Analytics Case Study - RedBus

REDBUS CASE STUDY Name: Identify at least 3 key metrics for RedBus that you, as a Growth PM, would monitor actively in order to improve its transactional funnel? Also, provide relevant reasons for considering Question 1 these metrics.

(Instructions: Review their app and website thoroughly to be able to come up with relevant metrics.)

1. Conversion Rate (through funnel) Awareness Search Results

Consideration Seat selection/Add to cart

Decision Successful purchase

Conversion rates and funnels are a great tool to track where potential customers may be Response stuck and are not advancing to the next conversion stage. We can use the data to optimize the pages that may be leading to a higher drop off.

2. Average duration of First Visit to First Search/Search Results This metric would help us track how long it takes for the average customer/visitor from browsing through our platform to using our platform. This helps us identify if the app is prompting the customer/visitor to try the search features. Also, to identify if we have enough CTA buttons to lead them to the search bar.

3. Materialized Revenue It is the revenue from the bookings that are not cancelled in the later stages before the journey date. This would help us in tracking how many bookings were made and how many were cancelled by filtering them from the total number of bookings.

4. Bookings by platform and product Platform wise booking data will help to uncover which platforms and products are performing well, and if we need to enhance them. For example – the iOS app has fewer reviews, downloads and lower rating compared to the android app. We could look at what is going wrong with the app and what rectifications are required?

5. Repeat purchase ratio Since redBus is an aggregator, it is important to measure how big a percentage of successful transactions come from repeat purchases. The higher the percentage the more money you can afford to spend on acquiring a new customer since a customer will likely make multiple transactions.

REDBUS CASE STUDY Question 2 Which of the 3 user segments could be the most valuable for achieving your business objective? Explain your reasons behind selecting these segments.

(Instructions: Explore the behavioural, demographic, and technical segmentation categories, which you learnt about earlier) 1. Demographic ➢ Users aged 18-40 ➢ Users that live in tier-1, tier-2 and tier-3 cities ➢ Users working away from their hometown Response ➢ Students studying in different cities ➢ Users that have an income range that may not permit frequent air-travel.

Question 3

2. ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Behavioural Users who have booked bus tickets online and never offline Users with average order value of more than Rs. 1000 Users that book single or multiple tickets in one transaction Users who book tickets for others for example friends, family, etc.

3. ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Psychographic Users working/studying away from their hometown Users who frequently travel and want to book tickets at the comfort of their home Tech-savvy users who log into the same account on more than one device.

Users who only book when there’s an offer available.

A. Write down the steps involved in the checkout funnel for RedBus? B. Which 4-5 cuts or parameters would you use in order to monitor this funnel on a daily basis?

(Hint: For instance, you could consider the usage across Android, iOS, web and mobile web.

This would be a cut or a parameter by ‘platform’. You must identify and mention other such parameters.)

REDBUS CASE STUDY

Response (3A)

REDBUS CASE STUDY

Response (3B)

•

Operating platforms – Segregating traffic by platforms used – iOS, Android, and web app.

•

Type of product bought – RedBus has 4 products that they sell to B2C customers such as booking of bus travels, AC Volvo bus, rPool and bus hire. It will be important to be able to filter through product choice to see which one is performing better.

•

New vs. Returning customers – Customers booking for the first time using the redBus platform vs. returning customers. redBus can then offer returning customers benefits to keep them engaged, since it will improve their CAC:LTV ratio.

•

Traffic channels – Reporting traffic derived from marketing campaigns, paid ads etc.

•

Marketing campaign dates – In order to correctly attribute user acquisition, it will be important to filter by dates to see if marketing campaigns have been effective by dates or not.

•

Popular destination/Routes (Product) with high percentage of checkouts – This information can be used to feature popular destinations on the home screen and allow for a quicker session time to Add to Cart.

•

Seat Type with high percentage of checkouts – If and when required the seats in greater demand can be offered at a small premium, or as a benefit for paid memberships.

•

Popular payment methods used – If a certain payment partner has a higher demand, the option can be placed higher to allow for a seamless checkout process.

•

Average spend per seat – Calculating the average spend per seat will allow the Product Team to measure overall revenue performance for bookings.

REDBUS CASE STUDY A. Suggest at least 2 new features and 2 growth strategies that can help RedBus increase the number of transactions?

Question 4 (Hint: Focus on increasing customer engagement and retention, as the key business objective is to increase the number of transactions without increasing the customer acquisition cost.)

B. What are the metrics that you would use in order to measure the success of these features and strategies? Also, provide reasons behind choosing these metrics.

