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MACHINES HUB ONLINE MARKETPLACE MODEL SUBMITTED TO: MR. PARTHIBAN ELANGOVAN SUBMITTED BY: ATIN MEHRA PGDM(MARKETING) INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY, GHAZIABAD INDUSTRY ANALYSIS www.machineshub.com through it’s parent company ‘Essflex’ based in Singapore is looking to enter the online marketplace model for sale of new and used industrial machinery The business idea is aimed at leveraging the increased awareness and penetration of internet based product and service models in India Since, the Government of India in it’s annual budget which was presented in Feb,2015 has put greater emphasis on infrastructure development within the country so this industry becomes even more lucrative for new business ventures TARGET MARKET SEGMENT CORPORATES LOOKING FOR NEW/USED MACHINERY INDEPENDEN T INDUSTRIAL UNITS LOCAL BUSINESS HOUSES LOOKING FOR TURNAROUND FACTORS FAVOURING THE BUSINESS MODEL OF MACHINESHUB The target market segment of Machines Hub is increasingly looking for in-depth and validated information about machines and its spare parts on internet before making the final decision to purchase www.machineshub.com has the potential to become the one single destination and information source for industrial machinery and spare parts buyers According to PWC’s post budget analysis in Feb,2015 India might witness shortfall of industrial equipment and machinery considering the Modi Government’s huge push for infrastructure development INTERNET USAGE BEHAVIOR OF TARGET MARKET SEGMENT The business model of www.machineshub.com will be based on B2B buyers and sellers who are more professional and looking for streamlined and technical details about the machines These industrial units are more active on professional networking websites such as Linkedin rather than social media channels such as Facebook, Google+ etc Adequate and consistent information related to machines and spare parts and their intricate usage can act as a catalyst for buyers to close the deal through www.machineshub.com Comparatively smaller business owners and independent business units are looking for USED CASE STUDIES through which they gain knowledge about the usage and benefits of using the various industrial machines EXISTING COMPETITORS(INDIAN MARKET) www.locanto.in www.tradeindia.com http://www.clickindia.com/heavy-equipment/ http://www.machineryzone.in/ EXISTING MAJOR COMPETITIORS(TRANSNATIONAL MARKET PLAYERS) Noble Iron www.machines4u.com.au www.worldequip.com http://www.empirecat.com/New_and_Used_Equipment/Used_Equipment/Used_Equipment.aspx https://www.rbauction.com/construction?id=ci&q=Y2l8Tj00Mjk0NzQ4MDY5 http://www.rockanddirt.com/ Foreign online aggregators working in this domain can act as major threat in this industry as the manufacturing and industrial units do not shy away to purchase the machinery from foreign players if they are more cost competitive Thus, most important parameters to ensure competitive advantage in this industry can be attributed as: Cost Competitiveness Product reliability (Compliance Management) Proper Legal Agreements and documentation between Buyers and Suppliers Credit Rating of Buyers and Suppliers PRODUCTS OFFERED EXCAVATORS LOADERS DUMPERS BULLDOZERS SCRAPERS ROLLERS CRANES ROAD CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT PILE DRIVING, TRENCHING, DRILLING EQUIPMENTS CRUSHERS SCREENERS COMPRESSORS GENERATORS PUMPS/MOTORS ACCESSORIES SPARE PARTS POWER SYSTEMS FORK LIFT BRAND BUILDING STRATEGIES FOR www.machineshub.com (Based on Competitor Analysis) KEY INSIGHTS THROUGH PERSONAL INTERVIEWS Based on the insights gained from two industry veterans through personal interviews it can be concluded that Buyers are looking for : In-depth information about the machinery The warranty period(both for new and old machinery) Role of machineshub in case of litigation Freight quotes and delivery services intermediation Testimonials from previous buyers(success stories) Quality control and validation policy CONTENT MARKETING Content marketing can become the key differentiating factor for Machines Hub in this online marketplace model Various content marketing strategies that can be leveraged by the firm are: WEEKLY NEWSLETTERS BLOGS related to tips on buying and maintenance of new & used machinery CASE STUDY REPOSITORY for buyers and sellers TESIMONIALS & SUCCESS STORIES of previous buyers and suppliers on machineshub.com WEEKLY NEWSLETTERS Machines Hub must come up with weekly newsletters covering various aspects of purchase cycle and latest machinery updates to keep the followers engaged Various subjects which must be covered through newsletter are: Offer Alert : Various latest offers related to new machinery and spare parts offerings Information about latest trends and machines being used in various sectors such as Agriculture, Waste recycling, Assembly line processing and other related sectors Industry News: Latest updates and news about various industry best practices Indian Government’s Boost to Infrastructure sector and role & contribution of Machines Hub in ‘Make in India’ through integration of buyers and suppliers of modern machinery BLOGS Machineshub must also create a dedicated blog to: Increase and promote its product and service offerings Promote user generated blogs on its FORUM to generate rapid and diverse content catering to the needs of diverse manufacturing sectors Industry News: Latest updates and news about various industry best practices Cover trends in the R&D sector and new upcoming machines and spare parts on www.machineshub.com Checkpoints to be kept in mind while purchasing on www.machineshub.com so as to avoid any inconvenience CASE STUDY REPOSITORY Used Case Studies repository can act as one of the most promising aspect for Machines Hub to boost the morale of buyers on the portal Machines Hub must create repository of small caselets and their outputs related to the role of various machines and industrial equipments being sold on the portal These used cases will not only act as a repository of knowledge but will also enhance: SEO rating of www.machineshub.com due to increased user engagement Increased buyer confidence in genuineness of the product offerings TESTIMONIALS AS A TOOL FOR WORD OF MOUTH ADVERTISING Industrial equipment and machinery sales is a B2B sales process and involves long gestation periods Several buyers are apprehensive of the