online service promotion model

Research on

Online Service Promotion Model for Nepali Businesses

Presented toUniversity Grants Commission

Anish ShresthaPabitra BajracharyaTapa Dipti Sitaula

03 March 2013

Research on Online Service Promotion Model for Nepali Businesses

Every outgoing piece of paper, and every electronic document, can be

used for business promotion.


Background and Context

• Nepali businesses have adopted various business promotion strategies by now– advertisement on the print media and on radio and

television – consumer incentives

• The use of IT and its different facets is growing day-by-day

• Nepali businesses can significantly benefit if they are able to exploit the potential of Information Technology


Objectives• To identify the best online promotion model for Nepali

businesses. (What are the best and potentially applicable Global trends?)– To make a comprehensive study of the different online service

promotion approaches used globally and locally. (What is being used?)

– To perform an analysis of Nepali organizations for their promotional needs and the Nepali consumer environment. (What is needed?)

– To identify and recommend the best approaches for different kinds of organizations. (What is applicable?)

– To outline a process for the organizations to implement the recommended approach under the prevailing regulatory context. (How it should be applied?)


Rationale and Significance

• To enable Nepali organizations to benefit from this tool, Internet, which provides a lot of benefits at very little cost compared to traditional means of promotion.

• The research outcomes are expected to be significant for the growth of individual Nepali organizations, as well as for the overall economic growth of the country.


Methodology• New local market trend analysis through case studies.• Study and experimentation of various online analytics tools and

online promotion alternatives.• Development of a model and recommendations for Nepalese

businesses based on the review and the results of the market trends and needs analysis.

• Explanation of the process to implement the outlined recommendations.

• The methodology used in the research comprises of literature study, needs analysis, market analysis, case studies and experimentation. From the case studies performed, only the most relevant ones have been included in this report.


Review and Analysis of Online Promotion Alternatives

• Websiteoutlook.com• Alexa.com– can be used to search and discover the most

successful sites on the web by keyword, category, or country


Top Global Sites


Top Sites in Nepal


Top Local Sites in Nepal

• Thus, most of the news platforms could also be potential online promotional platforms as they have most viewership in the masses.


Sample web analytics tool: Essentials

• Site Summary• Traffic Rank• Average Load Time• Regional Traffic Rank• In-Platform Browsing Information• Reach• Demographics (38% visitors in Nepal)• Bounce Rates and Comparative Analysis• Click Stream (Upstream, Downstream)


Sample web analytics tool: Alexa.com

• Site Summary



• Traffic Rank



• Average Load Time



• Regional Traffic Rank



• In-Platform Browsing Information



• Reach



• Demographics



• Bounce Rates and Comparative Analysis


Sample web analytics tool: Alexa.com (contd.)

• Click Stream


Social Networking Sites

• For the organization who would not want to go through all these chores in deciding the proper online promotion platform there is a good alternative, ‘Facebook’.– cheaper or, even free – increasingly dominant promotional platform word-

wide– take in much detailed information about every user – maintains a list of different real and virtual networks

the user belongs to


Facebook

• Pages, Likes• Sponsored advertisements– Issue – Dollar payments– Solution (Localized Possibility) – Do Surf In

• Events


Re-evaluation and verification of promotional strategy

• Helpful for advanced segmentation• Decide whether or not the investments on the

selected platforms are effective• Google Analytics


Google Analytics


Google Analytics (contd.)

• Website visits across a month• Detailed analytics report of traffic sources• E-commerce conversion rate• Traffic Sources of a website visits across a month• Total effective keywords for resulting visits• Percentage of New Visits (shows if the

promotional campaigns and the site itself has been successful enough to lure more visitors or not)


Case Study: Steam Tees• Function

– T-shirts designed in Nepal, produced in Bangladesh and sold in Nepal• Promotional tools used

– In-shop branding (Point of Sale advertising)– Facebook fan page– Contest in a free FaceBook app called ‘BookShaka’ hyped the brand in a matter

of few days (successful)– Website - www.steamtees.com (successful)– Google analytics (successful)

• Future possibilities– Online sales is low, but expected to pick up once online payments are integrated– “Google ads could be more rewarding for Nepal, but only with online payment”

http://www.steamtees.com/


Case Study: Harilo• Function

– Allows people in Nepal to buy goods online from United States retailers while paying with Nepali Rupees

– Personal shopper• Promotional tools used

– Website - www.harilo.com– Facebook ads– Google ads– No traditional media ads (although it did trigger articles)– Reviews by users– Contest based promotions– Disqus.com– Google analytics

http://www.harilo.com/


Platform Identification

Observation

Cross Verification

Selection

Promotion

Engage /Indulge

Spread / Viralize

Award/Reward

Subscribe/Connect

Display / Inform

Analytics

Promotion Reposition and

Content Revision

Trend Review Innovation

Website and Online Information on Business, Product, or Service

andSearch Engine Optimization

Feedback and

Recommendations

ExperimentationAnd

Recommendations

Opti

miza

tion

Mod

el fo

r Onl

ine

Prom

otion

(con

td.)


Optimization Model for Online Promotion

1. Online Information Hosting and Search Engine Optimization

2. Platform Identification: List the potential mediums for promotion

Nepal specificwww.sangaalo.comwww.thulo.comwww.namastemitra.comwww.meropost.comwww.nepalnepal.comwww.livenepal.comwww.hamrobook.comwww.phalano.com

China specificSina weiboRenrenTencentDoubanWechat

http://www.sangaalo.com/

http://www.thulo.com/

http://www.namastemitra.com/

http://www.meropost.com/

http://www.nepalnepal.com/

http://www.livenepal.com/

http://www.hamrobook.com/

http://www.phalano.com/


Optimization Model for Online Promotion (contd.)

3. Comparative Observation: Filter amongst the potential platforms

4. Cross verification: Ensure the match between the target and platform



5. Selection: Finalize the platform and corresponding multimedia content

Example of Selection: Description-less video of Harilo.com in YouTube



Example of Selection: Positioning of Immediate Related Content in YouTube

Example of Selection: Official YouTube Channel of MeroJob.com



Example of Selection: Search Showing Channel as The Top Result in YouTube



6. Promotion: Spread Promotional Content– Inform the users (Advertise / Display)– Engage users in promotional campaigns• User reviews• “Like and Win” contest• Viral mechanisms to spread the word around• Rewarding users with incentives or recognition• Allow for subscribing to future activities regarding the

promotional content, news, and views.



7. Analytics: Devise ways to reflect on outcome of Promotional Campaigns

8. Revision: Improvise the Promotional Plan based on analytics

9. Trend Review: Be vigilant for changing platform popularity

10.Innovation: Try creative contextual ideas for promotion


Platform Identification

Observation

Cross Verification

Selection

Promotion

Engage /Indulge

Spread / Viralize

Award/Reward

Subscribe/Connect

Display / Inform

Analytics

Promotion Reposition and

Content Revision

Trend Review Innovation

Website and Online Information on Business, Product, or Service

andSearch Engine Optimization

Feedback and

Recommendations

ExperimentationAnd

Recommendations

Opti

miza

tion

Mod

el fo

r Onl

ine

Prom

otion

(con

td.)


Thank-you