has made it clear that they want nothing less than 7 million EVs on their roads by 2030. This seems like a tall order, and India will have to exert a lot of effort towards making it possible. Let’s check out what Indian Electric Two-Wheeler Industry looks like and is it able to survive;
The electric two-wheeler industry has been growing steadily over the last few years, but it still remains a niche market. The first electric scooter was introduced in 2013 by a startup called Ather Energy, and since then, there has been no looking back.
The company sold 1,000 units of its Thunderbird in 2016 and manufactured over 3,000 units of this model in 2017. The company also plans to launch an electric motorcycle in the next couple of years and plans to sell around 100,000 units of this model. This is just one of many brands that have begun manufacturing electric two-wheelers in India.
The electric two-wheeler industry is at its nascent stage in India. The Government has recently announced a plan to make all vehicles driven by electricity by 2030.
Support by the Government
The electric two-wheeler industry has been the center of attention for quite some time. The main reason for this is the rising pollution and the need to reduce it. The move toward electric vehicles is a step in the right direction. However, many factors need to be taken into account before making a decision on which vehicle to buy.
It has been announced that the Indian Government will invest $60 billion in electric vehicle production by 2025 as part of their “Make in India” campaign. This is expected to boost sales by 50% over the next five years.
The number of electric two-wheelers sold per month has steadily increased since 2013, when they first hit the market, with only 1,000 units being sold that year. Still, this figure has now climbed to over 20,000 units per month, according to recent reports published by SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers).
The Indian Government aggressively pushes the electric vehicle (EV) agenda to reduce pollution and boost green energy. It plans to achieve the target of 100% electric mobility by 2030. The Government has also announced several incentives, such as reduced GST and better infrastructure for EVs, among others.
The industry is still at its nascent stage in India, and the demand for electric two-wheelers is mainly driven by e-commerce companies like Flipkart, Amazon, etc. However, growth in demand for electric vehicles has been slow due to poor infrastructure, lack of awareness, high cost, and customer preference toward conventional bikes over electric bikes.
Growth of Electric Two-Wheeler Companies in India
Electric two-wheelers are gaining momentum in the Indian market. Several companies have entered the electric two-wheeler segment in the last two years. These include Hero Electric, Ather Energy, Zoomcar, Ola Electric and TVS Motor Company.
Some of these companies have already launched their products, and some others are about to launch them soon. This has led to increased competition in the industry which will benefit customers in terms of better products at lower prices. However, there are still some challenges that these companies need to overcome before they become profitable entities.
What Is Propelling the Growth of Electric Two-Wheelers?
Electric two-wheelers are a relatively new concept in India. The idea is not new, though, with countries like China have been using electric scooters and bikes for a few years now. Indian cities have been witnessing a surge in the number of people opting for public transport due to traffic congestion and pollution levels, which has led to the increased usage of electric vehicles.
The need for an alternative method of transportation has gained more importance than ever before. The number of people opting for electric two-wheelers as their primary mode of commute has grown manifold over the past few months, especially after the Delhi government announced its plan to buy 10,000 battery-operated bikes from BSF to be used by its security personnel.
The major factors driving this growth are:
Increase in disposable income
Government support and subsidies
Increasing awareness about pollution and climate change.
What Is Restricting the Growth of the Electric Two-Wheelers?
Electric two-wheelers are gaining popularity in India. The electric two-wheeler industry is anticipated to grow at a healthy pace in India and is expected to become a USD 3 billion market by 2025. However, some factors are restricting the growth of the industry in India:
High Manufacturing Cost
The manufacturing cost of an electric two-wheeler is high compared to conventional bikes due to the use of expensive lithium-ion batteries and other electronic components. The cost of manufacturing an electric scooter or bike is around USD 1,600 while manufacturing a conventional motorbike is around USD 500-600.
Experts believe that if the cost of raw materials used in making electric bikes comes down, then it can help reduce the overall manufacturing cost significantly.
Limited Availability of Charging Infrastructure
There is limited availability of charging stations for electric two-wheelers in India which will restrict their growth in the next few years unless considerable investments are made by manufacturers and government bodies to build charging infrastructure across cities and towns across India.
There were only about 1,000 charging points across India as of December 2018, which means that there is only one charging point per every 100 km, making it difficult for users to charge their batteries while commuting between cities or towns.
Low Battery Life
Another challenge facing this industry is that its batteries do not last long enough before they need charging again; often, they only last 10 kilometres or less before needing recharging again.
The Hype Surrounding the Two-Wheeler Industry
The hype surrounding the industry is more than just a marketing gimmick. The Government has been actively promoting the use of electric vehicles in India. The Government believes that if many commuters adopt these vehicles, it will help reduce pollution. It also hopes that this will lead to economic benefits by reducing fuel imports and improving job creation.