quality, genuineness and warranty of the OLD machines and spare parts TESTIMONIALS from the previous buyers and suppliers on the portal shall help them to make an informed decision and also will help the portal to win their confidence Testimonials will also act as a source of word of mouth advertising for the portal and will help to enhance the conversion ratio(prospect to deal conversion) PROMOTION THROUGH LINKEDIN PAGE Linkedin will act as one of the most important social media tool for www.machineshub.com as: Most of the industrial and professional buyers and sellers are active on Linkedin Linkedin Page for machineshub will act as a catalyst to increase the prospect engagement by starting new discussions and regularly involving the page members through intuitive queries and their solutions about various industrial products and processes Linkedin will also help in connecting with various procurement specialists and CXO’s of the firms who are the real decision makers and influencers while purchasing heavy machinery and equipment in various industries FACEBOOK & GOOGLE+ Facebook and Google+ accounts must be leveraged to promote brand visibility amongst target audience The facebook and google+ posts must have: More graphic content rather than textual content People on facebook and Google+ are looking for relaxed and leisure oriented targeting which can be done by: Promoting Logo and Brand name of machineshub.com Create posters which are easy to understand and graphic heavy rather than content related to various latest industrial equipments and machinery Personalised messages must be posted on the facebook page through inclusion of MACHINESHUB MASCOT (Various firms are increasingly coming up with mascots or symbols associated with the firm which gives a differentiated positioning and brand equity in the market) LEVERAGING TWITTER HANDLE Atleast two tweets must be posted daily on the twitter handle involving: ‘EQUIPMENT TRIVIA OF THE DAY’ which provides interesting trivia related to some new business manufacturing process or innovative use of some industrial equipment which helps to increase the operational efficiency for the firm(website links must be tweeted which re-directs the user to www.machineshub.com) Again, the tweets must use the Brand Logo and Mascot of www.machineshub.com which is visually more attractive and promotes the user to open the web link Certain videos related to new manufacturing processes can also be posted but this content must be developed in-house by Essflex VIRTUAL TRADE SHOWS & SUPPLIERS MEET THROUGH ‘WEBINARS’ Participation in trade shows and meets can be generally expensive and it is easier said than done to organize such events But, digital technologies can be leveraged to conduct WEBINARS for the Linkedin, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter followers of the portal Personalised invitations can be sent through E-Mails(E-mail based marketing) to the followers The Webinars must be related to various new business process improvement methods which use state of the art machinery available on www.machineshub.com (This would be equivalent to television advertising to start off with) Various industry leaders and product process specialists must be invited from whom the followers can learn and at the same time help to build a brand for www.machineshub.com MOBILE APP FOR ANDROID & IOS USERS In the long run, www.machineshub.com must come up with a mobile app for Android, iOS and Windows smart phone users As the mobile app development is a costly affair and might involve Rs.2lac-Rs.5 lac depending on the interface, so as and when www.machineshub.com gains traction they must come up with this app as more users are now logging in through mobile phones and not from the desktops TARGETED ADVERTISING THROUGH GOOGLE ADS As soon as the portal www.machineshub.com starts gaining traction amongst users, they must focus on promoting their brand through targeted advertising by using Google Ads These Google ads must be displayed on online forums and websites dealing in B2B sales such as www.indiamart.com As these advertisements will have pay per click model, these ads will help the portal to increase the brand visibility and promotion on a massive scale DEDICATED CALL CENTRE FACILITY www.machineshub.com must come up with a dedicated call centre and customer support facility as: Industrial equipment deals are B2B sales and require long gestation periods Frequent follow ups are required with buyers and suppliers after the quotation is supplied www.machineshub.com must enable the users to POST THEIR BUY/SELL REQUIREMENT THROUGH CALL CENTRE and PORTAL INQUIRIES even if the required product is currently not available on the portal so that as and when suitable products are available they can be contacted ADDITIONAL SERVICES TO BE OFFERED ON www.machineshub.com Acting as a mediator to provide QUALITY ASSURANCE for the buyers of the equipments EXCULSIVE DEALERSHIP: The portal can enter into exclusive dealership agreements with various buyers and sellers to maintain long-term relationship RENTING: In addition to Buy/Sell model on the portal, www.machineshub.com can also act as a mediator to fix renting agreements as these heavy and costly equipments might not be required for long term by everyone esp. in Construction equipments industry GET FREIGHT QUOTES: Help the buyers and sellers to get them best deals on Freight charges through your logistics partners ADDITIONAL SERVICES TO BE OFFERED ON www.machineshub.com (CONTD…) ENSURE COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT: This single act(though difficult) can help increase the trust of the buyers and sellers on the portal CREDIT RATING OF BUYERS AND SUPPLIERS AND FINANCING OPTIONS : Frequent buyers can be helped by maintaining their credit rating on the portal and helping them in financing(through third party agents) their upcoming purchase of machinery on the portal by checking their credit worthiness MONTHLY AUCTIONS: www.machineshub.com can organize monthly auctions in which it can provide some minor exemptions to the users on purchasing the equipments on that particular day( These kind of auctions have seen good traction on other competitor websites of Machines Hub) QUALITY CONTROL AND VALIDATION POLICY: www.machineshub.com must only deal in genuine equipments and with trustworthy suppliers which helps to create strong brand foundation from the initial days only THANK YOU