3 Wacky Ideas For OlaCabs To Ramp Up Sales and Differentiate from Uber
Ola started operations in 2011 and is one of the most well funded start-ups in India. It raised over $900 million in 2015 alone, and is valued at over $5 billion. It’s India’s leading aggregator of car rentals and point-to-point cab services. Ola has a lead over Uber in India, in terms of App Installs, Booking Requests, Geographical Presence, Fleet Capacity. According to a survey by WhichApp based on app data of over 90,000 Android users, the Ola app has been downloaded more than twice as much as Uber.
OlaCabs connects cabs to its consumers through its user friendly OlaCabs App, via which the consumers can book cabs in seconds by just entering their pick up location and destination. The App tracks and shows the cabs journey post booking till drop. The cab drivers also use a App, but its different from the App that consumers use.
In several ways, the Ola business model is very similar to the Uber model. Uber entered the Indian market in 2013. Uber valued at $62.5 billion, operates in 67 countries and 360 cities. And it has already clocked a billion rides worldwide by the end of 2015.
And this the range of products and services offered by OlaCabs:
Even though Ola is in lead for now, Uber might be taking over soon if Ola doesn’t come up with strategies to increase its sales exponentially. Here are some indicators of Uber’s aggressive growth strategy in India.
According to industry experts, 90% of Ola’s business comes from only 22 cities where even Uber is present. Which means Ola is making losses in close to 70+ cities.
Ola’s strategy has been to grow wide both in geography and product offerings, adding a slew of services such as food and grocery delivery, a shuttle service and motorcycle taxis. Whereas, Uber India has been focusing on building its core business only by expanding into multiple cities. Here Ola’s wide and thin strategy can become a liability to its business.
According to a recent report by brokerage India Infoline, Ola accounted for 80% of India’s ride-share market till the end of 2014. “However, Uber has launched an aggressive expansion campaign and has likely gained ride share. We believe Ola’s current ride share is 65–75% and Uber’s is 25–35%,” the brokerage said in its report.
So what can Ola do differently and yet profitably to turn itself into a complete experience, rather than just be a cab booking service. Here are my 3 Wacky Ideas to ramp up its sales and also differentiate the brand from Uber in most interesting ways.
Ola circles are the perfect solution to poor or no mobile internet connectivity faced by commuters on the go. And why is it so you may ask? Have a look a this data — India has the lowest average internet speed in Asia-Pacific — 10.9 megabits/second. India is currently ranked at the 130th position for average internet speed with an average download speed of 4.18Mbps which is even lower than the average download speed in Nigeria — 5.14Mbps or Nepal — 4.92Mbps.
Ola can break in here with unique WiFi circles in heavy traffic areas or commute routes. Commuters who are unable to book cabs due to internet issues, can easily step inside the Ola Circle and avail free high speed WiFi to book cabs instantly.
However it should be ensured that the WiFi is duly protected, so that commuters can book cabs only through Ola. This campaign will be readily welcomed by people as they constantly suffer from low or no internet. Ola circles in major traffic junctions like Airport, Railway Station, Bus Stops, Shopping Centres etc will be a great relief for the commuters. Ola circles will ensure that no demand goes unserviced. Even the regular Uber users can be targeted through this campaign, and its a great way to grab market share without using any predatory pricing or promotion tactics.
Ola’s move to provide secured WiFi circles in major parts of the city can be coupled in with the Modi Government’s Digital India Campaign. This will upgrade the OlaCabs brand, and instantly give it the favouritism of a true blood Indian startup focussed on serving and uplifting the country’s economy.
Fitness is one of the rising concerns for the Indian urban. 4 out of every 10 people are obese in Bangalore itself. According to a survey by TOI, 70% people in metros are either fat or obese. Of course we have unhealthy food habits and sedentary lifestyle to blame for this. Add this up with an acute shortage of time for exercising, and we know how difficult it is to fix schedule for fitness regimes. Now calculate the time we all spend on our daily commute. And right here OlaCabs can dash in as the health saviour for urban dwellers.
