Want to boost your eCommerce sales via Instagram? This post is just for you!
With the vast number of options and strategies present on an otherwise easy to use an app like Instagram to establish yourself, it sure can become overwhelming. Here are a few tips by Mehar Gulati (Founder of Scarlet Relations) to help you take things easily in reaching your goal of boosting e-commerce sales on Instagram:
‘A picture speaks a thousand words’- These words are sure to make you panic-stricken. But don’t worry, you don’t have to be a professional to capture the perfect photos. All you need to do is use a phone with a good camera and keep in mind the following tips:
Use natural light
Avoid overexposure while taking photos (to do this, tap the brightest part of your frame on your phone before taking the photo).
The world is your stage and what you choose to show your followers about your brand is completely up to you. However, don’t be afraid to show them the real you- behind the scenes working of your brand, your team, your inspiration, a post you like, anything personal-just about everything works. At the end of the day, people feel more connected with you and your brand when you show them a more human side.
The Guide Feature
Ecommerce brands can use the guide feature to make catalogs for their viewers, be it a gifting range or different product ranges – this feature can make your customer choose what they want easily and also help them understand your range better and in a systematic way!
#UseHashtags
Using hashtags is a great way to expand your Instagram audience as they make your posts appear in the pages of hashtags you use. Make use of up to 30 hashtags per post offered by Instagram by starting out with the most popular hashtags like #instagram and then building it up to your brand’s own personal hashtag. Here’s a complete Guide to Hashtag Marketing Strategies.
Attach Swipe-up Links
Don’t forget to attach links in your stories or bio to your website for more social traffic.
Next, set your goal- it could be to drive traffic to your website, get views for a new product, increase brand awareness or increase sales. Then set your daily ad budget. On the basis of your goal and on the basis of what your target audience likes to see, you can choose the best ad format suited for you. For example, Stories, IGTvs, and Reels Ads are better for driving video views while shopping ads are better for driving eCommerce sales. There are various Social Media Management Tools that can help you get started!
Conclusion
Hope these Instagram-related tips will help you boost your eCommerce sales. Remember Instagram has become a crucial marketing tool for various businesses, so crack the strategy & get it right to your audience!
StoreKing was conceived with a simple yet powerful idea in mind – to power rural consumption and redraw the distribution capabilities for both products and services using Kirana as an Anchor. It is the only rural retail ecosystem that connects both retail suppliers and financial institutions to the vast rural population. Through end-to-end technology management, StoreKing powers the local Kirana stores to meet all the retail needs of their rural buyers.
Rural consumers currently constitute about 200 million households across India. As their disposable income levels grow and the penetration of the Internet leads to more mobile consumption, their tastes increasingly mirror those of their urban counterparts and they aspire to buy from the same brands. In fact, in 2018, rural India accounted for $484 billion of retail sales, as opposed to $396 billion in urban India – a number only expected to rise as consumption demand goes up in small villages and towns. There is, undoubtedly, a compelling reason for eCommerce brands to invest in catering to this new population of savvy rural buyers.
At the same time, however, the big eCommerce and payment brands continue to serve mostly urban customers. This is primarily because of a broken rural distribution network where large-format stores do not exist and keeping Kirana stores well-stocked with branded products is difficult. The lack of a systematic network, moreover, prevents brands from capturing relevant customer data catering to what their customers actually want, forcing rural buyers to make do with only a handful of generic product offerings in the Kirana stores. On average, rural buyers need to travel more than 20 kilometers to the nearest city to make bigger purchases.
Through its tech-enabled distribution platform, StoreKing overcomes these engagement barriers for rural consumers by helping local retailers leverage technology and fully tap their market potential. As a friendly neighborhood store that understands local preferences and speaks the local language, the Kirana is a powerful way to connect with rural customers and understand their unique preferences and challenges, which is precisely what StoreKing aims to do.
StoreKing offers a user-friendly technology platform that connects each rural Kirana directly with the brand seeking to supply its products, enabling the brand and the Kirana to work together to devise data-guided product and sales strategies. A clean and simple interface enables rural retailers to procure products and services for their customers through the StoreKing app as needed, rather than having to repeatedly travel and pick up stocks themselves. The platform is designed on the following four pillars:
Logistics – The platform offers a tech-managed, asset-light distribution network of kiranas and connecting logistics nodes. The network consolidates touchpoints in rural markets and enables stores to stay well-stocked on a daily basis.
Payments – StoreKing provides a unique resourceful approach to digitize the rural cash economy. All transactions on the platform are prepaid.
Marketing– Rural consumers are engaged via multiple mediums, exposing them to new brands and lifestyle choices.
Technology – StoreKing provides a complete app ecosystem to target and manage customers.
The other component of StoreKing’s offerings relates to financial assistance. It provides secured and unsecured loans, insurance, branchless banking, savings, and wealth management to rural retailers based on their order history and performance. HDFC Bank, Muthoot Fincorp, Hero FinCorp, have all partnered with StoreKing to enable this.
Role played by StoreKing during Lockdown
When the Covid-19 lockdown hit in March 2020, an already fragmented rural distribution and logistics network was brought to a grinding halt. At the same time, the influx of locals returning from their urban jobs spiked local demand, for which the kiranas had neither the inventory nor the manpower (owing to social distancing). With a view to empowering kiranas to make it through these challenging times, StoreKing successfully obtained all the necessary permits to continue operations during the lockdown. In addition to regularly sanitizing their warehouses and training all their staff members and partners about safety protocol, senior StoreKing members worked with kiranas to accelerate their digital growth and help them operate as self-sufficient entities.
In the initial weeks of the lockdown alone, StoreKing serviced over 10,000 kiranas, delivered two million kilograms of supplies, and operated over 700 trucks to fulfill deliveries. They also ensured that the truck operators were well-supplied with meals to help them power through long distances and all-night assignments.
StoreKing was launched in 2012 with a seed investment from Mangrove Capital and is headquartered in Bangalore. At present, it has a run-rate of Rs 500 crore in products and about 500 crores in Services with over 1000 super franchises and 25000+ franchisees. The team comprises 250+ members spanning eight states, i.e. Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra & Gujarat. The platform currently empowers over 22,000+ Kirana stores in rural India to become assisted touchpoints while driving transactions of walk-in consumers. Some of their prominent retail partners include Hindustan Unilever, Wipro, Dabur, Godrej, Marico, Reckitt Benckiser, ITC, Himalaya & many more. Their vision is to be the one-stop digital hub for rural India, catering to 70% of the country’s demand in an accessible, customer-first fashion.
Over the years, China’s Gaming Industry has grown exponentially and now houses a few of the best gaming companies in the world. The country gaming industry generated over $32 billion total revenue only in 2020, while E-sports earned more than $20.8 billion. When it comes to PC games, the Chinese gaming companies earn over $8.5 billion.
China also has the best e-sports players in the world and is among the top in the most significant game development market in the world. China is known to have over 665 million players who also spend more than 278 billion yuan on video games. Because of numerous strict regulations imposed by the Chinese Government, many Chinese gaming companies now want to focus on moving overseas markets.
