Digital Marketing
November 07, 2019
Monis Rahman said that when he came back to Pakistan in 2003 the eco-system around him of all that was internet-based was very different - there were 2 m internet users, primarily using modems. At that time people were using billboards, newspapers, brochures, and TVCs to advertise. A newspaper Sunday half-page Ad would cost 12000 USD. According to the famous adage, and one did not know which half of the Ad-spend was being wasted.
He set up Rozee at home with 4 people. He went to the banks in a suit and tie and presented to the presidents of banks his power point sales pitch, suggesting to them that they could hire faster, better and cheaper. The bankers would not believe him that he was asking them to put their brands online.
Today some 70 m Pakistanis have smart photos with the internet. In the last 5 years the numbers of MBAs per section who respond affirmatively to “I have bought something from the net” has increased from 5 out of 40 to 40 out of 40. At the same time the cost of TVCs has gone up and is now into 100s of millions. As a startup this is simply unaffordable especially for the SMEs who are such a big player in the economy.
Initially the big newspapers were very reluctant to go online, because they were getting their revenues on their off-line businesses, and the online advertisements were offering them smaller profits. Later, most were forced into going online because their readers were reading online. They realized it but it was too late. The OLXs and the Rozees of Pakistan beat them. And newspaper classifieds are losing revenue now.
If an organization is smart to kill off-line and go on-line they will have an advantage over a new start-up. The big giants of newspapers could have killed off small Rozees. But incumbents are always reluctant to cannibalize their own revenues.
From Rozee we get loads of data which we can use at FINCA / SIMSIM to target more effectively. SIMSIM is a payment platform. In olden times you went to a bank and if you were lucky they would open an account for you. Now you can do it in two minutes. There is no transaction fee. We want to make it very easy. If you use a bank and send Rs 1 then it would cost you Rs 100. The banks refuse to innovate. We are like WhatsApp where you can text free of cost.
Monis also explained the power of Facebook. He said that in such a business as ours you always foresee and pre-empt saturation. Rozee’s data is good but if you fish out of a bucket, at some point the bucket will run out of fish and you will need another, preferably larger bucket. You want to scale your business to match your ambitions. FB allows cheap targeting and experimentation.
In the end Monis advised students to improve and differentiate their CVs by, inter-alia, doing and reflecting on their CVs internships. And these internships have to be meaningful which add value to your future work.
Monis is now one of the most regular, and one of the most valuable assets of the MBA program and the MBA participants remain grateful to him for his spending valuable time to guide them in the intricacies of a rapidly growing area.
Monis Rahman, Founder and CEO of Rozee said this during a session on Digital Marketing on 1 October 2019 to the LSE MBA Program.
Labels: Guest Speaker
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 11/07/2019 03:25:00 PM,
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