The Government has set up several incentives for such purchases to encourage people to make this switch. For example, buyers get an additional income tax deduction under Section 80EE of the Income Tax Act.
This gives them a deduction of Rs 1 lakh on an electric car and Rs 50,000 on an electric scooter or motorcycle. Thus, if you bought a new two-wheeler that costs over Rs 2 lakhs after March 31st, 2022, you can claim as much as Rs 50,000 as a deduction from your taxable income for each vehicle purchased during the financial year 2021-2022; this is double what you could claim in FY2020-2021.
Future Trends of the Two-Wheeler Industry
The electric two-wheeler industry is growing at a fast pace. Many companies are trying to come up with new products and services. The future trend of the electric two-wheeler industry is that it will continue to grow and become more popular in the future.
The following are some of the promising trends that can be expected in the next few years:
Increase in the Number of Electric Bikes
The number of electric bikes and scooters will increase in the coming years as more people are interested in them because they want to save money on fuel, reduce pollution, and many other reasons.
More People Will Use Electric Scooters or Bikes for Commuting Purposes
Commuting is one of the major drivers of why people are using electric scooters instead of cars or public transportation. They do not have to worry about intense traffic jams or finding parking spaces when they commute using an electric bike.
Increasing R&D Investments
The major players across the globe are investing millions of dollars in R&D activities to develop new technologies and improve existing ones. For instance, Shimano Inc., a Japan-based company, has focused on developing new products such as electronic shifting systems, road bikes, and mountain bikes since 1984. It also acquired Cannondale Bicycle Corporation in 1988, which provided it with an opportunity to strengthen its position as a leading player within the biking industry.
Steps That Should Be Taken to Sustain the Growth of the Two-Wheeler Industry
The Indian two-wheeler industry has been expanding at a healthy rate of around 20% year over year. This growth has been supported by increasing urbanization and increasing disposable income. A rising preference for automobile ownership is also driving the demand for two-wheelers. However, this growth may not be sustained in the long run if we do not take certain steps immediately.
The first step would be to improve the infrastructure of roads, highways, and other modes of transportation in India. As a result, this will significantly improve the movement of goods and people across cities and states, thereby creating job opportunities for millions of people.
The second step would be to create an environment conducive to innovation and research & development. This will ensure that new technologies are developed to help reduce pollution levels in our cities and towns.
Thirdly, we need to encourage the use of electric vehicles (EVs) as they can play an important role in reducing pollution levels in our cities and towns, as well as bring down costs associated with transportation systems due to reduced maintenance costs on EVs compared with conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs).
India needs to focus its attention on developing a strong manufacturing base for electric two-wheelers. If we develop that, then the market will indeed thrive…
The electric two-wheeler industry has a realistic chance for growth in India. The Government needs to foster the market through reduced taxes and incentives for manufacturers and suppliers of electric two-wheelers. This will allow more competition among manufacturers and easier access to parts by consumers. The Government should also focus on minimizing the cost of creating infrastructure that can support electric two-wheeled vehicles (i.e., charging stations, electricity reinforcement, etc.), as it will significantly impact the demand for such vehicles.
The market will quickly pick up, with the launch of new manufacturing facilities accelerating the transition from fossil fuels. One day, soon, we will see the day when switching to an e-bike or a car powered by electricity will be an easy choice for people in India and around the world.
FAQs
How many electric two-wheelers are there in India?
In 2021 there were nearly 1.4 lakh two-wheeler units were sold in India.
Which is the best electric two-wheeler in India?
Ola S1, Bajaj Chetak, TVS iQube, and Okinawa iPraise are some of the leading electric two-wheeler brands in India.
Which is the largest selling electric scooter in India?
Hero Electric is the largest selling scooter brand in India.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Symbo.
India is the second-largest insurance technology market in Asia-Pacific. Through technology, the insurance industry is revolutionized to a great extent. Indian customers are inclined toward tech-enabled services as it makes the process easier and more accessible. With the main insurance sectors being life insurance, health insurance, property insurance, and commercial insurance, insurance companies are innovating their services. Symbo is an insurtech startup that provides insurance covers for different businesses. Their newly launched insurance services are eyewear insurance, footwear insurance, and even fitness insurance.
Read the success story of Symbo, its founders, business model, insurance services, funding, and their marketing strategy.
Symbo is a leading embedded insurtech platform that enables any business to offer customized insurance and protection plans to their customers, right at the point of purchase. Its vision and mission are to be the world’s largest embedded insurance distribution platform providing best-in-class claims, consulting, and buying experiences to its customers and partners.
Insurance has always been a product that has been “sold” and not bought by the customer. However, they strongly believe that if you offer relevant coverage to the user in a contextual setting, the adoption of insurance will increase. They want to be the company that offers these innovative and relevant insurance products, with a very seamless and frictionless buying experience.
