Business Plan of Hike messenger
Submitted by: Group13 Nishikant Singh(Pgfa1438) Prabhat Lohani(Pgfa143) Prerna !erma(Pgfa144")
Hike messenger Delhi-110003 India Get.hike.in
Partners: Bharti Enterprises !oft"ank #orp.
Des$ription of Business: Hike Messenger is is a cross-platform instant messaging service messaging service for smartphones that smartphones that uses
the internet for internet for communication. In addition to text messaging, users can send each other graphical stickers, emoticons, images, videos, audios, files, voice messages, contacts and location.
Financing: Hike was launched on 12th eptem!er, 2"12 and raised its first round of funding of #$ million from %hartioft%ank in &pril 2"1'.In &ugust &ugust 2"1( hike raised another !ig ! ig round of funding - #)* million led !+ iger lo!al.
his report is confidential and is the propert+ of the partners listed a!ove. It is intended to use onl+ !+ the persons to whom it is transmitted, and an+ reproduction or divulgence of an+ of its contents without the prior written consent of the compan+ is prohi!ited.
xecutive ummar+ /ision:
o !ecome India0s fastest growing mo!ile app and to !ring Indias one !illion potential mo!ile Internet users online through their messaging platform. he application claims to have tailor made its features keeping in mind the local market and to cater to solving cultural and infrastructural pro!lems such as lack of privac+, inconsistent data connectivit+ amongst man+ others. his exercise has contri!uted positivel+ in taking the popularit+ of the app to a new level. Some of the key features of Hike app are as follows: • • •
ffer smartphone to feature phone messaging option &llows users to share an+ file format up to a 1""3% each nl+ app to offer locali4ed stickers and 2 wa+ chat themes
Hike offers messaging in three different wa+s. Hike-to-Hike messaging with other phones is unlimited and free worldwide. econd, +ou can communicate with other smartphone users who dont have Hike via 3, which is onl+ restricted to India at the moment. Finall+, +ou can message an+ other phone user via 3.
5evenue 3odel:
hike has three ma6or sources of revenue: free-to-pla+ video games that make mone+ from in-game purchases of virtual items and other services7 8stickers9 featuring cartoon characters that users !u+ and send as messages7 and official accounts for !usinesses and cele!rities who pa+ fees to send a set num!er of promotional messages.
echnolog+: Hike uses a 12-!it ; encr+pted, firewalled server for all its media exchange and text communication via
arget 3arket: he target market of hike messenger is segmented to those active internet users who lie in the range of age of 1* to 2* +ears.
%ackground and =urpose
Bharti!oftBank of %hi$h &a'in (ittal is the head of strateg) and ne% produ$t de'elopment is o%ned e*uall) ") Bharti Enterprises the holding $ompan) of the (ittal famil) %hose stake in Bharti+irtel is %orth o'er ,1 "illion and !oftBank #orp the apanese te$hnolog) giant. Hike is a su"sidiar) of this $ompan) in %hi$h /iger Glo"al the e% ork-"ased in'estment 2rm in'ested , million in +ugust. 4aun$hed in De$em"er 5015 Hike had reported o'er 3 million users in +ugust 5016. It has raised ,7 million from /iger Glo"al and B!B so far. (ost of its user "ase is under the age of 1 and residing in India. !ome of its popular features are Hike 89ine that lets )ou message )our friends e'en %hen the)re o9ine Hidden (ode that hides )our pri'ate $hats %ith a pass%ord and also se'eral regional sti$kers. /he free Hike $alling feature is $urrentl) in "eta on +ndroid as the platform $ontri"utes to o'er ;0 per$ent of Hikes user "ase. /he $ompan) plans to roll out i8! and
arget goals: • • •
o attrachindian customers aged !etween 1* to 2* /o "uild an app that %ill gi'e pri'a$) to )oungsters in the market. o cross 1"" million users within 1 months
#b$e%ti&es of 'ike messenger Hi k eobj ec t i v ei st obr i ngI ndi aonl i nebybui l di ngt hr oughmes sagi ng.I nac ount r ywher e1bi l l i on peopl ewi l l c omeont ot h ei nt er ne tmobi l efir s tonal o wendsmar t p honeand2G/ pr epai ddat a,Hi k e b el i e v eme s sag i n gc a nb ec omeah i gh wa yt ot h ei nt e r n et . 8"=e$ti'e is to further lo$ali>e Hike
and not =ust in terms of $ontent "ut go reall) deep in the market and sol'e more pro"lems lo$al to India. Hike %anted to "uild an automation platform that $a take $are of rapid pa$e of "uilding produ$t. Hike de$ide on "uilding frame%ork at e'er) le'el of department ?$lient side ser'er side s$ala"ilit) load data"ase and o'erall matri@
Some of the points of automation ob$e%ti&es are: 1.
