From Zero to $5 Billion: Ola’s Brilliant Marketing Strategy Revealed!

Ola Cabs has emerged as one of India’s most popular ride-hailing apps, competing head-to-head against global giant Uber. Through smart marketing and localization, Ola has carved out significant market share in India. This blog post will analyze Ola’s marketing mix and growth strategies that have fueled its rise.

The Little Startup That Could: The Ola Story

Founded in 2010 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola Cabs is an Indian transportation network company headquartered in Bengaluru. It offers ride-hailing services in over 250 cities across India as well as Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

Ola operates across a wide range of vehicle categories including micro, mini, prime sedan, auto-rickshaws, bikes, e-rickshaws and even boats. It employs over 2 million driver-partners and records nearly 2 million rides daily. Ola is backed by marquee investors like Softbank, Tiger Global and Tencent Holdings.

Moving Rapidly from Zero to Sixty: Ola’s Recent Major Moves

Recently, Ola expanded into the Australian market to take on Uber in yet another battlefield. It also consolidated food delivery operations after acquiring Foodpanda India.

Ola is aggressively moving into electric vehicles and aims to get 1 million EVs on its platform by 2022. It has rolled out electric auto-rickshaws and electric cabs across cities to reduce environmental impact.

Behind the Wheel: Getting to Know Ola’s Core Customers

Ola caters to a wide spectrum of consumers across demographics. However, there are three key buyer personas that represent its core target market:

Urban professionals: Well-paid executives in metros aged 25-40 that frequently use cabs for office commutes and business trips. Convenience, reliability and comfort are top priorities.
College students and young adults: Tech-savvy youth aged 18-25 that use cabs socially on evenings/weekends. Look for affordability and cashless payments.
Small town consumers: First-time cab users from tier 2/3 cities. Focus more on regional language support, safety and driver courtesy.

Firing on All Cylinders: Breaking Down Ola’s Marketing Strategies

Ola employs an integrated marketing mix to accelerate its growth in the ridesharing market. Its strategies span the 4Ps of marketing – product, price, place and promotion. By localizing offerings, utilizing dynamic pricing models and generating word-of-mouth buzz, Ola engages customers across transportation needs and price points.

Building a Smooth Ride: Ola’s Product Innovation

Ola has built an extensive product portfolio catering to diverse riding requirements across Indian cities:

Cabs: Available across hatchbacks like Swift or Tiago for budget trips, mid-size sedans like Honda City perfect for airport transfers, and luxury rides via Mercedes, BMWs and Audis for special occasions. Vehicle choice provides cost or comfort.
Auto-rickshaws: Ola Auto connects riders to local three-wheelers for affordable and prompt last-mile connectivity. Ideal for short distance commuting.
E-rickshaws: Ola E-Auto offers zero-emission electric auto-rickshaw rides, promoting green transportation with comfort and cost savings.
Bike Taxis: For quicker trips beating traffic congestion across congested cities, Ola offers bike taxi rides starting at just Rs. 15 per km.
Ride Subscription: Platform exclusive products like Ola Select with cab fare discounts and priority allocation, and Share Pass for daily commute provide flexibility.

Based on local regulations, ride demand, driver availability and vehicle supply constraints, Ola tailors offerings city-wise. Share Pass works best in metros while Auto-rickshaws lead the way in smaller cities. This hyperlocal approach has accelerated adoption.

Making the Meter Run: Ola’s Smart Pricing Tactics

Ola leverages a dynamic pricing model with surge pricing applied during periods of peak demand and incentivized discounts offered during off-peak times. Its algorithms optimize availability of cabs with customer demand to minimize wait times and maximize trips per driver.

Tiered pricing across vehicle categories allows budget conscious riders option to choose compact cabs over sedans if willing to sacrifice comfort for cost. Longer, outstation rides have incremental distance charges. Short, quick rides on Auto-rickshaws and Bike taxis are the most affordable.

