presentation from the case study of ixigo.com which was made by us only and its all about the...
DESCRIPTION
We have made a Case Study as well as A powerpoint presentation on ixigo.com since we find Aloke Bajpai's start-up story really very very interesting.The Google of all Travel Aloke Bajpai scanned the table of air fares on his mobile phone, comparing options and prices from different carriers. One benefit of being the CEO of iXiGO, the travel meta search company he had co-founded in 2006, was his familiarity with every detail of his firm’s Web site that helped him find the best flights and hotels almost immediately when he travelled. iXiGO was a meta-search engine that aggregated travel listings from other sites, enabling easy comparison of travel options with a single search. By May 2009, iXiGO was approaching cash flow breakeven, and Bajpai knew he faced a major decision in the near future. Should the venture continue to grow organically, as it had since its birth, or was it time to raise more capital, spend more aggressively on brand-building and marketing, while perhaps even expanding iXiGO’s focus outside India? Bajpai was confident in his product and his team, but wondered what the right choice was during a global economic crisis: to invest in growth when costs were unusually low, or to conserve resources by picking the steadier, slower path.TRANSCRIPT
1. Kartik Mehta2. Christopher Rebello3. Abhishek Sharma
Team Members
The Google of all travel
• Ixigo.com is a company based in Gurgaon, India. This company was founded by Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar with a leading travel portal company.
Funded By:
• MakeMyTrip.com and • SAIF Partners as the principle investors in the company.
• It does not do ticket booking and related activities instead this portal will redirect the user to the appropriate pages of the selected travel providers.
About ixigo.com
About the founder
• Aloke Bajpai is ixigo.com’s Co-Founder and CEO.
• Aloke graduated from IIT Kanpur in 2001 and started his career at Amadeus in Europe
• He then went to INSEAD for his MBA, and returned to India to launch ixigo.com in 2007.
• Under Aloke’s leadership, ixigo has gone from a bootstrapped start-up to progress in leaps and bounds.
How It Works ?
• iXiGO allows the user to independently search for their travel and accommodation requirements. ixigo is an infomediary that aggregates travel websites to compare information and deals.• The iXiGO website provides a flight search that allows real-time fare and
availability, with special tools for Indian travel including a bus and train search.
• iXiGO is also planning to adopt a hybrid revenue model, through display advertising space on their website.
• Hoteliers can also list their offerings.
Business Objectives
• To attract social media followers’ attention
• To enhance brand awareness
• To drive more traffic to the company website
• To promote Ixigo.com’s various flagship product
• To create customer loyalty programs
• To be perceived as a one stop online travel portal
• To make the word ‘ixigo’ synonymous with the word ‘Travel’
Problems / Challenges
• Should the venture continue to grow organically, as it had since its birth, or should it expand more aggressively on brand-building and marketing, while perhaps even expanding iXiGO’s focus outside India?
• How should they differentiate themselves from competitors?
• It is not immediately obvious in which direction they should head – particularly in their community growth and engagement plans, which will become even more important as they continue to organically grow and expand.
Approach / Strategy to be adopted
• The company should regularly post various activates on social media.• Creating a value proposition for the customer thus giving rise to word
of mouth campaigns.• Use various trivia quiz which can be used to engage followers and
thus improve conversions.• Using YouTube and other publishing portals for creating brand
association.• One Mega Winner can be selected a surprise gift on every weekend• Initiate a “take a selfie” campaign
A.I.D.A Model
Expected Outcome
• Better customer engagements• Improved interaction on ixigo.com social media portals• Increase traffic by at least 200% during the campaign period• It will make promotional activities go viral and attracted
more travellers toward the contest page and ixigo.com site• Increased market share•Monetizing of page views via web ads• Gain in the page ranking through SEO/SMM
Competitive analysis
Source: EIU, Red Seer Analysis
Source: EIU, Red Seer Analysis
Recent Trends
Source: EIU, Red Seer Analysis
Source: EIU, Red Seer Analysis
Source: EIU, Red Seer Analysis
SWOT AnalysisStrength 1.One of the earliest market entrants
2. Presence in the international business scenario
3. Secure and trusted channel for facilitating payments
4. Attractive brand name and convenient website navigation
5. It offers services like International and Domestic Air Tickets, Holiday Packages and Hotels, Domestic Bus and Rail Tickets, Private Car and Taxi Rentals, B2B and Affiliate Services
Weakness 1.General Reluctance in customers to use internet for financial transactions like booking tickets online
Opportunity 1.Customers currently using traditional methods of bookings
2.Offer better travel packages in line with customer expectation
3.Untapped sections of international tourism market
Threats 1. Possible lack of co-ordination with tourism entities
2.Present competitors having substantial market share
3. Newly emerging online booking portals with better offerings
Conclusion
• Cost benefit analysis as well as competitive analysis before expanding aggressively• It is equally important to maintain a high level of organic customer
engagement after considering current trend• Transitioning from local outlook of the company to global outlook
keeping changing dynamics of Indian Travel Industry• Introducing new and innovative products such as Trip Planner or
Personal Assistant• Also to introduce local travel bookings like Uber Travel, Meru CAB
