Yatra.com - The Yatra's Internet Yatra - a Case Study (Nikhil Rungta)

Yatra’s yatra

Nikhil RungtaGeneral Manager & Head – Marketing, Yatra.com

Yatra Today

• Over 100,000 Page Views per day

• Over 1 million registered users

• Over Rs 1,100 crores Sales

• Over 600 employees

• Over 10 offices in 10 cities

• Voted as the most used website for Travel – Juxt Consult

• Top 100 Start up’s in Asia – Red Herring.

• Best Online travel Agency 08 – Galileo Awards

Flash Back

Market Scenario

• 2006• Makemytrip, Cleartrip, Travelguru had a

headstart • People used Travel sites to look up fares but

booked on airlines sites• Low cost airlines had made people getting used

to booking online• IRCTC was fueling the same too• Skepticism about booking online – security of the

transaction, credit card limits, credibility of the company

Task at hand

• Last to enter the market – how to make a dent • 0 to 60 – in no time• Land grab

Marketing Plan

• Category Strategy: Do print. Print works.

• Our Strategy: Do TV. TV works better. Do Online. Online drives traffic.

Online Marketing Plan

• Search Engine Marketing – to generate transactions Google Adwords

• Display Advertising – to add to the TV activity Yahoo Rediff Sify MoneyControl IBNLive

• Emailers

Benefits of Online

Marketing

Traditional

Online

how many

(reach)

one-way

spray-n-pray

high spillage

who

(targeted)

two-way

aim-n-shoot

low spillage

intuitivedata driven

Learnings

Learnings• Set objectives

Define target audience WHO is more important than HOW MANY

Prioritize markets Metros vs Tier I, II, III North India vs South India South Delhi vs East Delhi

Set Budgets %age of Gross Sales/Net Income (Rule of thumb: 3rd of net

income)

Choose media basis Long Term - Brand building Short Term - Lead generation/Transactions

Learnings

• Set Outcomes Short term

Number of visits to the site Number of calls to the call centre Number of walk-ins to the retail outlet

Long term Market share Mind share Vallet share Word-of-mouth share

• Plan online marketing keeping in mind that the new consumer has Scarcity of time:

Ease of navigation - less clicks/hyperlinks… Connectivity/download problems - less graphics

Scarcity of attention: Short, simple, easy to understand message… Say more in less

Scarcity of Trust: Do not mislead, over promise, hide costs Give what you Show

Understand Consumer Behavior

Net Net

What to expect from online:• High on ROI: Pay for Performance

• Start-Stop at will

• Reach national as well as international markets

• Dynamic customization – change creative real time

• Quick results – need more traffic immediately, SEM is way to go

• Behavioral/Contextual/Geographical targeting

• Data base collection

• Very very measurable

What lies ahead…

Social Media Marketing

• Socialize on the web: Youtube, Flickr, Orkut, Facebook, Linkedin, twitter

• Word of mouth• Targeted• Indefinite shelf life• Time is the only cost• Direct and immediate feedback

Marketing on Mobiles

• WAP sites• SMS 2.0

• Right message at Right place (point of sale)• Location specific (GPS) – highly personalized

advertising• Mobile coupons• Higher conversions

Video Ads

• The new TV (specially on News and entertainment sites)

Advantages• Click to Play• Captive viewing• High Click throughs• Customize - overlays

Happy Clicking.

nikhil.rungta@yatra.com