Yes exactly! Why don’t we exercise while commuting? Wouldn’t it be wonderful! and surely a lot of us will stop complaining about traffic and long travel hours. Ola can come up with OlaFit Cabs, where innovative customised fitness equipments can be attached to the cab, which can be used with ease while sitting inside the cab. Innovation in terms of cool fitness equipment attached to the cab has to be real good, or else it can be easily copied by competitors.
This idea can open up a whole new segment for OlaCabs. Commuters will have strong reasons for ditching public transport, autos and competitors, just to travel with Ola. With OlaFit Cabs the term commuting gets a complete makeover — its a whole new benefit and unique experience now!
The roads are black & white, red & grey and all such colours which never blend. Let’s make an art, where all can laugh, to lighten up our days, while all remain the same.
Well that was just a little poetry from my artistic half ;) But isn’t it so true. We all see the same colours on the road. The same cars plying to and fro. So what can we do with a little art and make OlaCabs the canvas for it!
Brand differentiation is the key to connect with consumers and create your own niche. So how is OlaCabs different from Uber or any other online cab aggregator? It’s the same, isn’t it?
But this strategy can create a strong brand differentiation for OlaCabs, and make it into a wholesome Ola experience than just a regular commute like any other service provider in the market.
- Ola can create themed cabs where the exterior of the cabs can be painted or stuck with very Desi styled art and humour graphics.
- Ola can do this itself or it can do a win-win partnership with Chumbak, to come up with funky traffic humour and integrate Ola into it. This art can be stuck in the form of huge stickers on the cabs or spray painted on them. This will be a great branding campaign for both — OlaCabs and Chumbak.
Check out some cool Chumbak art here:
3. The campaign’s objective is to achieve maximum engagement with the consumers and string in to their hearts by launching the special Art Cabs during festivals, local celebrations or important dates. The campaign should ensure that OlaCabs is the most sought-after service for commute.
Here is an example of how the campaign should be rolled out:
Occasion: Independence Day
Activities:
a. OlaCabs can comes up with a select fleet of 50 cabs each in 10 major metros.
b. Social media buzz should start minimum 10 days prior to the launch, where excitement can be built up by part revealing the idea in the form of teaser campaigns and interesting content about Indian traffic humour pivoting around the theme of Independence Day.
c. On Independence Day, a contest should be rolled out where commuters should be informed about the 50 lucky Independence Day themed OlaCabs taking rounds in the city.
d. Any commuter who books an OlaCab and gets the Independence Day themed cab, should click selfies or “Olfies” with the cab in the background and immediately post it on their Facebook or Twitter wall with “hashtag” #OlaOlfie.
e. Posts with maximum number of likes and shares will be chosen as winners. Winners get to travel and stay for 2N 3D in exotic locations completely free. *Terms and conditions apply ;)
f. Simultaneously, on-ground activation, driver awareness and training is equally important. Drivers should be made well aware about the campaign and they should be given a list of to do’s on Independence day.
g. Firstly, every driver should be provided with a box of miniature flags. Every time they pick up a commuter via OlaCabs, they should wish them Happy Independence Day from Ola and hand them over a flag with a bright smile on their face.
h. Now you may ask why drivers should be doing this? Well the best way to make them do it is incentivise them. For every 5 star rating the drivers receive on the campaign day, they get a heavy incentive amount and this is bound to motivate them.
Such campaigns can be rolled out for other celebrations and important days as well — Holi, Dussehra, Diwali, Christmas, World Literacy Day, Women’s Day, World Environment Day etc.
This campaign will work in 3 great ways for OlaCabs.
1. It will immediately shoot up demand for OlaCabs on the campaign days
2. Great engagement on social media platforms and increased brand reach and recall value.
3. Superb brand differentiation for OlaCabs — An Indian brand who understands the people’s sentiment and culture, celebrates life with them all the way, while providing them with seamless commuting services.
Other ideas on the way! Stay Tuned. Stay Creative.
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