All Posts by Himanshu Sheth

|In: Banking|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Few weeks back, HDFC released PayZapp, India’s first 1-click mobile-pay solution & now, IndusInd Bank has joined the foray of integrating banking services with Social Media Platforms. IndusInd Bank has launched yet another Customer Responsive service called QuickPay, wherein IndusInd Bank customers can send money instantly to their personal contacts and/or business parties through SMS, E-mail and social media platforms, without having the beneficiary Bank Account details.

The sender can simply go to the bank website and transfer money to the recipient instantly, by just filling the E-mail Id or Mobile Number of the receiver. Moreover, customers can choose to send E-Gift Cards through the QuickPay platform to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

IndusInd_Pay

How Quickpay works

An IndusInd Bank customer can initiate a Quickpay transfer from the bank’s website or using the Net Banking instantly with a personalized message and with the choice of greeting. The sender gets a ‘Quick code’ that is shared with the recipient for completing the transfer. Quickpay happens via NPCI’s Immediate Payment Service [IMPS Person to Account] that is instant and 24*7.

While launching the service Ritesh Raj Saxena, Head – Savings, Digital & Payments Business, IndusInd Bank said

IndusInd Bank’s QuickPay service is aimed at delighting the customers in the digital age. Today’s young & digitally savvy customers expect payments to happen instantly & seamlessly. This service empowers IndusInd Bank consumers to send money to anybody, anywhere on a real time basis via social platforms. Bank will also soon launch its Wallet based payment App.

To experience QuickPay,please visit this link. For more information on QuickPay, please visit the following link.

About IndusInd Bank

IndusInd Bank, which commenced operations in 1994, caters to the needs of both consumer and corporate customers. Its technology platform supports multi-channel distribution network. For more information, please visit IndusInd.com

|In: Brand Building|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Akosha, an online complaints redressal company, is now Helpchat, a messenger based personal assistant platform which will help people get things done. Helpchat is available as an app on the Android store.

Sensing a much larger play, Akosha entered into an elaborate re-positioning exercise with the Mumbai based agencies Ogilvy & Mather and Open Design. To pin down the ‘big itch’ around which the service would revolve, the team mapped the customers’ needs and queries, which in turn revealed a major theme of our world today: People are drowning in tasks and are constantly looking for help.

HelpChat

Speaking about the re-branding, Ankur Singla, CEO & Founder, Helpchat said

We are here to end the biggest battle of our daily lives—the one against tasks. We started as a complaint platform, but as more people started using our service, the nature of queries changed and we realized that people were seeking all kinds of help.

We are providing a helping hand to make every day easier. Imagine if you can message your personal assistant to get all kinds of things done. From deciding your next purchase, ordering a laundry service to booking a restaurant table, from tech support to locating a medical specialist – everything that is part of our everyday task list. Being a mobile app, we are fighting for precious real estate. We want to become a default behavior. Have to get something done? Put Helpchat in action.

Kali Charan Shukla, who heads brand strategy at Helpchat, says

We live in a world complicated by information and choice, where every little task demands time and attention. We wanted to position Helpchat as a power tool in the hands of the people – one that amplifies their ability to get things done. Our promise: Do more, by doing less.

Vishal Chaudhry, CTO,Helpchat adds

We are also using NLP/AI to automate the answering of these queries. Currently, more than 25% of the 30,000 daily requests are handled by a chat-bot.

Based on the realization that businesses play an important role in getting things done for consumers, Helpchat provides priority access to large brands, including major players like Aircel, Voltas, Eureka Forbes, Spice Mobiles, Rediff Shopping & more.

More than 100 local businesses in Bangalore [Kormangala & Indiranagar] across categories like grocery, fitness, laundry and beauty are using this app to help their customers. Helpchat [then Akosha] had raised Rs.100 crores from Sequoia Capital two months ago.

About Helpchat

Helpchat is a chat-based personal assistant app that helps people to get more things done. Previously known as Akosha, Helpchat goes a step further by being a true power tool in the hands of consumers. It amplifies their ability to get things done easily with its brand promise: “Do more by doing less”.

