E-Commerce Termpaper_Search and Reference __C-Qube

8/7/2019 E-Commerce Termpaper_Search and Reference __C-Qube

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Search & Reference

Search and Reference

Presented By :

Team: C-Qube

Members:

Abhijeet Mohan Srivastava 09BM8001

Ashish Rahul 09BM8014

Renjith Peediackal 09BM8040

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Table of ContentsSearch and Reference ................................................................................................ 1

Table of Contents ....................................................................................................... 2

Introduction ................................................................................................................ 3

Web Search & Reference Websites ........................................................................... 4

Search & reference: The India opportunity ................................................................. 5

Internet Usage Stats for India: Engine of Business Growth ......................................... 6

Existing Business in India ........................................................................................... 6

Online Job Search Business ........................................................................................ 7

Top Players in the online job search .......................................................................... 8

Business Model of Naukri.com .................................................................................... 9

The Real Estate Search Business .............................................................................. 12

How they help in Real Estate Business ..................................................................... 12

Revenue Comparison of top Search Providers .......................................................... 13

The Higher Education Search ................................................................................... 13

The Knowledge Based Search .................................................................................. 14

Our Idea .................................................................................................................... 15

Online Search & reference: The Upper Crest of Yellow Pages .................................. 16

Services Provided ..................................................................................................... 17

PESTL Analysis .......................................................................................................... 19

Political .................................................................................................................... 19

Economic .................................................................................................................. 19

Social ....................................................................................................................... 20

Technological........................................................................................................... 20

Porters 5 Forces Analysis ......................................................................................... 21

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Introduction

Search and reference is one of the basic functionalities of todays internet world. Search

engines like Google and Yahoo! Assists us to reach to any content available in the net within

milliseconds. And they do get their revenue through innovative business models like

advertisement revenue and providing customer information etc.

But there are so many niche areas such as higher education search or job search where

many other smaller players thrive. And there is be many other areas in this category, which is

still unexplored and somebody can make huge profit by developing a niche business in.

We enumerates different niche search and reference sites, explain their current working.

Then we present our idea and the service provided. Then we analyze the whole industry based on

PEST analysis and Porters Five Forces Model.

Through this document we expect that reader will be made aware of the working of some

of the search and reference web sites , their current standing business per se and some of the

opportunities available for investors.

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Web Search & Reference Websites

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Search & reference: The India

opportunity

With the internet connections increasing in India in leaps and bounds, there is a huge scope of

business in Search and reference. Indian users have increasingly started using internet for search

and reference purpose. Recent marketing trends add weight to the power of word of mouth

spread of opinions. Many reference websites carry users opinion of the given commodity and

services. This acts as a reference for the future buyers. The search industry comprises of gamut

of business, be it Matrimonial Search, Real Estate search, location search, Local searches, search

for educational institutions, their ratings and so forth.

Before moving further lets have a quick look at the increasing internet connectivity in the

country. This represents a whole new business opportunity in Search and reference industry.

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Internet Usage Stats for India: Engine of

Business Growth

( Source :

http://www.internetworldstats.com/asia/in.htm)

The penetration of internet is as high as 8.5% in India with almost 10 crore users. In tier 1 and

tier 2 cities this penetration is even higher. The growing connectivity presents a very conducive

environment for the growth of Search and Reference industry.

Existing Business in India

The most successful businesses in Search and Reference field business in India may be classified

into :

1. The Job Search Market

2. The Real Estate Search Market

3. The Higher Education Search

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http://www.internetworldstats.com/asia/in.htmhttp://www.internetworldstats.com/asia/in.htm


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4. The Knowledge Based Search

We will discuss the business model and business opportunities in the above sectors in details a

little further. The above businesses suit very well with the changing demography and prosperity

level in the country. As median age hovers in 30s, the spurt in job search business is pretty

obvious. India has over 63% population in the working age group. This presents a huge

opportunity in the job search market.

As the GDP of country grows at over 8% year on year basis, the opportunities in the Real estate

business are huge. Coupled with the increasing computer literacy people have increasingly

started turning to web help to gather information about flats, apartments and bungalows. This

presents huge opportunities to develop business in Real estate Search market. Here we can refer

the business model of magicbricks.com or 99acres.com.