China is called the gaming capital of the world as its gaming companies have provided innovative solutions at a high cost to value ratio. China currently has over 778 gaming startups in the country in 2021. The Chinese gaming companies are known to have a skilled workforce that aims in delivering quality, unique and engaging content.
These are the top ten gaming startups in China. The Chinese online game streaming industry is expected to grow to a height of a CAGR of 9% from 2021 to 2026, which means China has the potential to dominate the market with its gaming startups.
Tencent Holdings is one of the top gaming companies that was founded in 1998, with its headquarters based in Shenzhen, China. Besides gaming, Tencent also has its foothold in the sectors of entertainment, AI, advanced technology, and other internet-related services and products. Tencent Games has the largest online gaming community in China, it also is the largest digital entertainment platform in the world.
The company reportedly generated over $14.86 billion total revenue in 2019 revenue, making it the world’s largest games publisher the same year. Its most well-known games are PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings. Both PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings are globally renowned free-to-play multiplayer action games.
NetEase Games
Company
NetEase
Founded Year
1997
Headquarters
Hangzhou (China)
Funding
–
Investors
SoftBank Group
NetEase Logo
NetEase is another top IT company in China that operates and develops online PC and mobile games. The company was founded by William Ding in 1997 with headquarters based in Hangzhou, China. NetEase is now a global gaming company as it has collaborated with Blizzard Entertainment, Mojang AB and other leading global game developers.
Besides gaming, the company has also ventured into the industries of advertising, email and e-commerce services in China. The top games the NetEase has developed are Westward Journey, Tianxia III, Nostos, Onmyoji, among others.
Besides that, the company has also operated the Chinese versions of Blizzard Entertainment games like World of Warcraft, Overwatch, etc. NetEase is now ranked second place among the top mobile gaming companies in terms of its global revenue and has high ratings on both Apple and Google app stores.
Tencent, Ping An, Engage Capital, David Li, 5Y Capital, Rongjie Dong and Gaorong Capital
Huya Logo
Huya is a live game broadcasting platform that was founded in 2014 with its headquarters based in Guangzhou, China. The company provides a broadcasting software platform that allows its users to stream and take videos while playing the game.
It helps connects broadcasters to their audience and is also the provider for a wide variety of media ranging from talent shows, cooking, sports, animes, online movies, etc. Huya is also the official broadcaster of top e-sports competitions.
Hero Entertainment
Company
Hero Entertainment
Founded year
2015
Headquarters
Beijing (China)
Funding
$539 million
Investors
Huayi Brothers Media Group, Prometheus Capital, ZhenFund, etc
Hero entertainment also known as Yxgyu.com is a mobile game developer that was founded in 2015. The company has its headquarters based in Beijing, China. Hero entertainment is the developer of the Battlefield series, which is a MMA fight show. Besides game development that company is also into combat sports and mixed martial arts promotions in their country.
Giant Interactive Group is one of the best Chinese online game developers and operators of many well-known multiplayer online games. The company was founded in 2004 and has its headquarters based in Shanghai, China. Giant Interactive Group is currently one of the leading online game developers and operators in terms of revenue.
Their game ZT online is the most popular game in China in 2006, after the success of that game the company came up with Road Bin and Street Basket for android and iOS. Besides that, it has also come up with Jianghu and Xian Xia World both of which are MMORPG games. The company was also named“2016 Top Ten Most Anticipated Versatile Game Honor” by Road Crate.
Cushou TV is another leading mobile video live streaming platform with its headquarters in Hangzhou, China. Besides being an eSports video streaming platform, the company has also developed popular games like Counter-Strike and League of Legends that are well known around the world.
The company is now planning to improve its user network and expand its live video host’s network. Cushou TV has is well known for its live video-streaming platform that provides interaction sites and games, which enables E- gamers to stream their mobile phone game activities live.
Zhen Fund, Chen Hai Capital, Hanfor, Lighthouse Capital
Panda Tv Logo
Panda TV is a Shanghai-based E-sports live streaming platform that specializes in broadcasting e-sports events live. The company allows its users to stream live e-sports games, events, it also streams video and news content related to esports.
It main competitors are Douyu TV and Twitch. However, in 2019, Panda TV announced that it will end its services because it had failed to raise funds in order to keep the operations going.
Zeus Interactive is a leading game and web developer with headquarters based in Beijing, China. The company was started in 2011 and focuses on developing online mobile games.
Zeus Interactive so far has over 15 plus games and specializes in role-playing games for both mobile and PC. The company has raised more than $132 million in funding. Currently Zeus Interactive is planning to turn its games into live-action movies.
Qualcomm Ventures, GGV Capital, Steamboat Ventures, New Horizon Capital, Creaturk, Sequoia Capital China
Chukong Technologies Logo
Chukong Technologies is a well-known mobile entertainment platform with its headquarters based in Beijing, China. Besides developing mobile games, the company also has its foothold in publishing and game engine development.
The company has more than 60 published titles and its most successful game has been Fishing Joy which was launched in 2011, this game gained over 12 million downloads within a year of its launch.
Madhead App
Company
Madheads
Founded year
2013
Headquarters
Hong Kong (China)
Funding
$70 million
Investors
Forgame
Madhead App is a popular game developer with its headquarters based in Hong Kong. The company is known for its Role-playing games, its most well-known games are Tower of Saviors in need and Chronos Entryway. Their games like Tower of Saviors had over 19,00,000 downloads as of 2016.
The company’s games are popular in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and other South Asian countries. It game Tower of Saviors so far has over global downloads of over 23 million. Madheads is known for providing the best user experience for all mobile gamers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the top gaming startups in China?
The top gaming startups in China are Hero Entertainment, Huya Inc, Madhead App, Chukong Technologies, Zeus Interactive, Cushou TV, Panda TV, Giant Interactive Group, Tencent and Netease.
How many gaming startups are in China?
China currently has over 778 gaming startups in the country in 2021.
How much revenue does China generate from Gaming companies?
The country’s gaming industry generated over $32 billion total revenue only in 2020, while E-sports earned more than $20.8 billion.
Supply Chain Network is the network between the source of the product to the customer. Each company needs to distribute the product at a low cost to the customer. So we are going to see a supply chain network design case study of products in the coming sections.
Supply Chain Network design is very important to understand as it helps you calculate the cost and time required for the product to reach the market. This supply chain management case study will give you examples and show you that there is no definite way to design a supply chain design as it depends on the distance between the source of the product and the market.
Supply Chain Network Design Case Study Of Household Goods
supply chain network of household goods
As we all know that the network design in the supply chain works with basic tasks, for example, the producer takes the raw material from the supplier then they produce the product then they sell it to the customers. Every company has its own supply chain network design or model. One of the main network design case study examples is of a household manufacturer. The manufacturer of cookware, dinnerware, or household tools wants to change its supply chain management system.
The first step of network design in supply chain management is to make the manufacturers create a team that will design the best supply chain management system for the company and also looking at the major locations and gather all the data they needed to create the supply chain system.
In the second step, the data is gathered, analyzed, and developed into a suitable chain network for the company. Meetings are progressed to validate the plan for the management system.
Third, a trial has to be prepared to test the accuracy of the plan. Then, focusing on that a long term plan is developed.