Hike %ant to "uild a frame%ork that uses almost same test s$ripts and reusa"le $omponents for "oth +ndroid and i8!. /he onl) prominent diAeren$e is of o"=e$t repositor) other%ise "oth platforms go hand-in-hand.
5.
/ests $ould "e run on more than 1 de'i$e in parallel. !in$e Hike is a messaging app this feature %as the most important re*uirement. !o t%o instan$es of android de'i$es or t%o instan$es of i8! de'i$es or $om"ination of android and i8! de'i$es intera$ting %ith ea$h other in parallel.
3.
!upports multi programming languages like =a'a p)thon node! et$. Hike $hose good ol ++CC
6.
uns %ell %ith all +ndroid +PI le'els .
.
+ppium uses !elenium
.
Best part is it is %ell integrated %ith enkins
arket na*ysis
The no#1 APP of India Hike now hit no>1 app on android and ios ap store. Hike have displaced tonnes of other popular apps including the world !iggest messaging app whatsaap , social network face!ook and games cand+ crush saga .Hike is now the fastest growing mo!ile app in India amongst the entire lot adding more than '"" hikers ever+ da+ Hike is !uilt with India in mind and it0s so glad to know that man+ of people moving onto Hike, India0s own messaging app and !ringing +our friends on !oard
Market strategy: 1. Keeping the Indianness intact: While many India based small companies and start ups, deliberately underscore their ‘LA Office’, Hike did the opposite. It always stressed on the fact that it is completely Indian, which I uess, hit on the emotional chord of us Indians. 2. Differentiation: One of the thins that Hike !ery consciously did was to differentiate itself from WhatsApp. If it would ha!e been another WhatsApp, nobody would ha!e used it. Hike brouht in the ‘read ’ indicator, hid the ‘last seen’ ,
‘themes’ for chats and file transfer was e"panded to more formats are the
few on the top of my mind. #he sms functionality specifically stands out in the Indian market. We Indians are frual people. We turn off the data when we don’t need it. In such a case the Hike sms came in $uite handy and the cherry on the cake was the seamless interation and no cost% 3. Locai!ation: #he stickers Hike introduced stuck resonance with the Indian way of thinkin and emotions. #he ‘Indians’ and ‘&ollowood’ tabs were in fact $uite interestin. #hins ha!e been made e!en better and addicti!e by the recent update of 'tate wise stickers. I ha!e li!ed in ( different states as of now and I lo!e the local lino these uys ha!e picked up in these stickers. ". on$entiona Media: #he #) commercials *thouh I don’t like Hike’s #)+ $uite but it enabled more traffic flow to the app. #he market sement *which we call late adopters and laards in marketin lino, -oined in after watchin the #)+. Ad!ertisin mobile apps on #) had already failed for We+hat, Line and others,still Hike did it and still made marketin profit from it.
arket si+e: he market si4e of Hike messenger is around '* million in a ver+ short duration of 2.* +ears that suggest that the growth rate is ver+ high . It is !ecause of the increase in the user of smart phones as well as the new trend the people are following. he compan+ is continuousl+ raising funds for its overall development like the+ have raised 1( million last +ear to improve their services and add on new features.