The higher education search presents great opportunities to develop business in. students are

increasingly referring to web search and reference sites like pagalguy.com, coolavenues.com for

MBA related information.

Online Job Search Business

Online job search market has entered into exciting phase as more and more Indian job seekers

log into the net to check the best jobs available to them. This creates a business opportunity to

get into. As of now there are only a handful of big players in the Indian online job search market.

Lets first see how Online job seeking help ease recruitment process.

1. Easy access to live employment opportunities by the recruiters

2. Thousands of hits by job seekers.

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3. Highly cost effective for companies.

4. Private, and automated employment alerts can be sent to the prospects through email, sms

etc.

5. Link to micro websites of many companies.

6. Database may accessed by thousands of recruiters across the globe.

Top Players in the online job search

The Indian job search market has been traditionally dominated by naukri.com. The major

competitors are monster.com, timesjobs.com, freshersworld.com, jobstreet.com andjobsahead.com.

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Business Model of Naukri.com

Key Information regarding Naukri.com:

Naukri.com had a very clear business model from the very beginning. It is

based on the direct inflow of money for the service that it renders to the

customers. Only a few services are free for the job seeker and employer.

Rests are all paid services.

Naukri.com indulges in the following:

1. Maintaining Resume database and making it available to employer and prospects.

2. Resume development

3. Job Alerts

4. Important notification from naukri.com

5. Contacts from recruiters

6. Creating multiple profiles

7. CV notes at 5607055 by SMS.

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Sources of revenue generation for Naukri.com

1. Advertisements: The advertisements of other companies and partner companies get

flashed on naukri.com website.

2. Resume Services: Resume Development, Resume Flash, Resume Display, Resume

Booster, And Express Resume Development Service.

3. Value Packs

4. Recruiters

The advertisements appearing on the left side is an important mode of revenue earning for thecompany.

Modes of Payment

1. Online payment

2. Credit Card, Debit Card, Internet Banking

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3. Cheque/Demand Draft

4. Cheque pickup

5. Cash

Charges pertaining to different Sources

1. Resume Display: Rs 1250 per user

2. Resume Flash : Resume Flash Domestic Consultants . Charges Rs 1000

Send CV to gulf countries: Rs 550

3. Value Packs

Major Competitors:

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The Real Estate Search Business

The Real Estate sector is of huge importance in urban area. According to a report released by

PwC and Urban land Institute, India is the most viable destination for investing in the real estate

business.

More and more Indians are buying houses. In tier 1 and tier 2 cities the level of internet

penetration is very high and prospects turn to websites for search and reference.

The major players in this arena are magicbricks.com, 99acres.com, 100nests.com,

propertwala.com etc.

How they help in Real Estate Business

Provides information about availability of flats etc.

Also gives directions regarding legalities, financial planning

Highly competitive industry: Simplicity, level of details, size of database, search

capabilities, photo or video assistance, sms services etc also comes into picture

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Revenue Comparison of top Search Providers

The Higher Education Search

Higher education sites are search sites augmented with network community which develop most

of the content.

Assists aspirants in preparation, choice of institution and networking by providing forums

to discuss

Volunteer based model

Users are guided to proper threads and links by searching options

Size and growth of the network is critical to the quality and depth of search answers

Following statistics reveals the competition level of higher education search companies in India.

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The Knowledge Based Search

Here the search sites are associated with a niche group of users who generates credible content

and uses it, most often for professional purposes.

Community develops knowledge body but anybody can search for it.

Premium members get premium information

Being niche helps initial growth, but the same prevents further explosion

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One of the gaps in the industry is this communication failure between niche group and

the potential general user

Our Idea

Geo coding is the process of identifying the geographic coordinate of a specific place

with the help of address zip code etc. This process will assist us to create a comprehensive

Geographic information system.

Basically we are collecting and disseminating information regarding the best things that

are available in a particular city. People can search and find reliable and detail information

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about cities they live in or travelling to from our site. Also Geo coding helps the people to

locate the places they want to visit easily

A network community can be created so that more accurate and relevant content is

developed faster. People who would like to become opinion leaders in the site can contribute

vehemently.

