Ola, doesn't need an introduction. Almost, everyone in India knows about this company. But still, a quick gist of what the company is all about: Ola Cabs is an Indian multinational ride sharing company (app as a product). It also operates in other business verticals including financial services, cloud kitchens, and used-car marketplace.
The name Ola was taken from the Spanish word "Hola" which says "Hello".
Think this way, how many Indians own a private four wheeler? How many could afford to own one? However, the need to commute from one place to another is almost a need for everyone. OLA, solves the exact same problem.
Yes, there are other means of transport (Public transport), but the need for private vehicle is imperative. Maybe, due to crowded, safety, comfort and much more!
This post is not about how Ola is doing the business, how much profit or loss they're making?
This post is all about how Ola helps people by solving their problem i.e. We're gonna talk about how the product / platform helped / helping / will help us. What kind of monetization strategy they had used to enhance their user base and etc.
Let's have a look at what and how did the Mr. Bhavish Aggarwal, Mr. Ankit Bhati & their team accomplished.
So, how did Ola monetize on the go without sacrificing the growth or speed of execution:
When? | What? | How? | Result |
2010 | Induction of Ola | Initial release of an app | People started liking it |
2014 | Marketing Emails |
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Assuming, Ola get 25% in every ride, that's a huge money. (Minimum Rs. 25 for every ride) |
200,000 vehicles, 150,000 bookings every day | |||
But, Wait, Ola said the ride would be cheaper than an Auto, Rs. 10/km. However, I'm paying Rs.100 on average, which is less than a km. Eventually, the user base should decrease, the customer would drop off. Let's see what happened next | |||
2015 | Now, Ola has introduced 'Ola Wallet' to lock-in the user base which achieved so far. | ||
| Okay, a whole lot of things were happening on rides, why not foods? Hence, Ola introduced 'Ola Cafe', an online food delivery system (within the same app). Users can order foods from restaurants which are in their vicinity. Ola promised to deliver within 20 mins only on stipulated time like for lunch, dinner. | |||
Now, why don't grocery, since the company is expert in rides, food delivery. Ola went into a fast delivery grocery market, which is currently on boom (Swiggy, Grofers, Zepto and much more). It attempted to make inroads in the grocery segment by opening a standalone online grocery store in Bengaluru, quick on the heels of a food delivery app in March of the same year. The intention was to use its cabs and drivers to also deliver groceries, between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. | |||
| During the Chennai floods, Ola helped people by providing Ola boats to rescue people and to provide food and drinking water free-of-cost. The boats were equipped with two rowers, sufficient umbrellas and can ferry five to nine people on a trip. | |||
| Odd-Even system in Delhi | To tackle Delhi's air pollution, the CM announced that private cars with odd number would allow to move on roads on certain days in a week alone, while the vehicle with even numbers goes on the remaining days | Don't worry people, Ola is here! Launches Ola-ride share, which allows different riders on same route / vicinity to book a single ride. With 50% off & No surge pricing | |
2016 | Shuts both Ola Store and Foods | ||
| Demonetization | Ola deployed mobile ATMs In association with YES Bank, Ola brought Cash-On-Wheels | The Ola Cash-On-Wheels will be equipped with a swiping machine that allows you to withdraw money. We loved it, why not? | |
Users are loving Ola Share, why don't give them more and lock them in? Ola Share Pass: It offers the convenience of hassle free daily commute on Ola Share rides with its fixed fares. Travel anywhere in the city with fares starting from as low as flat Rs.40 per ride.  Then, evolves the Ola share feature: You could choose the pass based on the Kms you wants to travel  Then, expanded the feature to multiple cities over India. | |||
Okay, what about Premium customers? Did Ola forget to focus on them? NOPE! Here comes, Ola Select membership:  Simply, you're the priority. However, the membership gonna expire one day. 🤔  This feature is to lock in premium users. Locked! | |||
Yayy! Now, Budget and Premium customers have locked in! But, what if they don't have money at an instance? What if there is no balance on the Ola Money wallet? To solve this problem, Ola Credit has been introduced:  You can actually ride an Ola and pay later for the same. We call this wonderful facility the Ola Credit. A feature where you can take multiple rides without paying. You'll only have to pay at the end of the credit cycle or if you max out your limit. And all this at no extra cost or interest! Yes, wow! Cool! Money is flowing, you're paying, Ola is paying for you, you repay, everything was going good! | |||
2017-18 | Set the basics right! Let's add some value added features: Ola Prime is a membership option that is available to a limited set of customers. If you are an Ola Prime member then you can expect a lot more than just booking a ride. It provides you with the best of everything.
It was introduced when Wi-Fi is not common on cars. Every time you enter the cab, you'll get an OTP to connect to the network > To add more comfort, Auto connecting Wi-fi feature was introduced. Your mobile number is your default password. (Wonderful customization!) | ||
Even though the users liked it, they also hated it! Since, it has been only for sedan cars (which were sold out firstly) Hence, Wi-fi connectivity on Ola Mini and then Autos as well! | |||
2019 | July - Mumbai Autorickshaw had announced one day strike demanding a ban on the entry of app based car aggregators |
| Ola's user base increased |
Moreover, announced 'Diwali - Ola Money' offer which basically double your Ola money. This is to loop the users within the eco-system. | |||
Uff! So, what business the Ola is really in?
- Mobility (Move people) - Cabs, Bikes, Autos
- Logistics (Move things to people) - Café, Store, ATM
What are the tools has been used for lock-in users?
- Ola Money
- Ola Select
- Ola Share Pass
- Ola Credit
What we learnt from these features implementations:
The Larry Page mindset:
Every user problem is our problem- Solutions (Ola - use case): Credit, ATMs, Share, Wifi, Auto Connect Wifi
Obviously, this is just a bucket from the ocean. There were lots more happened / will be happening with Ola (don't forget the EV space). The crux of the post is, that the Ola experimented with many different things & succeeded.
Dislaimer: Pardon me, if I messed up with the timelines.
Adviser:
Pradeep Varadaraja session on Product Led Growth organized by The Product Folks.
References:
1 Comments
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