Fourth, also looking at other alternatives to get the best plan for the supply system. All the alternatives for supply chain network designs are compared to each other to get the best model for the supply chain. Overall the best model is chosen in terms of cost and service of the performance, after that it is evaluated practically.
There is not any plan which can be used forever. After each interval of time, the company has to modify its plan according to the company’s performance and demand.
Supply Chain Management Case Study for Footwear Company
the supply chain of footwear company
This supply chain case study examples isbased on footwear companies mainly focuses on three major channels:-
First, they focus on retail outlets so that people can purchase products physically from there. It can build trust and relationships with customers which is beneficial for the company. Choosing one of the best locations for retail outlets is one of the biggest challenges for the company also.
Second, B2C sales directly target potential customers. It is very beneficial for the company as it reduces the cost of transportation but is not profitable all the time. Many companies also hire third-party companies to manage B2C sales.
Third, E-commerce websites are one of the favourite platforms for many footwear companies as they drive sales campaigns which boosts their sales and profit of the company. It does not require any transportation system by the company as all the distribution system is managed by the e-commerce company.
Supply Chain Case Study for Pharma Company
supply chain design for pharma company
Designing supply chain network for distribution systems for medical or pharma companies is very difficult. It is strictly bounded by rules and regulations of the government as well as temperature. It has to be shipped in special packages as well as within a tight delivery schedule system. The network design in supply chain of the pharma industry depends on the current demand and forecast information from the customers.
The manufacturers can not create an optimal supply chain as there is a fluctuation of demand from the customers from different locations. The supply chain management mainly focuses on improving customer delivery performance and reduce transportation costs for a more optimal region.
Supply Chain Case Study For Safety Equipment Company
supply chain of safety equipment companies
The supply chain of safety equipment depends on the demand from the market. Not everyone needs a safety kit so its model varies from time to time. One of the recent supply chain case study examples is when we are looking at the coronavirus pandemic situation, the more amount safety equipment for doctors to keep away from infectious viruses, the better it is. So the company needs to develop the best model for this situation.
On the other hand, on normal days there is very less amount of demand so they have to develop a plan for that situation. Other safety kits like a fire extinguisher need to be transported in a very safe manner so that no harm is done to the equipment. The company has to check out different types of supply chain network and design the model of the supply chain according to the product and demand from the market.
Before making the model of the supply chain the company has to investigate the present situation and also looking for an alternative of the plan. The company has to do in-depth analysis and physical design and make detailed information about the situation and then finalize the network design in supply chain management.
Supply Chain Case Study for an Electronics Company
supply chain of electronics company
According to a supplier management case study, the manufacturer of an electronics company needs to be up to date with the model of the supply chain networkto compete within the industry. To give focus on an area and prioritize the supply chain.
In the initial phase, the team of the supply chain gathers data from the targeted audience and market and also from their direct competitors. They compare all the data to get the best model of the supply chain.
The initial stage of the model is an opportunity to cut the unwanted transportation spend and identify the saving opportunity while improving the model of the supply chain.
The company can also reduce the number of carriers by improving the product packaging, labelling, and tendering process. By improving the product packaging it can reduce the cost of shipment from different locations.
There is a lot of different supply chain network design for each product. The company decides according to the demand of customers and the market. They implement the best possible plan in that condition. It can vary from company to company.
Conclusion
As per this supply chain network design case study, there is no one size fits all solution for the supply chain industry but rather you need to stay up to date with the latest trends and be willing to update to the newest technologies whenever the situation arises. We hope this supply chain case study gave you some insights on the initial steps you have to take to be successful in the industry!
In simple terms, the supply chain is the process that encompasses everything from the delivery of source materials from the supplier to the manufacturer through to its eventual delivery to the end-user.
What are the 5 basic steps of supply chain management?
As per this supply chain management case study, the basic five steps of Supply Chain Management to keep in mind when strategizing are Plan, Source, Make, Deliver and Return.
Are supply chain jobs in demand?
Yes, there will never be a time when this will go out of fashion. The process will only get more automated with time.
What is the importance of supply chain network design?
The main reason for a supply chain network design is to assess company policies and programs and to meet targets to accomplish long‐term strategic objectives.
What is the difference between supply network design and supply chain network design?
According to many network design case study, supply network is developed by connecting multiple supply chains. Consider the operational activities within your organisation, these will be classed as a Supply chain and will deliver value to your organisation.
Whenever we see a football rolling around, there’s one personality we think of, Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s the captain of the Portugal football team and a deadly weapon of the Manchester United club at present. With a status of 674 goals on the ground, Ronaldo carries incomparable stardom.
Besides this, scoring goals is not the only source of his revenue. Apart from being paid a whopping 11.9 crores for each promotional post on Instagram and $64 million per year for serving as Juventus’s winger, he has established various ventures outside the stadiums.
Being an excellent athlete, Ronaldo has a very cunning business mind. From sweeping the streets to driving buggies, he has come a long way. All this is because of his hard work and multiple business ventures. No doubt he is the holder of such a massive amount of net worth. Funding, advertisements, sponsorships, all after the times he marvelously landed the ball at the back of the net, have earned him his stance in the hall of fame.
Now there’s a side of his life, about which very few know of. Yes, as mentioned earlier, his throne is outside the field, in the market. But does this Portugal player has the ability to play his moves in the business competition? No doubt, he has. So let’s have a look at the wonders that Ronaldo’s business mind has performed.
So, let’s have a look at the startups funded by Cristiano Ronaldo.
On the top of the list, we have a Portugal-based startup that involves the marketing of mobiles. The company came into being in 2011. The CEO Josh Simoes and Diogo Teles presented the idea of gifting a reward of something to the people every time they came into action with the brands. Or, in simple words, people would be getting tips for shopping online.
To serve the purpose, the app was to be launched in the initial months of 2013. But before that, Cristiano Ronaldo took to his Facebook handle to share this news. Immediately after which the beta version of this app came into being.
Although the amount he funded was behind the curtains, he expressed his joy while sharing this news. His post revealed his happiness towards this encouraging initiative as the mobile world is a fast arena of happenings. He also expressed his full support saying that a fast-approaching change is possible with mobile.
Herbalife Nutrition
Mark Hughes, the founder of this company, made it a reality in 1980. Herbalife Nutrition operates based on providing people with proper health and nutrition supplements. For such a company, to shake hands with a personality like Cristiano would be no less than a gold medal.
Thus, in 2013 the company shook hands with Ronaldo. It resulted in the launch of a sports drink inspired by Ronaldo. It was tagged as Herbalife 24 CR7 drive. With such an aggressive name, and Ronaldo’s name attached to it, the company was happy. Following this, Ronaldo had been funding the company. Later in 2018, the deal was renewed for an extension of 3 years.
Ronaldo funded one of the most prominent digital agencies all over Portugal. This Luis Parafita leads link. The Portuguese captain had envisioned a new tech brand along with a tech vehicle titled “7EGEND.” In the initial stages, Thing Pink was understood as a team of advanced engineers, producers, and technical minds who ruled the digital arena.
Now that Ronaldo has a superior hold of them, all are focused on turning Ronaldo’s vision into a reality of creating a tech-inspired world that would go hand in hand with the sports world too.