And when the geographic information is fed through SMS based system, this can be

linked to marketing programs of shops etc. This acts as an added source of revenue, apart

from advertisement fee.

The critical factors of success would be the relevance of the data to the users and the

usability of the geographic information.

Online Search & reference: The Upper Crest of Yellow

Pages

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Services Provided

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Services Provided:

1. Online portal for Local Commerce Services.

2. Geo coding system that locates the shops/localities.

3. SMS based alert for premium customers

4. Discussion forums for registered users.

5. The forums will include discussions on Latest Coffee shop, Books, store in locality/town,

mall, movies, cars, Bikes etc. This is a way to attract possible new users, who can later

become frequent users and customers. Also will create buzz in the market.

6. Discussion on sensational news about the city.

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PESTL Analysis

Political

Security Concerns of the government may hinder using Geo Coding or google maps in directingthe route to the customers.

Geocoding is the process of finding associated geographical coordinates (often expressed

as latitude and longitude) from other geographic data, such as street addresses, or zipcodes(postal

codes). With geographic coordinates the features can be mapped and entered into Geographic

Information systems, or the coordinates can be embedded into media such as digital photographs

via geotagging ( Source: Wikipedia).

The government may find geotagging as an aid to the terror outfits and hence a security threat.

Economic

1. The PCI and Disposable Income of the Indian population increasing. More people are

hitting websites to gather information.

2. Growth of SMEs and crowding of the market. SMEs would like to advertise through

local commerce sites to increase their client base.

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3. Tier 2 cities and Tier 3 cities present a huge business opportunity. McKinsey reports 40

tier 2 Cities in the country.

Social

Psychographics of the people vis a vis Action, opinion and Interests are shifting. More people

now login to check the nearby store and convenience is taking a front seat.

67% of the people prefer Convenience Shopping and prefer less than 15 minutes travel(Source:

McKinsey report, The Great Indian Bazaar ). The friendly Mom and Pop Stores can use our

web link to advertise.

TechnologicalPenetration of internet in percentage terms is low at 8.5%

Due to the low penetration of internet the number of users of online search and reference are low.

But the numbers are steadily rising and the absolute number of users has grown to 10 crores.

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Porters 5 Forces Analysis

Industry Competitiveness: Moderate

There are only few Large players like Sulekha, Asklaila, Just Dial and Guruji , present in the

segment. Other players like askme.com, khoj.com are still in their respective beta stages.

However, with these beta-stage players gradually growing big, the degree of competiveness is

certain to increase in the coming years and more challenges would be faced by the currently

dominant players in maintaining their respective market shares. Currently, Sulekha is the market

leader with an approximate growth rate of 75 percent (2009-2010). However, Infomedia

,asklaila,justdial are gradually closing in.

Buyer: The advertisers, generally the Small and medium Enterprises (SMEs). As of now, they

have lesser number of choices. As a result, their bargaining power is limited.

Supplier Bargaining Power: High, the primary reason being lack of many big and lucrative

players. Once, more competitors enter the market and once, the market starts reaching a saturated

phase, the bargaining power of the suppliers would gradually decrease.

Threat of New Entrants: High, because of this market delivering high growth rates (Sulekha-

approx. 75% for the year 2009-2010) and demanding relatively low monetary investment. Also,

increasing internet penetration and the phenomenon of more people turning towards web-portals,

are fuelling the entrance of new competitors.

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Entry Barrier: Low. Although, the initial set-up cost (monetary) is relatively low, the

establishment cost is higher in terms of time. Also, these players do not work on the tradition

business model of deliverance of services and charging money in lieu of that. As, a result, it

takes substantial time for these players to go profitable and convert free customers to paid ones.

As a matter of fact, Just Dial has been operating since 1989 while Sulekha has been in the

business since early 2000.

Threat of Substitutes: Less. With increasing internet access and busy schedules of modern

urban population, the threat of substitutes is less in the coming years. TV advertising is costlier.

The lonegitivity of Radio/TV is low. Also, newspaper is not referred to again and again.

Therefore, these Portals are far better options.

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E-Commerce Termpaper_Search and Reference __C-Qube