Target Segment: he hike compan+ main target segment is the +outh .people that are
!elow age 2*-'" are their real users In this categor+ there come college students some office professionals Success Factor : he success factor of Hike is first their research and development
team which !rings such a uni?ue product with uni?ue features like support for other Indian languages, shares files easil+ and hiding the last seen etc. heir research team do a lot of research !efore launching this. ther success factor is the marketing team which promote Hike so much that toda+ Hike is giving a tough competition to
Development and Production India's Home-grown $hat application firm "Hike (essenger" has just acquired USbased voice-calling compan !ip hone# a $ %ombinator startup& Hike is planning to launch free voice calling soon# and this first acquisition b the Indian compan is a step in that direction& he acquisition is aimed at e(panding Hike's product range in the Internet-based communication space# the compan said# declining to disclose the acquisition sum& "!ip hone's technolog will allow us to bring free voice calling to the market much faster&
,ntrodu%ing hike dire%t %ash transfers Hi k egoalhasal wa ysbeent oc onnec tpeopl eac r os sboundar i es ;c l os ef r i ends ,f ami l i es i nas i mpl ewaywi t houtanyc ompl e xi t i esorr es t r i c t i ons .Wi t ht ec hnol ogywebel i ev ewe c anenabl epeopl et ol i v et hei rl i v esandc onnec twi t hot her sf areas i ert hanbef or e.Asa r es ul t ,we’ v eal way sst r i v edt opus ht heenv el opeandhav et r i ed
Hi ke Mess enger Updat es App Wi t h Language Suppor t , Offli ne Messages,Voi ceMessagi ng The2. 2. 0v er s i onofHi k eaddsf eat ur esl i k es t i c k er s ,wal k i et al k i e,offli nemes s agi ng a nds u pp or tf o rf o urn ewl a ng ua ges .
Hi k et oTi e upwi t hAi r t e l ,Vodaf one&I de a Th eb at t l eoff r e eme ss a gi n ga pp so v erInternet hasr eac hedt omob i l eoper at or st oo. I nr ec e ntt i meI n di ab ec o me saf oc u spo i n tf o rt h eme s s ag i n ga pp sa ndVo I Pa pp sl i k e What sApp,Sky pe,WeChat ,Ni mbuzz or Hi ke.I nt he l at estdevel opmenti nst ant mes s agi ngapp–Hi k e ,de v el opedb yBhar t iSof t Banki si nt al k swi t hi nc umbentp l a y er s –Bhar t iAi r t el ,Vodaf oneI ndi aandI deaCel l ul art oc omeupwi t hs pec i albundl epac k s f orHi k eapp.
Offline Feature Push To Talk and Privacy on Preference
Privacy Hike uses a 12-!it !!4 En$r)pted 2re%all server for the exchange of media and text messages onl+ on wifi. 3essages are stored locall+ in the users device and the data is not !acked-up to Hikes server.
arketing P*an Produ%t !" 'ike - .ri%/u++ bring 0or*d .up "12
Hike had launch real-time scores @ updates for
,ntrodu%ing ree 'ike .a**s
3 ree sti%kers 5 mu*ti *anguage supporte Hike introduces new stickersBregionalC , walkie- talkie , point messaging
application , free text messages to non Hike users and also supporta!le for the ( languages
Pricing !" #ost effective strategy
Hike introduces the hike messenger keeping in mind the people living standard here in India. In India people are more concern to save more and more mone+ so Hike comes up with the cost effective strateg+ so that even the non Hike user can use the Hike with hisDher hike user friend 2. $eward strategy Hike paid 2"rs per friend recommended !+ +ou to 6oin Hike. hese tactics, however, are feasi!le onl+ in countries with developing economies, as the conversion rate here is ?uite less, as 1'" IE5 is around 2.1 G.
%" Penetration pricing Hike comes up with the penetration pricing strateg+. Hike sets the low amount for its services charged to customers
&" Freemium It is a t+pe of pricing strateg+ in which other services are offered free with the main service likewise Hike charged mone+ for its instant messaging and other services like free stickers , walkie talkie and free calling is there to attract and retain the customers
P*a%e Hike is the
Indian organisation
that pro'ides instant
messaging ser'i$es in diAerent $ountries. Hike has its head*uarter in e% Delhi India a small organisation %ith 16; emplo)ees .o distri"ution $hannel for this organisation
"ut there are man) tele$om partners like +irtel Idea odafone et$ ser'ing as a distri"ution partners for Hike messenger
Promotion Hike in'ol'es uni*ue and inno'ati'e st)le of promotion te$hni*ue like: 1.e*ebrating birthday for 'ike users Hike for its user $ele"rate its "irthda) ") thro%ing a "ig part) to its user and non user. + night full of $omed) and dan$e ") the +IB "o)s Daniel fernandes and +"is (athe%s
Promotion on goog*e p*ay Hike promote its app ") sharing it %ith google pla) %here user $an see it reie% it and 2nall) do%nload it from there
36e*e&ision %ommer%ia* or promotion Hike uses the tele'ision $ommer$ial to attra$t the user. Hike use t' ads %ithout an) "rand am"assador.
