Savaari – Addressing the Aggregator Problem Through a Customer-Centric Value Offering

Disclaimer: This article was first published here

In the wake of strong dissent expressed by Indian Taxi drivers, it is worth asking whether the aggregator model is one which can keep both the customer as well as the supplier (the taxi driver, in this case) happy? As we speak, numerous taxi unions are on an indefinite strike in major cities like Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi with an overarching complaint- India’s two most popular on-demand cab companies are not helping drivers earn enough; in fact the daily earn for some cab drivers has plummeted by 80% over the last 6 months.

The Customer vs. Supplier Conundrum

With the intense competition in the on-demand taxi aggregation space, the two key actors in the eco-system viz. the driver as well as the customer are often left dissatisfied due to diverging demands – one party is simply not earning enough while the other party is asked to pay an exorbitant amount for a ride. Given that on-demand ride hailing has become a habit, customers are forced to accept the fares displayed on their screens under the guise of the ‘going-rate’ or the ‘price that you pay for comfort’. And there’s nothing wrong with that whatsoever- demand drives prices. Why would a company not want to charge a customer, a certain something, a premium, if there’s a demand for that service?

The problem becomes a little more complicated when it comes to the drivers. In the early days, aggregator companies invested significant capital into acquiring and retaining driver partners by incentivizing them with lucrative payouts, even if they were losing significant money on every ride. With the focus increasingly turning towards profitability, the companies are forced to cut costs. And the drivers are suffering in the process because of the sudden decline in their incomes.

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Jukebox is here

Sometimes, it’s the journey which becomes more important than the destination. You begin at a point, pause for breath, lose your directions and embark on a different path altogether. Modified directions and better co-travellers make the new roadmap more interesting than your original itinerary.

I hadn’t imagined that a phone call in leisure with Priyanka Purkayastha, founder of Writersmelon, would result in me hopping on to the bandwagon and push more steam into the already running engine.

That’s an excerpt from my Editor’s Note in Jukebox, presented by Writersmelon – a stellar collection of short stories by budding writers in India. Now available on Amazon.

Working as a pre-jury for our annual writing marathon Melonade for the past few years has been one of the best experiences I’ve gathered so far. There’s seldom a greater pleasure for me than to be lauded by young, creative minds for editing and polishing their already stellar stories. With hundreds of entries, Melonade has often drowned me with so much work that I’d forget I exist!

‘A short story creates an entire world in a few pages’ – Tejaswini Apte-Rahm

How often do we come across stories that have the ability to change our lives? Each story in Jukebox presents a choice – a choice from chaos to order, one that has life altering properties. Every track in this medley strikes a different chord at your heart with characters that speak up and stand alone for themselves and their choices. We, at Writersmelon, have handpicked, cut and polished each story till it emanates a beautiful message and stays forever with the reader.

As Preeti Shenoy said rightly in her foreword – ‘The stories had me enthralled, mesmerised and spellbound,’ – Jukebox is here to make an impact and linger in your mind for long. Published by Readomania, Jukebox is a venture by Writersmelon.com – a collection of selected short stories from the 5th edition of Melonade (a nationwide writing competition by Writersmelon).

The long wait is finally over, our path to publishing has been bumpy and came with lot of pleasant & difficult surprises. And now we are gearing up for the launch of this book in Bangalore. Yes, you heard it right. All those wonderful people decided to participate in Melonade – A nationwide writing competition, gave us their best short stories, highly acclaimed authors picked the ones they loved the most & we sprinkled some more magic along with our publisher Readomania.

If you are a book lover & live in Bangalore, don’t miss our first book launch celebration. Meet and chat with the best selling author Preeti Shenoy, the super talented authors of Jukebox and our some of our fabulous bloggers.

We’d love to see you in Bangalore on 8th July, 5-7 pm at Atta Galatta, Koramangala.

Tata Motors launches brand new cars in Sri Lanka

Tata Motors is one of the leading vehicle manufacturers in Sri Lanka offering brand new cars and commercial vehicles. That’s a pretty well known fact but I wasn’t aware that Tata Motors has created a great reputation in the market of passenger vehicles. Primary among these is the Tata Indigo eCS in petrol and diesel variants at great prices. Those of us in India already familiar with the Indigo know very well that this compact and economical sedan car gives a comfortable ride even on bad roads (that are not too difficult to find in the Indian subcontinent)! The Tata Indigo is launched with a host of features like best in-class space, larger than most sedans, and duo float suspension for better comfort in rides.

Since Tata Motors claims ‘Best things in life are automatik,’ – it goes so well with the new Tata GenX Nano automatic cars. These are designed completely for the next generation with amazingly new design philosophy and it is a revolution in the category of hatchbacks with a new ‘sporty’ look. The GenX Nano is totally advanced with great technology and a mileage to die for. It is easily the best small car with automatic features in its segment.

Tata Motors in Sri Lanka also offers other models like Tata Bolt and Tata Zest apart from Tata Indigo eCS & Tata GenX Nano. Basically, you have a lot to choose from based on your requirements and comfort of driving. Welcome to Tata Motors in Sri Lanka!

IndiPR – New Kid On the Block

Image Courtesy: IndiPR

I have never published a Press Release before as most of them turn out to be boring. What would you do with dry information and specifications about a new product launch? Thousands of businesses, products and services are launched everyday across the world. When these products go live, a Press Release is usually the first order of business. These are sent to media professionals, PR agencies, bloggers, influencers and a sundry lot. Most of them have nothing to do with the product/business being launched. They are bored, go ahead and delete the invitation via mail. There are a few influencer platforms that target specific bloggers for different kind of products. IndiPR has arrived with the idea of making Press Releases cool and connecting businesses to influencers seamlessly.

Businesses of various sizes, including start-ups, can now have their Press Releases published by relevant influencers in less than 72 hours. Isn’t that great?

The Process

IndiPR.com was built to make it extremely simple for a business to get their Press Releases published by top bloggers. All a business has to do is upload their Press Release and the ‘Automated Influencer Targeting Engine’, or ‘AITE’ for short, proceeds to accept applications and automatically shortlists bloggers based on various factors including internal ratings and rankings. Once shortlisted, the influencers do their research and publish their articles.

Anoop Johnson, Co-founder & Director of Marketing at IndiBlogger, adds, “With a starting budget of just USD 150, a business of any size will be able to get their press releases published by influential bloggers with a few clicks.”

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