Ola also runs periodic promotional campaigns with referral benefits and free or discounted ride coupons to acquire and re-engage customers. These are often targeted to incentivize off-peak rides.

Subscription products like Ola Select and Share Pass bundle rides at discounted prices for heavy users guaranteeing savings.

Mapping the Route Ahead: Ola’s Distribution Channels

The Ola mobile app on Android and iOS smartphones enables instant discovery, booking and payments. Well designed interfaces allow riders configure pickup locations, select preferred vehicle types, enter payment methods and rate drivers post rides.

Ola also offers alternate limited functionality booking modes like via desktop website, SMS, interactive voice response (IVR) calls or integration with third party apps like MakeMyTrip and PayTM. The partnerships helped tap into additional user bases not having the Ola app.

From the drivers end, the Ola partner app assigns bookings and enables payments and support interactions. The company manages extensive on-ground operations to screen driver license and criminal records, vehicle eligibility and onboard participants across cities. This quality assurance creates standardization.

With 1 million+ daily rides on its platform, Ola intends to consolidate more transport options bringing potential partners under the fold.

Sounding the Horn: How Ola Spreads the Word

To rapidly gain mass market mindshare and promotion across India’s diverse socio-linguistic landscape, Ola employed:

Mass media advertising via TV, print and radio to build awareness around the convenience of app-based cab booking targeting metropolitan commuters and small town users alike.
Out-of-home advertising across billboards and transit sites like bus stops, rail platforms ensured constant visibility reinforcing the brand for on-the-go consumers.
Social media conversations and influencer marketing nurtured followers at scale. Comedy sketches, Bollywood celeb endorsements and referrals from micro-influencers amplified reach.
Referral incentives triggered viral sharing between friends, office colleagues, classmates leading to free rides upon sign ups. Millions of first-time cab users across Tier 2 cities were onboarded.
Email and SMS campaigns announce discounts or product updates to website subscribers re-engaging existing users.

Earned media from ritzy product launches and celebrity attendees ensured press coverage across digital and print building credibility. While occasional public spat with Uber garners interest, customers alternate between services forcing both to enhance offerings. Overall smart integrated marketing has enabled Ola scale rapidly.

Checking the Rear View Mirror: Who’s Chasing Ola?

Ola faces competition primarily from Uber in the Indian and international markets. Apart from Uber, two other competitors are:

Meru – India’s first cab aggregator service, established in 2007. Caters mainly to corporate travel and airport transfers with rides booked via call center and web. Smaller player than Ola and Uber.
Jugnoo – Bike and auto-rickshaw aggregator focused on Tier 2/3 cities. Takes on Ola through lower pricing, support for regional languages and cash payments.

What Sets Ola Apart?

Differentiation through Localization

Unlike Uber which follows a standard global template, Ola has localized deeply to suit Indian consumer needs. By supporting regional languages, integration with mobile wallets, cash payments and adding auto-rickshaws and bike taxis, Ola has expanded its appeal substantially.

Word-of-Mouth via Referrals

Ola’s referral programs have been a powerful growth hack, creating a viral effect. Free rides for both referrer and referee helped penetrate India’s close-knit societies rapidly. Millions of first-time cab users tried Ola thanks to friends referring.

Strategic Partnerships

Tie-ups with large portals like MakeMyTrip and PayTM allowed Ola access to their vast customer bases. Customers booking flights or movies could book an Ola ride without downloading another app. It widened reach efficiently.

Influencer Marketing

Engaging YouTube stars, stand-up comics, Bollywood celebs to market Ola through tweets, Instagram posts and viral videos gave it genuine endorsement from key influencers with lakhs of fans. It amplified the brand far and wide.

Final Words

The strategies have cemented Ola’s position as a top aggregator in India with a strong brand name and market share. Though regulatory battles with Uber continue, the company seems firmly in the driver’s seat on its home turf. With smart technology adoption and creative growth hacking, the future looks bright for Ola!