The core belief of the team is that insurance penetration can increase in a market like India if customers can experience the benefits of insurance at a smaller ticket size. An embedded distribution model can take this approach to masses.
Symbo – Industry
The global InsurTech market size is valued at $9.4bn as of 2020. India is the second-largest insurance technology market in Asia-Pacific and including Symbo, India has at least 66 insurtech companies accounting for 35% of the $3.66 billion in insurtech-focused venture capital invested in the APAC region.
According to a recent survey of 500+ bank customers in India from SurveyMonkey, 91% of Indian digital bank customers would be highly interested in receiving embedded insurance offers based on their transaction data, as would 95% of traditional bank customers. ‘Convenience’ is the primary driver for their interest, stated by 63%. This stands as a testimony that Indian customers are welcoming embedded insurance and the industry has a major shift toward the tech side of it while making the process of Insurance even easier and more accessible to all. It will not be long before all insurance companies will start going digital and get into the Insurtech space that Symbo is in today. While the space and services will go digital, they will also evolve drastically in their technology capabilities that will be used even 5 years from now. It is safe to say that there might be a time when Insurance of any kind will be available online and the customers will not have to worry about filling out cumbersome paperwork for the same. The next couple of years is going to be very intriguing to look forward to and see how fast this digitally driven world will change the insurance space in the best way possible.
Symbo – Founders and Team
Anik Jain, Mitesh Jain, and Adrit Raha are the founders of Symbo.
Anik Jain
He is the CEO & Co-founder of Symbo. He has 17 + years of experience working in various fields. He also has experience in leading business units at various levels like start-ups, changes management in a mature organization. He also tends to specialize in the areas of strategy, change management, P&L responsibility, insurance, team management, channel management, business development B2B, broking and sales.
Mitesh Jain
He is a CTO & Co-founder and is an Experienced Founder with a demonstrated history of working in Technology Consulting and product management. He is also an Entrepreneur with experience in incubating business initiatives, evangelizing stakeholders, influencing industry thinking, and launching and scaling up products to deliver strong business impact. He also has Strong experience in solving large-scale problems in a complex regulatory environment through deep product thinking and focus on impact.
Adrit Raha
As a Co-Founder & Co-CEO, he has shared responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the business – from the company’s mission, vision and goals to setting strategy, and direction, and, most significantly, managing my super talented troupe. He is of the strong belief that technology, platforms and protection (be it health or insurance) have, is, and will always continue to evolve, and it so happens that tech innovation is the current now. Hence – Symbo
Symbo has 100+ employees giving out their best services
Symbo – The Idea and Startup Story
Symbo was founded in 2017 with a focus on context-based, need-focused insurance that aims to help customers buy insurance covers based on their personalized needs. During the initial years, they tried to solve the problem of insurance distribution via multiple mechanisms because their vision was always to make insurance accessible to the masses. At one point they had an agent network of 1000s of agents who were using Symbo’s technology platform to distribute insurance.
One such mechanism they experimented with was embedded insurance. They worked closely with an initial set of partners to understand what kind of risks and issues their customers are facing and they co-created unique insurance products for them.
Some of the categories they launched were eyewear insurance, footwear insurance, and even fitness insurance. The customer response to these products was extremely encouraging prompting them to double down on the embedded distribution.
As of today, Symbo has over 30+ insurance partners and over 30 insurance products which are being distributed via partners.
Symbo – Services
Symbo works with partners across e-commerce, retail, fintech, and other categories. By integrating Symbo’s powerful Covergateway API, a business can instantly start offering insurance products to their customers, right at the point of purchase.
The API issues policies in real-time and Symbo has deep integrations with leading insurers in India. The entire buying journey for the users is very seamless, they can choose to purchase the coverage for the product they are buying with a simple opt-in. The claims are also handled in a digital-first way. Customers need to just upload their policy details and photographs and within 48 hours, Symbo’s claim specialists review the claims.
Their USP is that they give customized embedded insurance to the customers according to their needs, and providing API to other businesses not only benefits their customers but the online sellers as well. With a simple opt-in in the purchase journey, consumers can insure the product they are buying against common issues like accidental damage, theft, etc which standard warranties might not cover. The insurance coverage is powered by leading insurers in India and some of their largest partners include Lenskart, Bata, and Decathlon, among others.
While Symbo’s core vision was always to make insurance accessible by innovative distribution methods, Symbo pivoted from an agent-first business model (POSP) to an embedded distribution platform in the last year. The Symbo is a part of Symbo Platforms Pte, which also runs an Enterprise SAAS platform for insurance companies to manage their distribution.
Symbo – Business Model and Revenue Model
Being a platform business, Symbo’s business model is to enable distribution along with its partners and monetize by having a share in every transaction.