Cristiano Ronaldo had shaken hands with this company in 2014. Overall entitled as a watchmaker company, designing and manufacturing the fashion accessories is also a part of their routine. TAG Heuer was established in 1860 with its headquarters in Switzerland. Ronaldo being the first international ambassador for this company, had signed a long-term deal.
Insparya
Apart from partnerships, Ronaldo now has a venture of his own. The Sparta hair transplant clinic. With the significant highlights on hair problems, he expressed his concern in tackling them.
People should be accessible while putting forward their problems rated to hair and likewise should be treated well. With this note, he initiated the project. He has 50% of this project to his name. Insparya branches into ten centers in the whole of Portugal.
Clear
In 2014 itself, the five-time ballon o dr champion funded a hair care product. Clear shampoo is a part of Unilever. With Cristiano’s face in every advertisement and promotion, the shampoo has its value all around the globe. The company came into being in 1975 with the tag of clinic shampoo. When later, it was again given the title of Clear.
CR7 Fitness
CR7 Fitness is another sector of Ronaldo’s venture, which includes all the gyms he owns around Portugal. Being one of the fittest athletes, he never underestimates fitness. Thus, the gyms which he owns reflect his affection towards being healthy. Apart from these, he also funds branches of CR7, which include CR7 denim, perfumes, footwear, and the list goes on. The CR7 brand was launched in 2013. Afterward, in 2015, Ronaldo came up into the market with his brand-produced footwear.
Pestana CR7 Lifestyle Hotels
It’s a portugal tourism group which has its series of hotels. It is owning a total of 91 hotels all around the globe. In 1972 it took birth behind which were the names Josh Pestana and Manuel Pestana. Their chain of hotels extends from Europe to South America also to Africa.
In 2017 Cristiano came in to fund their chains of hotels. He supported the chains with a net worth of €60 million, which made Cristiano the owner of these hotels. Later the name was tossed as Pestana CR7 lifestyle hotel. With this name tag, the first pillars of hotels were placed in Madrid and New York.
Besides the sports world, which involves heavy workouts and a perfect physique, Ronaldo has proved the worth of a sound mind. Although other athletes follow the same path, when Ronaldo’s fame and reach are put together to his business mind, it is a tough plate to level up.
With multiple backups at hand, this world-class Portuguese player has performed wonders on the ground that earn him $64 million a year. With the foundation he has laid, his generations would also enjoy the fruits of this.
His brands and his fundings, at a global level, serve him with extra fame and reach to already what he has gained from scoring goals. And now, with his budgets, along with himself, the company’s are benefitted to an unimaginable extent. Along with that, Ronaldo contributes to advertisements as well. Thus, Cristiano Ronaldo defines what a complete played is.
FAQs
What products has Cristiano Ronaldo endorsed?
Cristiano Ronaldo Endorsements list:
Coca-Cola
Herbalife Nutrition
Clear
Insparya
7EGEND
LiveScore
Free Fire
Pestana CR7 Lifestyle Hotels
Nike
Dazn
Altice
Tag Heuer
CR7 Fitness
What is the net worth of Cristiano Ronaldo?
Cristiano Ronaldo has net worth of $120 million. He has been ranked as the world’s third highest-paid athletes by Forbes in 2021.
Fintech is one of the leading industries in the world because of many emerging unicorns in the sector. The fintech industry has become a game-changer for banking services industries as it has been tremendously impacted by Technology enterprises. Most Fintech startups offer financial services such as mobile payment, digital banking, insurance, crowdfunding, wealth management, or recently even digital currencies like cryptocurrency.
Fintech companies nowadays have to rely on advanced technology like datasets, Internet of Things (IoT) artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, or even blockchain in order to provide their services. Fintech currently has over 79 Unicorns globally making it the largest sector with the most number of Unicorns, while there are more upcoming fintech startups that will be added to the list.
The global Fintech market was said to be valued at $111 billion, while it is now expected to grow to more than $158 billion by 2023. China is often considered one of the leading countries in the sector of financial technology. The country so far has over 2,160 Fintech startups out of which over 18 are already unicorns. According to some studies over half of the world’s digital payments were made in the country using apps like Alipay and WeChat in 2017.
In 2018, China received over $25.5 billion investments into its fintech industry making it the leader in this sector. Even to this date china continues to be the leader in the industry because it completed over 600 plus deals in 2018 alone, the country also has the highest fintech adoption rate of 69% in the world.
China went through a Fintech boom because many startups wanted to fill the gap of traditional banking which lacked in the country by introducing fintech services that fulfilled the needs of ordinary people and SMEs. Because of the growth of the fraudulent practices in the Chinese sector in China, the Government has come up with rules and regulations including 65 national financial standards and 252 financial industry standards to control them.
The fintech startups in China are targeting the middle class in the sectors of wealth management, different types of insurance and private banking as the services like mobile payment is already popular in the country.
Tencent is considered to be one of the largest gaming companies in the world, but also has a foothold in the Fintech industry. Over the years the company has come up with top-notch payment services through WeChat, which was considered to be the first online-only bank offering wealth management and other financial services in China. Through WeChat Pay the company has made many strategic investments and third-party marketplaces, increasing its valuation to $21 billion in 2018.
The company was initially founded by Ma Huateng, Tony Zhang, Xu Chenye, Chen Yidan and Zeng Liqing in 1998, with its headquarters based in Shenzhen, China. The main competitor to Tencent in the fintech sector is Alipay which is under Alibaba. By the end of 2019, WeChat had is estimated 800 million users and 50 million merchants on the platform every month. This is why Tencent is one of the most financially valuable companies in the world.
Ant Financial
Company
Ant Financial
Founded year
2014
Headquarters
Hangzhou (China)
Funding
$22 Billion
Investors
General Atlantic, Meros Equity Global Management, Warburg Pincus, The Carayle Group, Credit Suisse, Temasek Holdings, Sequoia Capital, Khazanah Nasional, Silver Lake
Ant Financial Logo
Ant Financial is one of the top fintech startups in China that was founded in 2014 with its headquarters in Hangzhou, China. Ant Financial provides various digital payment services for both customers and businesses.
Ant Financial is known for its Alipay mobile wallets which offer financial services like transferring money to bank accounts, bill payments, online or offline mobile bill payments, among others. The brands under Ant Financial are Alipay, Ant Fortune, Yu’e Bao, Zhima Credit, MYbank and Ant Financial Cloud.
Alipay also allows SMEs to accept online payments from customers through cards, corporate credit solutions and Bank transfers. Ant Financial Group is a subsidiary of the Alibaba Group which is a Chinese eCommerce giant and is also said to be the world’s most valuable Unicorn Company.
As of 2018, the company has over 87 million users across the world along with JV partners, currently, it has over 1.2 billion users worldwide. Besides its mobile wallet services, Ant Financial is also a leading fundraising company in the country.
Lufax is a popular online wealth management and P2P lending platform for personal loans. The company provides insurance services to both individuals and institutions with advanced technology like AI and Cloud. Lufax was founded by 2011 in Shanghai, China and was originally set up by Ping An as an incubation project.