Be it anything, from recharging your phone to tech support, travel booking to holiday guidance, grocery to food ordering, shopping assistance to finding deals and coupons, web check-in to getting your laundry done, Helpchat can get all of this done over chat. In a world where one’s ability to do more things finally defines success, Helpchat can be every smart consumer’s little trump card.

|In: Business|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Symantec & Frost Data Capital has announced a partnership to fuel innovation in cyber security analytics, big data and Internet of Things [IoT] security. Symantec and Frost Data Capital will create and seed early-stage startups with funding, resources and expertise. These startup companies will receive access to Frost Data Capital’s data analytics ecosystem and deep knowledge and will have the opportunity to collaborate with Symantec to solve the most complex challenges shaping tomorrow’s threat landscape.

Frost_Synamtec

Talking about the plan, Jeff Scheel, SVP, Strategy, Alliances and Corporate Development at Symantec said

We’re taking a fresh look at driving innovation in the market and this partnership will enable Symantec to transform raw ideas and concepts into meaningful security companies. By collaborating with Frost Data Capital, we create an environment primed to incubate new, innovative and disruptive startups in cyber security – especially in the realm of IoT technologies where verticals like process control, automotive, health care and energy require specialized skills.

The partners will take non-traditional steps to confront the next generation of threats targeting emerging technologies by incubating up to 10 companies per year that will deliver advanced cyber security analytics. Frost Data Capital underpins the incubator with seasoned entrepreneurs, proven innovation methodology and process, & deep expertise in big data analytics, IoT, industrials and healthcare.

John Vigouroux, Managing Partner & President, Frost Data Capital commented

We’re seeing a huge opportunity in the IoT security market. We’re excited to work with Symantec to bring cutting-edge, relevant security analytics solutions to market rapidly, in order to prevent next generation cyber-attacks on corporate infrastructures. Symantec brings to the table world-class security technology, global presence and strategic relationships that will be instrumental to launching these startups.

Recent Symantec research shows cyber attackers are leap-frogging defences in ways companies lack insight to anticipate. Further complicating security efforts, criminals are increasingly leveraging legitimate technology like enterprise software and corporate management tools, as well as emerging technology, such as connected devices to carry out attacks.

About Frost Data Capital

Frost Data Capital is a combined incubator and venture capital firm with a unique approach, designed specifically to capture some of the enormous value that will be created as the “Big Data” revolution unfolds. Based out of Southern California, Frost Data Capital has built an eco-system of innovative startups, with deep expertise in big data, entrepreneurialism, advanced technology, analytics, and the Industrial Internet. For more information, please visit Frost Data Capital

|In: Technology|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

YouWeCan Ventures, the investment company founded by cricketer Yuvraj Singh, has become a Limited Partner [LP] in a film and media-focused venture capital fund following investment of an undisclosed amount in the new investment vehicle.

The investment company, which started operations in April, will be an anchor investor in the Securities and Exchange Board of India-approved Media Fund, promoted by Mumbai-based DAR Media Private Limited, which has produced a number of critically and commercially acclaimed films such as The Lunchbox

YouWeCan

This will be the early-stage investor’s first investment in a fund, a departure from its strategy of making direct investments in ventures.

Speaking about the association, Nishant Singhal, co-founder of YouWeCan Ventures said

We are fascinated with work done by DAR Group in Indian cinema space. We will be working with the fund to develop sports and youth-oriented genre for both domestic and international audience over the next five years.

The Rs 100-crore Media Fund, which has a green-shoe option of an additional Rs 100 crore, has already received commitments of Rs 60 crore, and will co-invest in projects. Yuvraj Singh will come on board as a director of the asset management firm.

Arun Rangachari, chairman, DAR Capital Group said

The Media Fund will not have an exposure to more than 25% of the total project. The fund will invest in 11 projects in its first round, and has already identified projects for its pipeline of investments.

Till date, YouWeCan Ventures has announced four investments in startups, including in Moovo, a Delhi-based on-demand logistics booking platform, Gurgaon-based online healthcare marketplace Healthians.com, education services marketplace EduKart and mobile app platform Vyomo

About YouWeCan Ventures

YouWeCan is a 50 CR seed fund that is created to empower young entrepreneurs on their journey to build brands and successful business ventures and improve the life standard of society. More information at their website.

Image Credit – pixr8

|In: Marketing|Last Updated:

There was a post which we wrote around 7 years back which stressed on how Traditional Marketing techniques can help to retain customers & also acquire new customers. 7 years is a very long duration 🙂 & most of those techniques are now outdated/expensive and marketing has taken a new route i.e. The Digital route.

