Quikr’s
success can be attributed to its ability to sense changes and adapt itself
accordingly
Taking
off from last week's article,
let us continue the discussion on Quikr. Over the last few years, the brand has
moved into the big league, while staying true to its basic philosophy of being
flexible and capitalising on opportunities with the consumer in focus.
When
Quikr realised that consumers often don’t get the price they deserve when they
sell their goods on the portal, it pioneered the concept of Maximum Selling
Price (MSP). Here’s a commercial that demonstrates the idea.
The
company was changing with times and focused on the mobile app. And it had the
Kevin Pietersens of the world telling us “Photo Khench, Quikr Pe Bech!”
Then,
realising that consumers who posted on the site were being inundated with
calls, they came up with the idea of instant messaging system. Consumers could
merely select the “private” option, which hid their phone numbers and email
IDs, while keeping track of all chats and making photo sharing easier — an
important feature.
Time to
change
As brands
continually keep reinventing themselves, one of the things they refurbish is
their identity, as it reflects new dynamism, growth and ambitions of the
company along with a tagline that mirrors what the company stands for. This was
an important phase in the company’s evolution, as it moved into the big league
focussing on emerging opportunity areas which would provide consumers, traction
and revenue. The verticals were cars, homes, jobs, services and Quikr doorstep.
Let’s
focus on cars, which are such an important part of people’s lives. It was a big
revenue stream for Quikr as consumers could sell cars in as little time as
eight hours once they advertised on the portal!
Using the
fascination Indian audiences and consumers have with celebrities, the brand
signed up Suriya to woo southern audiences and Ranvir Singh for national
audiences.
Do
celebrities help brands?
This is a
question consultants and journalists are fond of asking — “Do brands benefit
from the using celebrities?”
Most
marketers in India would vehemently say “yes” and Quikr is no exception.
Someone like Suriya certainly did make a difference to the brand, especially
for homes, and it probably points to a significant change in the brand’s
personality.
It moved
from its earlier brash, cheeky and irreverent image to one that still catered
to impatient consumers but who have value and to whom it it has to deliver
consistently. Suriya certainly embodied the qualities of trustworthiness and
maturity that the brand wanted to make its own.
Along
with cars, the company also realised that many young Indians needed jobs and,
hence, Quikr jobs was launched. Other commercials followed for repairs of
flooring as a struggling dancer tried to dance on a shaky floor that needed
retiling, and so on and so forth. As the offerings continued to broaden, its
appeal broadened as well.
Along with cars, the company also realised that many young Indians
needed jobs and, hence, Quikr jobs was launched. Other commercials
followed for repairs of flooring as a struggling dancer tried to dance
on a shaky floor that needed retiling, and so on and so forth. As the
offerings continued to broaden, its appeal broadened as well.
A success that continues
Today, Quikr is present in more than 1,000 cities, with nearly 30
million unique visitors and a page view of 1 billion, with a revenue
stream that many companies would yearn for. So what has Quikr done
differently?
For one, they have been smart in using media — not extravagantly, but
sensibly, a combination of mainline, outdoor and social media, including
localised media.
While mass media built awareness on a larger scale, they leveraged
social media and events to engage the youth. Online advertising was used
to reinforce and influence behaviour. They also extensively used
localised media to create widespread awareness in a concentrated market.
I guess this is one of the many smart things that the brand has done.
But to my mind, I would be attribute its success not only to media and
technology but to its ability to sense changes in the environment and
quickly adapt itself to the opportunity. And believe you me, that is not
easy.
Speed is success
As companies grow, they lose their speed, become ponderous and slow
moving, finding themselves very tardy in responding to changes or
(worse) opportunities. Quikr has demonstrated its ability to be fast,
flexible and build on the equity that the brand garnered in the eight
years of its existence.
It demonstrated that all start-ups don’t have to get into trouble as
long as they have some clear differentiators and think smart,
consistently. Most significantly, it is important for companies to not
sit back on their achievements but keep evolving, quickly, even as they
spot trends and capitalise on them.
So is speed your brand’s differentiator?
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