It currently is the second-largest P2P lender in the country and is planning to branch out its business gradually to work with funds and insurance companies. In 2018, the company also expanded its services to Singapore, the same year it also came out with a new blockchain solution that identifies users and tracks transactions, especially between borrowers and lenders. Lufax is said to be the best Internet financing industry in China as it has accelerated the marketing process.
Bitmain
Company
Bitmain
Founded year
2013
Headquarters
Beijing (China)
Funding
$764.7 million
Investors
Temasek Holdings, Crimson Ventures, Noris Capital, Newegg, Coatue, Sequoia Capital China, CAS Investment Management, Jumbo Sheen Group, HuangPu River Capital
Bitmain Logo
Bitcoin is a well-known Edtech startup that provides hardware-based mining solutions for Cryptocurrencies. The company was started by Micree Zhan, Jihan Wu in 2013 with its headquarters based in Beijing, China. Bitmain is known for providing hardware-based mining (ASIC) solutions for bitcoin mining. By 2018, the company became the largest designer of ASIC chips for bitcoin mining.
Besides ASIC chips the company also makes servers, simple routers, AI applications, mining tools and other services & products for blockchain. Bitmain also operates BTC.com and Antpool which became the biggest pool for bitcoin. Bitcoin introduced Bitmain Technology in 2013 that successfully engaged with the field of AI and increased power consumption speed.
Simon Investment Managers, EG Capital Advisors, Affirma Capital, ORIX Asia Capital, CITIC Securities, China Minsheng Investment Group, GIC
Dianrong Logo
Dianrong is a leading peer to peer platform for personal loans. The company was founded in 2012 with its headquarters in Shanghai, China. Dianrong provides products and service offerings like credit ratings, investment products, marketplace lending solutions risk management and operation tools.
In 2018, the company created a supply chain finance solution designed especially for finance and business. The company provides a well planned and secure infrastructure for industry data and insights.
Ping An
Company
Ping An
Founded year
1988
Headquarters
Shenzhen (China)
Funding
$4.8 billion
Investors
–
Ping An Logo
Ping An Technology is the main subsidiary of Ping An Group a multinational conglomerate. The company is in charge of the financial sector that provides services like insurance, banking, investment, and numerous other internet businesses. The company went on to create Lufax and Oneconnect which are both well-known fintech companies in China.
The company was founded in 2008 and initially provided IT services to firms within the Ping An Insurance Group. Ping An also allows its customers to use its P2P lending services over AI technology. Ping An was the first insurance company to be selected on the index and is currently the World’s top global insurance brand in 2020.
CICC, COFCO, APOFCO, Sequoia Capital China, China Creation Ventures, China Taiping Insurance, Intonation Ventures, Harvest Global Investments
JD Finance is one of the leading Chinese fintech companies that was started by the JD Group in 2013. JD Group is one of the biggest B2C online retailers in China. The company has its headquarters in Beijing, China and aims to become the most trustworthy internet investment and funding platform. The company provides its customers with services for investment and financial management, which are easy, high yielding and safe.
The company uses advanced technology big data, AI, cloud computing, blockchain and IoT for providing its financial services. JD Finance is estimated to be $20 billion as it raised over $1.9 billion in 2018. The company comprises 10 business divisions that cover different types of covering corporate and consumer finance needs.
Renrenxing Technology
Company
Renrenxing Technology
Founded year
2014
Headquarters
Beijing (China)
Funding
CN¥ 4.5 billion
Renrenxing Technology is another popular Chinese Edtech startup that is known for developing applications for borrowing and lending money. The company started Jiedaibao in 2015 which has its headquarters in Beijing, China. Jiedaibao is a leader in providing peer to peer services for lending and borrowing money, besides that it also offers services like matching, registration, collection and other services for small loans for customers and SMEs.
The company is now known to be the country’s top tech unicorn company as its valuation is estimated to be over $10 billion. Through Jiedaibao, Renrenxing Technology has come up with an app that helps in deciding interest rates independently and based on that it generates an electronic contract that is legal. This enables their customers to get personal loans at a fixed price and get reminded of the repayment or expiry of the contract.
In marketing, you have to spend money to make money. However, the rise of social media and digital marketing has made it easier and quite inexpensive to market a business. Even small business owners can be creative with their marketing ideas and strategies. They can reach targeted customers with effective and low-cost marketing ideas for startups.
Creative marketing strategy is very essential for any business, be it a large corporate or a local business. Advertising is the core of marketing, so it becomes important for the decision-maker to form such a marketing mix that leads to maximum profits and a large volume of sales. Advertising is often considered to be an expensive approach to reach a wide customer base.
Learn Low-Cost Marketing Technique by Dr Vivek Bindra
In this article, you’ll find the best low-cost marketing ideas for startups that could help to market your business.
Creating a Google My Business account can make your business show up in Google searches and people can easily find you. Your business will also be visible on Google maps which is a plus. Moreover, it will help you to have a market without spending a penny.
Content marketing is one of the least expensive marketing strategies that is focused on creating, publishing, and distributing content for a targeted audience on the internet. And it is often used by businesses to attract and generate leads, expand their customer base and increase their online sales. It does not require a large chunk of investment. There are many approaches you can use, such as setting up a blog for your business where you can add new and interesting content every few days that keeps your readers informed and entertained.
Infographics, videos, podcasts, ads in newspapers, posters, etc. are such startup marketing ideas that pertain to content marketing when they are uniquely and interestingly used to grab the attention of the customers. For example, Amul uses clever ways to bring up social topics in their promotional posters. The use of social commentary is a very engaging tactic as people have opinions about them. They react more and that leads to increasing engagements which are very beneficial for a business, even if the reaction is controversial.
Having a business card for your business shows professionalism to your customers. A creative business card is necessary to make you stand out in comparison with others. A smart businessperson always carries a reasonable amount of business cards with them and hands them out while meeting new clients and potential customers. You can distribute business cards in the hands of anyone who can help you in your search for new leads/clients. This increases the rate of recommendations and thereby resulting in an increase in customer engagements.
Depending upon your target market, you can choose the type of event you want to sponsor. It is highly effective and allows your business to shine. For instance, college fests are an appealing measure to promote your venture. You are allowed to set up stalls in a space that guarantees you a young crowd. The stall can be of food, jewellery, clothing, games or even contests that pertain to your business. The departmental fest also uses sponsors where you are featured on its posters, online campaigns and even sample distribution at their campus.
A cultural event happens often in auditoriums that facilitate a huge audience. You can use that event’s sponsorship to promote your business. It is a considerably low-cost idea of advertising that yields a lot of engagements and promotion.
5. Social Media Marketing
When it comes to low-budget marketing ideas, one cannot ignore social media marketing. Social media is a huge platform that provides you with the potential of accessing a customer base that can reach even millions, for free. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit has allowed you to find out your target audience and build your community.
The cost of setting up an account/page on these platforms is zero. All you need is to put up content that is relevant, interesting, creative and engages audiences. It is the cheapest form of advertising that exists out there, and if you tap into it with the right advertising strategies then the sky is the limit.