Social Media is now playing an important role in “customer buying behaviour” & customer-sentiment echoes about your brand and might affect “buying behavior of prospective customers”. How irritated do we feel when we get an un-wanted email about deals from companies e.g. Unmarried person receiving deals about diapers etc. Today’s age is more about Understanding the consumer & utilizing information we have about the customer [Buying Behavior] & offer something to them which is RELEVANT to them 🙂 However, this same tip may be true for B2C business but might not be applicable for B2B space.

In a Nutshell, Digital Marketing Strategy needs to answer very simple question – WHO is your customer, HOW do you communicate & WHICH tools are available for communication. My wife runs a small Home-Made chocolate business & sells on online-marketplace(s), so it was evident that Facebook & Instagram would be an ideal place in order to share useful information about Product Updates, Discounts etc. which definitely brought in new likes & new customers but at the same time, Twitter turned out to be less effective.

Today, we look at some of the rules which we can use in today’s Digital Age for “Customer retention” or “Customer Acquisition”

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Leveraging the Right Social Medium

As mentioned at the start of the article, “Knowing a customer” was never so important than it has become now 🙂 It has become very critical to know about the Target Audience [Gender, Age etc.] & their online-habits. Understanding their online-habits can help you to make “content/deals/stuff” tailor-made according to their liking & this would definitely play a vital role in “Retaining that customer”. For B2B companies, LinkedIn might be a better place to acquire new customers.

Lot of new age CXO’s are now active on LinkedIn especially publishing “Posts” since it provides more transparency from company stand-point & at the same time, gives better visibility to the company. However, for B2C companies, Facebook, Instagram etc. might turn out to be more fruitful since they are your target audience [similar to what I mentioned about the Chocolate Business]. Conversion of LIKE/COMMENT to Prospective customer is much higher !!

Better understanding of customer(s), Monitoring competitors & Leveraging the medium is the key…

Build Deeper interactions

In many cases, the ultimate goal of social media marketing is to increase exposure, drive traffic and create leads. This leads to some misconceptions on how to use the platform. You would have encountered this situation – “You are talking to a friend on phone…you are done with all the discussions…dam’n, there is nothing more to discuss and than comes Aur Bolo [Tell Me] 🙂 This means that “All meaningful discussions are complete & hence, the chances to getting hooked on-to that call is less” 🙂 Your online-conversion [on Facebook, Twitter] should not end in “Dead-end” just like the above mentioned telephonic conversion.

Define your target audience[Age,Sex,Marital-Status etc.] , understand their buying decisions and build “Deeper Connect” with them. This creates a very positive influence on your brand & your customers might turn into “Evangelists” 🙂 Personalized and Tailor made content can work wonders in this case. TO THE NEW Digital is a premium digital services company that combines the power of technology, analytics, marketing and content for digital transformation.

Understanding customer, their needs & tailor-made content can go a long way…

Finding Influencers

When I joined Twitter I used to wonder “Why would someone follow me” or better question is “Whom should I start following”. The obvious answer to this question is “Someone who is influential on Social Media/SM Guru etc.” On similar lines, when your brand is present on a Social Media channel, it is very important to find other relevant social media accounts, blogs, sites and services and mention them on your social media feeds. These are the INFLUENCERS for your brand 🙂

Identify Influencers, Reward them & create new Influencers

Social Media Risk Management

We have so far talked about the “Rosy Side” of Social Media but given the “Speed” with which Social Media posts spread like FIRE, Issues can grow quickly and you need to be able to respond. Having presence on Social Media might not be enough for your brand, Listening to what consumers are saying about your brand would drive VALUE. Ensure that there is no leakage of confidential company information.

Feedback [Positive/Negative] should not be deleted since this would ensure that there is “Transparency”. You need to do Social Risk Assessment to quantify, monitor & benchmark social media risk vis-a-vis competition. You need to go beyond the regular social media metrics & quantify risk by analyzing millions of social data points and calculating a unique Social Net Promoter Score [NPS].

Consumer feedback, good or bad, should be seen as “Emotional capital”

In most of the scenarios, companies keep the “Core” work & try to find a partner to work on something “If there is a better fit in the market”. Same can be the case for Social Media Management & Monitoring.