4.harity Hike raised 1 $rore form more than 1 "illion Indians adding 10 lakhs from their $ompan) fund to the prime minister relief fund for the natural disaster o$$ur at &ashmir.
inan%ia* P*an In the +ear 2"12 Hike compan+ freshl+ invest $million rupees to run their !usiness operation after that in the +ear 2"1( the+ invest 1( million rupees to get advance with the technolog+. iger lo!al a Eew ork !ased investment firm also made the )*#
investment. he compan+ is continuousl+ raising funds for its overall development like the+ have raised 1( million last +ear to improve their services and add on new features. In the +ear 2"1( %% Invest #1(million to support the development plans of Hike messenger In response Hike earn mone+ !+ promoting other !rands. Hike sells its data to other companies. heir per +ear income is in million more than #'*million.
#7nership Hike is a messaging de'eloped ") Bharti !oft Bank. Hike is a "rain$hild of &a'in Bharti (ittal. &a'in is son of !unil Bharti (ittal ?o%ner of +irtelF. It has raised , million from its parent $ompan) and a .!.-"ased in'estor to help e@pand the user "ase
of its free messaging app Hike (essenger./he in'estments are from e% ork-"ased in'estment 2rm /iger Glo"al (anagement and Bharti !oftBank the Indian $ompan) said in a statement. Hike is a =oint 'enture "et%een Bharti Group and apanese tele$ommuni$ations giant !oftBank $orp./he) ha'e partnered %ith $ompanies like: #afe #oAee Da) Pi>>a Hut Dominos et$. /he more )ou use Hike the) %ill gi'e )ou $oupons as re%ards. or an e@ample: ou got 50J oA on a pi>>a at Dominos and the a$tual $ost of pi>>a is 500 I K ta@es. ou %ill get that pi>>a for 10 I K ta@es. o% this is a tri$k. (ost people "u) pi>>a "e$ause the) had a 50J oA $oupon. +nd the same thing goes %ith other $oupons. /he) ha'e a featured +pps se$tion inside their app %hi$h suggests )ou to install ne% games and apps. /hese apps and games are sponsored ") their promoters and de'elopers. Hike makes pro2t in "et%een. ItLs =ust like ad'ertising )our app on Hike. But the mone) the) earn from #oupons is 'er) less. /he) spend mone) on +d'ertisements ?/ e%spapers +d
S0#6 na*ysis Strengths • • • • • • • • • • •
4o)al $ustomers (arket share leadership o need to log Group #hat +llo% send 'ideos pi$tures 'oi$e notes ou $an put pro2le pi$ture o need to add friends o need PI or user num"er #ost +d'antage +'aila"le for all platforms or some platforms is free the 2rst )ear in order to "uild $ustomer lo)alt).
0eakness •
• • •
ot di'ersi2ed "e$ause other appli$ations oAers the same ser'i$e and also fun$tion as so$ial media
#pportunities
• • • • • •
• • •
#ontinued de'elopment of te$hnolog) platforms +d'an$ed te$hnolog) e$ogni>ed appli$ation (oderni>ation of people In$reased demand for smartphones ideo $alls to keep $ustomer $onne$ted onl) on one app
6hreats #ompetitors like
6ime Line of hike messenger 'eptember /0
Launched in I12IA
1o!ember /0
Hike becomes lobal messener app
2ecember /0
1o.0 in 3ermany
4ebruary /05
1o.0 free iphone app in India
4ebruary /05
1o.0 android app in India
'eptember /05
Hike 6 Airtel
2ecember /05
#urns 0 lobally
7uly /08
1o.0 app
Auust /08
+rosses 5(million users
7anuary /0(
4ree Hike calls*ac$uire 9I: phone
ssessment of isk 0eakness of /usiness('ike messenger) ot 2nan$iall) strong fe% promotion strateg) o "rand am"assador
+ttra$ti'e sti$kers +ll android supporti'e soft%are Bla$k"err) as %ell as I-phone supporti'e soft%are
.ontingen%y p*ans #ost eAe$ti'e In'est on de'elopment (ore e$onomi$al