People spend a lot of time on social media and so when they see an attractive ad about a shoe or trousers, they are instantly captivated and interest is aroused at that very moment. If the deal is offered at a tempting rate/quality/design then there is a high rate of a sale taking place. You can link the ad to your website or your app which we will discuss in the next point.
In other words, it is a method to grow your business by the efficient and effective use of available resources thereby improving the quality of your website. It is a bit technical but you take a course on it in order to understand the basics and how it works. SEO is the best way to increase the visibility of traffic to your website.
You have to identify keywords that could attract high traffic to your website. You can avail of online consultancy for the same. The reason, it is smart advertising is that instead of cash investments it requires effort and time. To understand, comprehend and formulate strategies that are unique compared to your competitors. Also, understanding the latest trends and updates regarding the search engine algorithm updates.
Having an app for your business results in building a good brand image and trust of the customer. People will be resistless in making the final purchase. It requires very little expense to set up a mobile application, and today there are tremendous amounts of apps that people use. You can infuse it with your creativity and make it unique. But make sure to optimize it for your audience.
So, when you have your app in addition to a website, the traffic on your online website can have prior experience and knowledge about your startup and then resorts to downloading your app, which results in many benefits. Like you have now access to some information of your customer, i.e. their email address or contact number, and can notify them about your offers or discounts.
It also leads to a direct relationship with the customer, and now you can monitor their purchasing patterns, and they can scroll through your attractive offers now and then. It will also build trust with your customer because the online method in an app is safe. Building an app is expensive if you hire a professional for it. But if your friend has app-building knowledge, you can partner with them by offering shares of your startup.
8. YouTube
Now that we are exploring our way through e-commerce, let’s discuss this appealing option as well i.e. YouTube, the second-largest search engine after Google and one of the low-cost marketing ideas in India.
Many businesses engage in advertising on YouTube. They get in contact with other YouTubers and enter into a contract where the influencer will talk about its product/service and the number of viewers is the potential customers. Usually, the investment is high, but not always. For a comparatively smaller startup, you can reach out to regional YouTubers that have a considerable amount of subscribers, not necessarily in millions, and make them promote your business.
YouTubers upload creative content on the platform, and there are creative ways to sneak in product placement in a very interesting manner. Even a small influencer can lead to a lot of benefits to your business. It is an unarguably cheaper way of advertising than paying high profile actors to do an ad campaign that airs on TVs. You can even create your own YouTube channel where you talk about your product/services, its benefits and usage, etc. and make the audience aware of your business.
9. Participate in Social Events
Actively volunteering for social events can make your brand look better and people can get to know you better. It’s almost like marketing with no budget. If you have a big warehouse or office, giving it out for these social events once in a while can make you popular in no time.
10. Referrals
A good “word of mouth” is possibly the best form of promoting your business. A satisfied customer is bound to think well about your brand and will often be glad to refer it to his friends, family and other acquaintances. You can invest in referrals by doing follow-ups of your existing customer base. Ask them for feedback and if they liked it then suggest it to others as well. It increases the good reputation of the business and the customer feels important. It is a long term advertising strategy as a satisfied customer will most probably make another purchase in future also.
Conclusion
Now that you know various low-cost marketing strategies to grow your business, you can apply these ideas to increase your customer base and can generate more profit. But before proceeding, it is important to understand your audience, their behaviour, and the nature of your business and accordingly apply the one that suits best.
FAQs
What is the cheapest form of marketing?
Digital marketing or social media marketing is the cheapest form of marketing. You can reach a larger target audience in a cost-effective and measurable way.
What are the low-cost marketing strategies for startups in India?
The low-cost marketing strategies for startups are:
Google My Business Account.
Content Marketing.
Business Cards.
Be a Sponsor.
Social Media Marketing.
Search Engine Optimization.
Build Your App.
YouTube.
Participate in Social Events.
Referrals.
Why is marketing strategy important for startups?
Marketing strategy helps the startups for the following reasons:
The Covid-19 pandemic taught us the importance of oxygen in our life. People were yearning for the most underrated thing, especially during the second wave of the pandemic in India. Somehow that underestimation resulted in hundreds of deaths in the country. The devastating display of what shortage of oxygen can do was seen all over the media during the second wave and honestly, it was heart-wrenching.
Any kind of beginning of a business depends on the demand or potential of that thing in the market. Saving lives is a noble deed, so what’s better than starting a business, which can saves lives, literally. The Covid-19 creates a huge demand for oxygen cylinders in the market, mostly in hospitals. So, starting an oxygen cylinder plant in a country that is in need of it, seems to be a good idea.
Although to follow up on this plan is a lot of work. So, let’s dive into the matter and find out how to start an Oxygen cylinder plant business in India.
“Business is all about solving people’s problems – at a profit.”
Things that are needed for an Oxygen Cylinder Plant
The Covid-19 pandemic may seem the reason but other than that there are other health-related issues that people suffer from, which can only be solved by oxygen cylinders. It can actually bring a ‘breath’ of relief, so the need for it has become more significant now. Following things are required for the business. First and foremost, a proper business plan is required to start with the business. The following things are what is needed.
Proper Training
Before indulging in this business, one needs to learn a lot of things, which include safety procedures. A proper training program will help in understanding the key details, that’ll be an asset in the future. It includes the positives, negatives and the risk that involved in this business.
Investment
Investment is one of the most if not the most important things that is needed for any kind of business. If someone wants to start an oxygen plant, at least ₹30 to ₹35 Lakhs is needed for the setup of the plant, so that it can deliver up to 24 cylinders every day. A proper location is also needed to construct the plant. It is not a small business, so naturally, a heavy amount is needed from the very first.
Manufacturing
To get a general idea, the manufacturer of a cylinder of oxygen should be contacted. They will provide the proper instruction from A to Z. i.e. from the manufacturing of oxygen in the plant to the filling of the cylinder with oxygen.
Some extra equipment is needed for the entire setup of the plant. These equipment’s will help in getting pure oxygen instead of harmful materials, they are:
PLC Control Panel
Vacuum Chambers
Glass Chambers
Injector wells
Solid State generators
Apart from all these, some other machinery are also needed in the cylinders, they are:
Oxygen Mask
Cannula
Pressure Gauge
Flowmeter
Other things to fit the system altogether
Proper installation of every piece of equipment is necessary for the entire plant to avoid the oxygen from getting polluted.
Things To Keep In Mind before starting an Oxygen Cylinder Plant
Just because someone wants to open an oxygen cylinder plant, they can, it’s not that simple. Some additional rules are necessary to be followed:
1. All rules and regulations are to be maintained while dealing with oxygen cylinders and their supply.
2. The oxygen in the gas cylinder has to be pure.
3. It must not contain any toxins or other chemical elements that can be harmful.
4. The oxygen has to be clean and pollution-free.
Transportation of Oxygen Cylinder Plant
The supply of oxygen will be mainly for medical uses and industry purposes. So while transferring them to hospitals or any medical center, special attention needs to be given. Oxygen in the cylinder is kept at high pressure, so the vehicle that’ll be used to transport the cylinders must be careful enough to avoid cylinders colliding with each other. If proper steps are not taken, it can cause an explosion. You should also review the Department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Transport Standards before transporting oxygen cylinders.