Your can leverage the existing skills of TO THE NEW Digital, a premium Digital Services Company that has a team of over 600 people which includes technology evangelists, social media experts, content specialists, and creative mavericks who have transformed businesses of more than 300 companies spread across 30 countries worldwide. TO THE NEW Digital is also a strategic partner of many global companies including Google, Amazon Web Services [AWS], YouTube, DataStax and MongoDB.

Conclusion

Just to summarize, there is no special Mantra to achieve success on Social Media. Certain tactics might work for the competitors however, might not work for your startup. But in this fast-moving Digital Era where “Information spreads like wild-fire”, these tips might help you to build a better Social Media Strategy for your brand & if you ain’t have that skill, better to partner with an agency that can deliver the goods of “Social Media” for you 🙂

Image Source – Web-Live.it

|In: Entrepreneurship|Last Updated:

Target India announced the third batch of the Target Accelerator Program [TAP]. Five startups, Findmeashoe, TimeFlex, BugClipper, Discover Dollar & House of Blue Beans will be developing disruptive ideas that are relevant to the retail industry.

The four-month immersive program will focus on themes such as Merchandising, Digital Marketing, Omni-channel, Mobile, Supply Chain & Analytics Technology along with areas like Finance & DevOps that are core to retail technology.

Target_Accelerator

The program has evolved to strengthen the innovation capabilities at Target – the latest batch includes three internal teams in addition to the five external start-ups. The initiative will provide team members a platform to test and learn faster. For the start-ups, this presents a chance to understand how Target is transforming to better meet the needs of our guests.

Speaking about TAP, Navneet Kapoor, president and managing director, Target India said

Engaging with the start-up ecosystem provides access to innovative ideas and a newer talent pool that helps us advance our innovation journey. We are excited that the scope of the Target Accelerator Program has been extended to include three internal teams in addition to the five startups. This evolution in scope reflects the breadth of ideas being explored within the organization and externally. Our teams and the startups have a great opportunity to develop their ideas and co-learn through this initiative.

Five Startups selected for the TAP are below:

  1. Findmeashoe helps find the right footwear through virtual shopping
  2. TimeFlex provides cloud based monitoring for micro environments
  3. BugClipper reports bugs and share feedback through screenshots and screen recordings
  4. House of blue beans provides best-in class 3D product visualizations
  5. Discover Dollar’s revolutionary technology stops leakages and over-payments

The internal ideas include applications for curated sales suggestions and DevOps related solutions:

  1. XL-O-Rest provides automated testing suite for restful APIs
  2. ZeroToOne provides a DevOps platform for product engineering
  3. Sales Suggest helps curate sales suggestions for team members during in-store guest interactions

Target extensively reviewed several start-up applications and conducted a competitive evaluation internally to finalize the third batch. This program will run out of a specially designed energetic and creative hub at Target India’s office in Manyata Tech Park, Bengaluru. The teams will have access to a pool of industry’s best mentors and retail insights from Target leaders.

About Target Corporation India

As an extension of our headquarters, Target India operates as a fully integrated part of our global team. Target India’s more than 2,300 team members are engaged in work that supports Target’s global strategy across business areas such as technology, marketing, human resources, finance, merchandising, supply chain, property development, analytics and reporting.

Target cares about and invests in the career development of more than 347,000 team members worldwide and the communities where they live and work. Target’s International Giving Program focuses on creating accessible, quality educational opportunities for children and youth in many of the countries where Target has offices, including India.

[Image Credit – YourStory]

|In: Achievements|Last Updated:

WizIQ, one of the world’s largest cloud based education platforms, added another feather to its growing cap of accolades at the South Asia Education Summit 2015. WizIQ was recognized for its valuable contribution in the e-learning sector in the “Virtual Classroom Provider” category.

The annual awards, held to felicitate education innovations in South Asian countries of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka, also saw keynote speakers from across various industry verticals attend the event.

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Established in 2007 and head-quartered in Chandigarh, WizIQ is a cloud-based platform that enables learning service providers and enterprises to build their own online academy. By providing advanced technologies such as a virtual classroom, video streaming, and online assessments, WizIQ empowers them to deliver and monetize self-paced and live instructor-led learning services to increase learner engagement, improve instructor effectiveness and reach new markets.

