www.meramedicare.com

Ideal Customer Acquisition Strategies for Mera Medicare

-- Raktim ChoudhuryIIM Trichy PGP(2015-17)

IntroductionMera Medicare is a startup that uses an online platform to deliver both branded and generic medicines to the customer’s doorstep at a discounted price.As of now, the it functions in a marketplace model, connecting pharmacy retailers with customers.The Objectives of Mera Medicare are:

» Give customers the option of buying Generic drugs, which have the same effectiveness as their branded counterparts but costs significantly less

» Provide customers the advantage of comparing prices offered by different retailers

» Offer medicines at discounted rates» Efficient door to door delivery of medicines and body care products

Overall customer satisfaction is of utmost priority to Mera Medicare.To this end, the startup also comes out with a newsletter to keep the customers informed of the latest deals available.

Roadblocks in Scaling UpAs of Now:

• Operating in Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon and Bangalore• About 5000 registered patients• Network of more than 250 pharmacies

Short Term Goal:– To be operational in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat, Chennai and Jaipur

at the earliest– Register 500,000 patients and add 1000 pharmacists to network– Increase daily transactions to 5000 per day

Challenges: Noida, Gurgaon and Bangalore have been the hotbed of startups. But

after initial success in these cities, several un-conventional startups face difficulties in scaling out to other cities of India

Reason is unlike most other cities they are highly cosmopolitan with a largely mobile and young population who are open to any idea that decreases their non-work related activities.

Roadblocks in Scaling UpChallenges:

Most tier 2 cities of India have a strong local influence. Very often pharmacy shops also house doctor chambers.

This can actually make customer penetration difficult in these cities as people here are often looking at end-to-end solution of their healthcare problems. This is something that Mera Medicare is not providing.

These difficulties are further compounded by expansion of competitors in these cities, in which case there will be the factor of first mover advantage to compete with (ex, MediDart).

Way Out:• Aggressive marketing strategy for customer acquisition• Increase breadth of services offered to include:

o Online Doctor Consultationo Online searching & booking of medical tests

Target MarketDemographic SegmentationTwo major demographic factors, namely Age and Education will decide the target market.

» Age:The target market will be the young and middle aged IndiansMostly in the age groups of 18-34 and 35 to 49

» Education:The targeted segment should be literateShould have basic internet or smart phone usage knowledge

Geographic SegmentationThe target market will be the urban IndiaTier-1 and Tier-2 cities will be in scope

Conventional Marketing ChannelsListed on the bar graph are few of the marketing channels that are commonly adopted by companies and their trust percentage among the consumers.

To maximize the reach of Mera Medicare, we will have to narrow down to those methods that can give us the maximum reach at the lowest cost.1. Influencer Marketing: The chances of a customer approaching a product

are the highest when suggested by a friend/family member/colleague.This is the most effective channel and even though it might take a while to reach a high penetration, it is the best bet to create a loyal customer base.

2. Radio & SMS: They are low on trust quotient but have high penetration and incur low cost. Good for spreading awareness of the platform.

Influencer Marketing

Customer Reviews

Newsprint

Brand Sponsorship

Billboard Ads

Radio

Mobile SMS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

92%

70%

58%

47%

47%

42%

29%

Consumer Trust Factor

Online Marketing1. Search Engine Optimization:

– The most prevalent method for looking up online stores of any kind is through search engines (mostly Google in India)

– Currently Mera Medicine does not feature anywhere on the results page, when searched with “online medicine store India” (prompted by Google)

– This should be brought up at least within top five results.

Online Marketing2. Influencer Marketing -- 1:

– Online Social Influencers – People who have large friend networks on social media platforms and are actively followed by friends and peers

– They are ideally placed to promote a new product/platform among their network

– Digital Marketing platforms like Fromote can be put to effect to identify a social influencer.

Online Marketing3. Influencer Marketing -- 2:Building a Customer Network Incentivize existing customers to market the product actively

The incentives will be credited on their online wallets on Mera Medicare The balance in online wallet can be used to purchase medicine and other

goods from Mera Medicare only*This model has been used very effectively by both Oriflame and Amway

Step 1A customer registers on

the Mera Medicare website and does

transaction.

Step 2When sum total of all his

transactions crosses the Rs 1000 mark, he is designated

as a “Trusted Customer”

Step 3The TC is asked to invite friends and relatives to

register with MM.The TC is asked to endorse MM on his

Facebook Wall.