License Needed For Oxygen Cylinder Plant Business
As it is related to medical business, it surely needs some special permission:
Permission from the local board of the location the business will be set up is needed.
Incorporation Laws of the state must be scrutinized to know the rules of starting a legal and proper business. Also you need to register your business before you start your business.
How to Market your Oxygen Cylinder Plant Business
In any kind of business, marketing is important. Without marketing, a business can never flourish. Although it is a time where oxygen cylinder has huge demand, still marketing is important, to achieve a great number of profits. Some of the methods for advertising are:
Handing out flyers containing information about your oxygen plant to the people.
Contacting local media to get their presence known among the targeted customers.
To start an oxygen cylinder manufacturing plant in recent times, can be beneficial as the second wave of the Covid-19 leads to a shortage of oxygen all over the country. It is a good time to provide quality products to the people in need. A business that can save people while gaining profits for itself is surely an interesting and better option than just sitting and watching people suffer. One just needs to take a brave step and follow all the rules that can lead to a safe start of a business. It will do the noble job of saving lives and also will help in earning millions.
FAQ
Is Investing on an Oxygen Cylinder Plant profitable in India?
Yes, Investing in an oxygen cylinder plant can be quite profitable as the demand for oxygen cylinders is not ending soon.
What is the Cost of an Oxygen Cylinder?
The minimum cost of a 10.2 Litre of oxygen cylinder is ₹4500 and the maximum is ₹6500.
Which Company makes Oxygen Cylinders In India?
National Oxygen Limited, Axcel Gases, and Swastik Synergy Engineering Private Limited are some of the top oxygen manufacturers in India.
One of the few industries that have grown tremendously during the Covid 19 Pandemic is the EdTech Industry. Many education institutes were shut down, while the universities/colleges had to move online due to the lockdowns and this is what gave rise to the already existing EdTech startups. The Global EdTech industry is estimated to reach over $7 trillion by 2025.
While the Grand View Research also put out a statistic that the global education technology market size is estimated to rise to an all-time high of $285.2 billion by 2027. The EdTech companies are now looked up as the global phenomenon as they are shaping the new generations. One of the countries that are seeing the fastest growth in investment into the EdTech industry is China, as it currently has the largest EdTech market.
China has more than 1,058 EdTech startups that cater to 400 million students in the country. The country’s Edtech industry reached RMB 453.8 billion in 2020, according to iiMedia’s Research. The statistical report on Internet Development in China that China has over 423 million online educational users in 2020 alone. The Edtech industry in China focuses on robotics, tutoring and creating innovative educational technologies that will help in integrating technology into the classrooms of the country’s educational institutes.
China’s Edtech startups have the potential to increase digital education in the country but the Chinese Government has recently imposed new laws making the Edtech companies go nonprofit. Besides going nonprofit the companies are also banned from going public or raising foreign capital, this could not only hinder the growth of the industry but also destroy its $100-billion Edtech market.
Yuanfudao started by Shuai Ke, Xin Li and Yong Li in 2012 is one of the top EdTech startups in China. The company also founded Yuantika in 2015, a platform that provides online question banks and other school-based test preparation. The platform is known for its live tutoring, virtual classes and providing apps that are helpful for completing homework, all of which are AI-enabled. Besides that Yuanfudao also connects students with their teachers and through their app’s live stream.
It provides exercises to improve testing efficiency designed specifically for China’s exams such as the National college entrance exam, post-grad exams, Civil service exams, schools & university level exams among many others.
It currently has more than 30,000 employees and over 4 million student users. The students also have an option of choosing whether they want one on one tutoring or join a class with a group of students. The company is estimated to be around $15.5 billion making it one of the most valuable Ed-tech startups in China.
VIPKid
Company
VIPKid
Founded year
2012
Headquarters
Beijing (China)
Funding
$1.1 Billion
Investors
Tencent, Sequoia Capital China, YF Capital, Learn Capital, Matrix Partners, Coatue, Sinnovation Ventures, Northern Light Venture Capital
VipKid Logo
VIPKid was founded in 2018 is one of the leading English tutoring education apps in China. The platform provides more than 1.5 million free English tutoring classes for children from age 4 to 15 years old. VIPKid currently has over 700,000 paying users and more than 80,000 North American teachers. The platform allows the parents of the students to book for sessions and later upload their classes online.
The English classes are often based on the American state’s standard, while the teachers can review their students work and give their feedback. The company aims to create a global classroom that empowers students and teachers and connect different cultures around the world. During the beginning of the Covid 19 Pandemic, the company was dedicated to providing free classes to the children of Wuhan.
FountainVest Partners, Sequoia Capital China, Tiger Global Management, Softbank Vision Fund, Alibaba Group, Xianghe Capital
Zuoyebang Logo
Zuoyebang is another popular EdTech startup in China that was founded by Hou Jianbin in 2014. The platform offers assistance and support for the student’s homework. It also allows its users to upload their questions and doubts and receive an answer later, as it is driven by AI software. Zuoyebang is made especially for the students of primary, junior, middle and high school only.
The platform has paid and free online courses and live classes on various subjects, for students up until class 12. It currently has more than 50 million daily student users and over 170 million active users in a month. The parent company of Zuoyebang is Baidu and it has so far raised over $2.9 billion.
Hujiang
Company
Hujiang
Founded year
2001
Headquarters
Shanghai (China)
Funding
$187 million
Investors
SIG China, Baidu, Kaishi Capital, China Minsheng Investment, Anhui Xinhua Media, etc
Hujiang Logo
Hujiang is a well-known Chinese EdTech platform for learning different languages. This Shanghai headquartered company was initially founded by Cairui Fu in 2001. Besides providing language-learning solutions, it also offers corporate training solutions for Chinese companies. The languages that Hujiang provides classes in are English, German, French, Spanish, among others.
Hujiang app and website also have many languages learning online tools such as translators and dictionaries for all the languages it teaches. Its platform is divided into four different services which include a news platform, an online community, online tools and live or online courses and works on the enrollment revenue model. Hujiang provides its services offline schools and colleges across the country in order to fill the gaps in the education sector.
Tencent, Hike Capital, Trustbridge Partners, Yuanfudao, GSR Ventures, GGV Capital, Seqouoia Capital China, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Huohua Siwei Logo
Huohua is another leading EdTech startup in China that is an AI-based online learning platform that focuses on students below class 12. The company was founded by Jian Luo in 2016 and has its headquarters based in Beijing, China. The platform offers online classes, live sessions, AI based interactive games, and is available on both android and iOS platforms.
Huohua focuses on subjects like Maths and Science, while its games are designed in a way that develops student’s fundamental ability of thinking and concentrating. So far the platform has over 250,000 active student users and more than 85,000 daily active users. Its mathematic classes have become popular because they are divided into three modules which are spatial thinking, computing power and logical reasoning.
Changingedu
Company
Changingedu
Founded year
2014
Headquarters
Shanghai (China)
Funding
$188 million
Investors
Sequoia Capital China, IDG Capital, FREES FUND, Trustbridge Partners, TAL Education Group, ClearVue Partners
Changingedu Logo
Changingedu is an upcoming online to offline Edtech startup that was founded by Liu Changke in 2014. The company has its headquarters in Shanghai and is known for making educational apps that connect students, parents and teachers. Changingedu focuses on creating after school learning services, while the parents are also allowed to send their doubts and enquiries about the app’s services.