SAAS Platform
Insurance companies buy their product to enable capabilities for themselves to have a fleet of insurance agents at their fingertips who are accompanied by a dashboard. This product acts as a centralized tool with tons of features to make the insurance journey better for agents, buyers, and companies. As an InsurTech company, all Symbo wants to do is make insurance better by implementing automation in the tool. This entire stack has all the capabilities and features that companies would want for example monthly subscription, data, analytics, reports, super-admin, 5-level user roles, agent onboarding, and state-of-the-art UI. They have crossed $1M in this line of business.
Embedded
This is the heart and soul of Symbo. In this model, they sell $1.5 per policy (which is their average order value) contributing to their overall GWP. Part of this is sent to the Insurer to the onboard partner and they take a certain revenue share out of this as Monthly Recurring Revenue. Currently, they have 10 partners onboarded with them with around 150k policies solder per month.
Symbo – Customer Acquisition
In the early days of Symbo’s embedded business, they used to spend time at the store understanding customers’ buying behaviour. They worked with the brands to learn about the top reasons their customers were unhappy and created coverage plans that were relevant to the brand’s customers.
They spoke to as many customers as possible during their store visit and explained to them the benefits of insurance and started to sell the initial set of policies.
A lot of their learnings during the initial days of their field visit came to use as they started to scale. They spent a lot of time with store managers and staff to train them on how to sell Symbo’s products. Their marketing collaterals are designed to keep the end customer in mind.
Pivots are always challenging. As they moved from a traditional broker to a technology-first insurtech platform, they had to build the product to support the new use cases, at scale. Since they enable sales of insurance within the partner’s point of sale, they had to build the right integrations and user journeys to ensure the purchase journey is seamless for the user.
Their relationships with insurer partners were one key element that helped them execute the pivot smoothly. They had tremendous support from all the insurers for them to become an embedded insurtech platform, right from the product they wanted to enable integrations with their systems.
It is hard to market a product that lacks quality and easy for products that shine bright with quality. They knew that they have the best technology for embedding insurance be it any way possible – standee QR code or website integration. And with that, they needed to market strongly.
The moment they received a few references from their clients they immediately knew they are marketing it right. The joy of achieving successful word-of-mouth in the days of the Internet is as overwhelming as getting ample leads with low costing clicks as they have been doing before. However, they think there is still a long way to go.
Symbo – Marketing Strategy
They invite you to have a look at the Kanban board at their office where they have brainstormed many marketing campaigns and PR ideas. They have sufficient ideas with them (inside the Insurance sector itself) to create an ever-lasting dent within the subconscious of the masses. They have not set out any campaigns right now as they have kept them occupied with digital advertisements on different platforms. They will be capitalizing on our data and coming out “strong and viral” with their campaigns very soon.
Symbo – Growth
The embedded insurance business is focused on India, while the SAAS platform business has customers across Southeast Asia.
Some of their notable insurer partners are:
Reliance General Insurance
TATA AIG Insurance
HDFC ERGO
Max Bupa Health Insurance
BAJAJ Allianz
Religare
The list of distribution partners continues to grow with brands like Lenskart, Red tape, and Decathlon being some of their key relationships. With over 2M policies issued, they are growing over 30% MoM.
The plan for the next 2 years is to be able to provide customized embedded insurance in as many spaces as it is possible for us. Like most high-growth startups they are in talks with a bunch of investors and would bring in the right strategic partner who can help them fuel the business expansion.
Symbo – Funding
Symbo has raised a funding of $9.4 Million in March 2021.
Date
Stage
Amount
Investors
March 2021
Series A
$9.4 Million
Led by CreditEase Fintech Investment Fund and San-Francisco-based investment firm. Think Investments, with participation from existing investors Integra Partners, Insignia Ventures, and AJ Capital
Symbo – Advisors and Mentors
Mr Sanjeev Jha has been their mentor. He has worked, and had experience, across geographies including India, the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia, Europe and North America. He has been an advisory board member for Symbo for a year now. Apart from Symbo, he is also an advisory board member for many other companies.
They use all the white-label assets and make full use of open source tools and data available and give due credits wherever required.
Symbo – Recognition and Achievements
Symbo has been awarded the “Digital Insurance Innovation” of the year award from ET BFSI at the World BFSI Congress and Awards 2020.
The startup has also wonthe “Digital-Insurance Broker” award at SBR Technology Excellence Awards in the year 2020.
Symbo – Future Plans
At this point, they are focused on growing their partner base and growing the number of policies. Having seen some of their initial categories like eyewear, and footwear scale, they are working with the insurer to make the program and coverage a lot more exciting for the customers as well as introduce newer categories.
FAQs
Who is the founder of Symbo?
Anik Jain, Mitesh Jain, and Adrit Raha are the founders of Symbo.
When was Symbo founded?
Symbo was founded in 2017.
What are the services offered by Symbo?
Symbo provides embedded insurance for different Businesses.