Step 4Whenever the transaction total of a direct connection (Level-1) of the TC crosses a 1000s mark, Rs 100 is credited to a

online wallet of the TC

Step 5Every time one of the Level-1

connections refer and register a new member, the TC will get an incentive of

Rs100MM Mera Medicare

TC Trusted Customer

Online Marketing3. Influencer Marketing -- 2:Building a Customer Network – An Example

D

A

C

B

G

F

E

Purchase made by B 3500

Purchase made by C 1000

Purchase made by D 600

Purchase made by E 2000

Purchase made by F 1200

Purchase made by G 4050

Level - 1Level - 2

Total Incentives EarnedA 300(B crosses 3000 mark) +

100 (C is at 1000) + 100*4 (Rs100 for each Level -2 contact added to network)

Rs 800

B 0 (D has not crossed 1000) + 200(E crosses 2000)

Rs 200

C 100(F crosses 1000) + 400 (G crosses 4000 mark)

Rs 500

Benefits of this Marketing Strategy: Over time will result in a large and loyal customer

network, that will expand out of its own interest. As Trusted Customers will endorse Mera

Medicare on their Facebook wall, it will also act as a method of Online advertising.

Mobile MarketingSMS MarketingPros:High Penetration – generates awareness about the productLow Cost – available at rates of 10 to 28 ps per SMS depending on the volume of SMS-s (*reference: http://www.indiasms.com/bulk-sms-promotional.html)

Cons: Low on trust factor

Launching into New CitiesWhile Launching Mera Medicare into major cities, the marketing campaign should be aggressive and should ensure maximum possible penetration. Following are few of the methods that can be taken up:

Promotional Stalls: Temporary stalls to be set up in and around the major public and private

hospitals of the city. The representative there should be equipped with pamphlets and should be

able to convey to people how Mera Medicare provides branded and generic drugs at discounted prices.

Network with Pharmacies: The first pharmacies to be on boarded should be those in the vicinity of large

private and public hospitals, because they have a high footfall. The medicines, bought by customers over the counter should be distributed

in “Mera Medicare” sponsored packets and should have a punch line. Promotion should start well before launch

Launching into New CitiesCollaborate with Doctors:

Send representatives to doctor’s chambers (particularly general physicians) to put up posters conveying the benefits of using Mera Medicare

Site cost benefits to convince doctors to prescribe Mera Medicare to patients from Low and Middle income groups

Radio Advertising: FM Radio has got good presence in most Tier 1 & 2 Indian cities Radio advertisements have a high penetration and they are relatively low in

cost (starts from INR 5000 per month – depends on number of iterations and the brand of the channel)

Can be used effectively to make the target audience aware of the new healthcare option in town

Further Market PenetrationTie-Up with NGOs:

NGOs like Rotary Club, Rotaract Club, Lions Club, Save The Children etc are heavily involved in social causes and often need medical supplies to support their various activities

The members are mostly among the young and middle age groups and have large social circles.

Mera Medicare can tie up with such NGOs to provide cheap generic drugs (OTC only) and supplements and in cases provide sponsorship for their events.

This will create a socially responsible image for brand “Mera Medicare” Also the members can help propagate the brand name via word of mouth or via social

media like Facebook and Twitter.

Engage with Students: In Indian middle class families, students of age group 18 to 24 are the change drivers Mera Medicare needs to engage and influence these young minds in order to become

a household name in the healthcare sector Paper presentation on social issues, quizzes and events can be few of the methods to

engage with students and further highlight the socially responsible brand image of “Mera Medicare”

Eye on the CompetitionMajor Competitors:

1. Medidart2. 1mg3. MeraPharmacy4. Online Medical Store

Threats from Competitors: The major threats are from Medidart and 1mg because, unlike Mera

Medicare, they provide end to end healthcare solutions, including doctor’s appointment, lab appointments and Health Insurance Policy comparison.

1mg operates mostly in norther Indian cities which do not overlap with the expansion plans of Mera Medicare and thus doesn’t pose an immediate threat.

However, Medidart is already operational in most of the cities that Mera Medicare is planning to expand into and can pose as a entry barrier.

Eye on the CompetitionLocal Challenges:

The society, in most Indian Tier-2 cities, is very close knit. Business transactions are often conducted on basis of trust.Moreover often in these cities, the large pharmacies have doctors chambers integrated in them and customers often prefer the one stop solution.

Solution: Keeping the local challenges and competition in mind, Mera Medicare needs to

do the following to come out on top in these cities: Needs to include doctors in its network and provide the customers the option

of consulting a doctor online. o As an interim measure a tie up with a platform like e-Vaidya can be

made, which provide only doctor consultancy and no medicine Provide option of booking lab appointments online and facility of at-home

collection of blood samples. Build a strong network of reputed pharmacies

Overall a Smart Choice

THANK YOU

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Team

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