Speaking about the achievement, Maneesh Sharma, Chief Revenue Officer, WizIQ, said

The WizIQ virtual classroom extends learning beyond the physical classroom, providing educators with opportunities to create and utilize real-time, direct connections to students. With the ability to enhance live-course convenience, collaboration and engagement, now also through mobile delivery, educators at K-12 schools, universities and in corporate learning centers can deliver live, interactive classes, without compromising the learning experience.

Virtual Classroom’s software supports up to 2,000 students, who can take an online class at the same time. More than 400,000 educators worldwide have taught classes on WizIQ to more than 4 million students.

Some of the WizIQ’s celebrated customers in India include Aakash Institute, Meritnation, Bayju’s Classes, Studentnest and TCY Online.

WizIQ has been felicitated with many noteworthy awards in recognition of its stellar contribution to the e-learning space, such as “Best Virtual Classroom Provider” for two consecutive years [2012/13] at the World Education Congress’ Global e-Learning Awards, 2013 Shiksha Ratna Award for “Best Virtual Classroom”, the Public Choice Award for “Best Innovation in Open and Distance Learning” at the 2011 World Education Awards & the “Best Education Webinar Series” Jury Award at the 2012 Indian Education Congress.

About WizIQ

Founded in 2007, WizIQ is one of the world’s largest cloud based education platforms. Over 400,000 educators have leveraged WizIQ to deliver learning services to 4 Million+ learners across 200 countries. WizIQ’s award winning Virtual Classroom solution that enables online delivery of live instructor-led learning, has received acclaim from education service providers from around the world.

The WizIQ Online Academy Builder represents an evolutionary leap in education technology by empowering education service providers to set up their own customized academies within minutes. Online Academy Builder is designed to increase learner engagement through cutting-edge features, such as mobile learning, video streaming, live online classroom, discussion boards, assessments, insights and analytics. The in-built e-commerce capability enables them to monetize their services and rapidly expand their reach to newer markets.

WizIQ is backed by Bertelsmann SE & Co., which runs Random House and Kaizen, a private equity fund focused on the education sector. For more information, please visit WizIQ

Image Credit – TeachThought

|In: Business|Last Updated:

As businesses grow, so does the danger of online threats which can shake the technological foundation of the company’s operations resulting in an adverse financial impact. Keeping this in mind, F-Secure unveiled the latest version of the F-Secure Business Suite Version 12 that combines airtight security and advanced management into one seamless solution.

F-Secure-logo

According to Amit Nath, F-Secure Country Manager – India/SAARC

F-Secure Business Suite is an on premise security solution that offers best of breed security covering from gateway level to endpoints and cloud both against known vulnerabilities and emerging 0-day threats.

Business Suite Version 12 comes with new additions that will give IT Managers new capabilities with better control and manageability

  • Blocking content [such as Java, Flash or other web components] with Advanced Protection
  • Preventing employee exposure to malicious websites with Web Content Control
  • Controlling access to potentially insecure sites with Connection Control while performing business critical tasks
  • Support for both Physical and Virtual Environments with one central management tool

Juha Ollila, F-Secure VP Corporate Sales commented

Data theft incidents and security breaches are on continuous rise and there is a need for a solution that provides comprehensive full-proof security and Business Suite Version 12. BS12 is that one package corporate security solution from F-Secure which combines several unique features to give companies comprehensive protection against existing and emerging threats. With security taken care of, companies will have more time to focus on its core business.

In the face of 80% malicious attacks being crimes of opportunity where endpoints and systems, including 3rd party software lack proper protection, BS12 provides excellent administrator control and reporting, ease of management, better security through reduced human error and an end-to-end airtight security.   Designed for both physical and virtual environments, Business Suite can safeguard businesses from losing sensitive information while preventing business interruption and loss of revenue thus yielding more security and productivity.

F-Secure’s award winning technologies through Business Suite allows entrepreneurs to build their businesses with optimum peace of mind by providing the best in F-Secure privacy, security and management in one package.

About F-Secure

F-Secure is a global security leader protecting its customers’ irreplaceable digital content and online interactions. Anytime, anywhere, on any device! F-Secure is now also expanding into Content Cloud space and offering tremendous opportunities for operators and their customers in providing a compelling range of solutions that are tailored to the needs of the Operator Community that goes beyond Internet security. For more information, please visit F-Secure