The platform offers virtual services, educational services, live streaming and get your questions answered. Changingedu offers one on one teaching courses for primary & secondary school students and is available in over 11 cities across China. Changingedu has a six-week learning contract with students for a one on one teaching experience, if the students don’t like it they can ask for a refund. The platform claims to have provided 10 million hours of teaching services.
CITIC Securities, Goldstone Investment, Youshan Capital, Sino-Ocean Capital, Wens Investment, Hillhouse Capital Group, Baring Private Equity Asia, Greater Bay Area Homeland Development Fund
CodeMao Logo
CodeMao is another leading Chinese Edtech company that focuses on online programming learning tools for children up to class 12. Besides provides programming courses, the platform also helps in IT learning and training tools. The company was founded by Tianchi Li and Yue Sun in 2015 with its headquarters based in Shenzhen. The students can collaborate on different projects with other students.
CodeMao aims in helping students learn programming and computer coding through an interface that is game-oriented. The courses are designed in a way that children can learn coding tools, programming concepts and exercise their logical thinking abilities. Through this platform, the students can use coding tools and coding languages to build games, software’s, animations that will be reviewed by their teachers.
DaDaABC
Company
DaDaABC
Founded year
2013
Headquarters
Shanghai (China)
Funding
$863 million
Investors
Loyal VC, Yonghua Capital, TAL Education Group, Qingsong Fund, Warburg Pincus, Oriental Fortune Capital, Tiger Global Management
DaDaABC Logo
DaDaABC is another English learning EdTech platform that competes with VIpKid. The company was started by Grace Zhi and Dennis Lee in 2013 with headquarters based in Shanghai, China.
This platform provides students of the school with one on one English courses live and has so far won over 15 awards for its excellence in the field. DaDaABC is said to operate on flipped classroom model that uses blended learning strategies to teach their students.
Unlike VIPKid the platform hires native speaking teachers especially for student of 5 to 16 years old. The platform also teaches French and Spanish from 2017 and also has an option where children below six years can learn English. So far the DaDaABC has over 10,000 teachers and more than 100,000 active students weekly.
17zuoye
Company
17zuoye
Founded year
2011
Headquarters
Shanghai (China)
Funding
$585 million
Investors
Dong Ni Education
17zuoye Logo
17zuoye is known to be one of the largest online EdTech Companies in China, with headquarters in Shanghai, China. The company was founded by Dun Xiao and Liu Chang in 2011, while the platform focuses on providing homework solutions and live English & math’s classes. As of 2018, the platform had over 60 million users and 120,000 schools and plans to expand to more middle and high schools across the country.
17zuoye offers services such as learning tools, learning contests, study reports submitted to the parents, among others. The company also has many global partners with countries like the USA, UK, Japan, South Korea, where it promotes its content. The platform aims to provide international level education and give students equal access to education.
Negotiation tactics are very important for the business’s success. One must hone the skills of negotiation to build the company at a higher level. Many businesses miss out to recognize the importance of negotiation skills for any further deals to make. It might be a small business, startups, big firms, individual contractor, all need to develop this skill to have a win-win situation between two parties.
“The most difficult thing in any negotiation, almost, is making sure that you strip it of the emotion and deal with the facts. And there was a considerable challenge to that here and understandably so.” – Howard Baker
To be a good negotiator, one must try to step into the shoes of other business owners and you will know that almost everything involves negotiation. And in business, sometimes you are a buyer and sometimes you are a seller. So, knowing the technique of negotiation make you survive in the market.
As a first step, we must be prepared by making in-depth research of the dealer. When you know the inside and outside of the parties involved, it will be helpful for you to make proper negotiations. This holds good even if you are at the other end of the table and want to buy the products or service. The main thing is to have a good idea about the dealer and be clear of what you want out of the arrangements. Without the preparation and research, if you sit for the negotiation, you are half-lost. So make a good research of the party and know their strengths and weaknesses.
Have patience and listen to the party
Some of the negotiators talk too much endlessly and does not make a good deal. This is the worst kind of negotiation, be patient, listen to the party, understand their needs and make a wise arrangement. A good listener is a good negotiator. Dominating the conversation will not fetch you any information, so listen attentively.
No egos and have balanced emotions
Negotiation Skills | Keep the negotiation professional
Be confident enough as you have done your background research on the party and most importantly have a check on your ego. When are free from your ego and emotions, you can then think objectively and make a flexible deal. To be a successful negotiator, one must think well even in a stressful situation and find common grounds. During the arguments be neutral and control your thoughts and emotions. Don’t be rigid in your arguments, have a calm mind and think productively which helps both of you. ‘Keep the negotiation professional’.
Spend some time asking questions to the dealer. This may give you some useful information which helps in negotiations. Don’t be afraid of asking questions as nobody knows everything. According to the deal, you can ask some relevant questions to the dealer:
How can you assure me that your product or service suits me?
Who are your competitors and how best is your product compared to them?
What is the time period of our deal?
What is the benefit of our deals?
Negotiate optimistically
When you are negotiating, have faith and compassion. It is commonly observed that in negotiations we tend to become defensive as we wish to make the best deal in our favour. But if each other know their strengths and weaknesses, it will be easy to come to a win-win situation. Feel comfortable to set the deal and think optimistically rather than turning off the deal. In this case, both can have mutual benefits.
Make several offers
Instead of one offer, make several offers till the party is satisfied. Make two or more offers, so that the party gets more options to accept the negotiation. If a lot of confusion arises between both of you, you can even contact a third person to have a perfect deal. This will not only make the negotiation easy but also gives a creative solution.
The negotiation will be succeeded if you have a positive mindset. Don’t think negatively during the negotiation. Always stay neutral. You tend to close the deal if the party does not accept your negotiations and has a lot of negativities during the arrangements. Always know that you will make hundreds of negotiations in the future. And keep the space open for many opportunities. Don’t force the party to make a deal that does not have any benefits to you.
Close the deal with confirmation
Negotiation skill | close the deal with confirmation
At the end of the deal, know how to end the negotiation. It is important to make a recap of the whole arrangement though the negotiation has succeeded or failed. If the deal happened so is a success confirm it and make appropriate follow-ups through emails or letters. Do not leave behind any confusion.
Conclusion
Negotiations are part and parcel of any type of business. Negotiating is a kind of CHESS, you should be wise enough to answer instantly at the right time. For this to happen you should have made proper preparation and have the skill to present everything well. It is also important to stick to your own principles so you don’t compromise on the deal. Be ready to give concessions but do not go low. If you know the technique of striking a bargain then don’t think of perfections.
FAQs
How to keep the negotiation professional?
Always have a good and optimistic arrangement with the party. Choose the right words and be strong in making the deal. If the deal is professional then the relationship between you and the dealer can be taken forward.
What is negotiation?
Negotiation is a strategic deal that resolves an issue that will be acceptable to both parties. It finds the common ground and benefits each other.
Niku Mandal