(Note: Mention at least 3 key metrics, along with valid reasons for considering them.)

• In-app travel notifications Since redBus already has a strong ‘Track My Bus feature that works real-time, they can allow users to track their journey with push notifications instead of repeatedly opening the app.

Reminders can be set-up for halfway points, 30 minutes prior to reaching the drop off points or as an alarm to wake them up before they reach.

Response Metrics to track: Sessions for Track My Bus while in-journey, Session duration while Track (4A) My Bus. • COVID information trackers for origin and drop-off points In the age of COVID-19 and forever changing travel restrictions, redBus could compile and update a repository of information from the State Governments with changing protocols so that users don’t have to exit to double check what the restrictions are.

Metrics to track: Bounce rates from checkout page, sessions from landing page and call to action CTR. • Clarity with offers and rewards with first time bookers Many aggregators openly display their ‘First-time’ offers and convince people to book. There seems to be a missed opportunity here. redBus could display it directly on the search results and remind the user to directly apply it on the checkout page.

Metrics to track: Bookings made with promo code, promo code tracking, call to action CTR. • Reserve a seat feature Many travel companies allow customers to reserve a seat for the displayed price for a limited amount of time for a small price, it they aren’t too sure about travelling on the said date. If the booking is confirmed and paid for within the time frame, the fee is refunded. This also helps bring another revenue stream.

Metrics to track: Bounce rate from checkout page, purchases from reserve my seat and bookings that include Reserve My Seat refund.

REDBUS CASE STUDY •

Loyalty program

Response A loyalty program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to (4B) shop at or use the services of a business associated with the program. redBus loyalty program can offer a tiered membership where upgrades are earned by using redBus to book more often and engage more often with the brand itself. They can use the program to create a community of travellers who are like minded and can help grow the reach organically, thereby increasing customer engagement.

Metrics to track: Bookings made by members vs. non-members, referral invites sent by members, NPS score.

• Offers and partnerships with travel brands At the moment, redBus has two offers – one for the first-time user and one from various payment wallets like Amazon Pay. If they could leverage their business partnerships with popular brands in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, they could perhaps increase their reach in these cities. If they offer returning customers a discount, they may be able to retain those customers and lower the customer acquisition cost.

Metrics to track: Promocode tracking, session monitoring for landing page, referral traffic, CTA/Add-ons CTR. • Aggressive sign-up Once a user downloads the app, redBus does not prompt you to sign up to their site. If they would ask the users to do so they would be able to target visitors and would be able to turn them into long terms users.

Metrics to track: New member sign-ups, email open rates, CTA/Add-ons CTR. • Pilgrimage packages Currently redBus only offers pilgrim travel packages to Hindu places of worship. They could also allow for pilgrimages from other faiths so it caters to more people who would like to visit religious sites across India.

Metrics to track: Package purchases, sessions of landing pages, CTA/Add-ons CTR.

REDBUS CASE STUDY Question 5

According to you, what are the major challenges that RedBus could face in the next 12-24 months?

(Note: Mention at least 3 major challenges, along with valid reasons) • COVID-19 protocols for rPool At the moment, rPool has made ride takers and ride givers to follow COVID-19 protocols but they aren’t monitored. This may cause an issue if number of cases start increasing again and they may need to shut down their services due to lockdown.

Response

• Direct bookings Frequent travellers may already have developed good direct offline relationships with travel and tour companies/agents and may not see the advantage of booking with redBus. •

Cannibalization threat from bigger OTA’s and players in the market

Bigger OTA’s like yatra, make my trip are well know in travel market and have a large customer base. Without a distinct brand identity and difference, redBus could easily be cannibalized.

REDBUS CASE STUDY Weightage Does Not Meet Expectations Meets Expectations (%) Identifying key Fewer than 3 key metrics have At least 3 key metrics have been metrics that are in been identified and a relevant Identifying identified correctly. Also, a valid accordance with 20 explanation to considering Key Metrics explanation for considering these the business these metrics has not been metrics has been provided objectives provided Defining user Fewer than 3 user segments At least 3 user segments have been segments based have been mentioned, and mentioned, and these user segments Defining User on different they are not classified based on have been classified based on 15 Segments segmentation demographics, demographics, techniques behavioural/psychographic and behavioural/psychographic and technical categories technical categories Identifying the All the important steps of the All the important steps of the Funnel steps involved in 10 checkout process have not checkout process have been Analysis the checkout been mentioned correctly mentioned correctly process Mentioning the Listing parameters for the Fewer than 4 cuts have been At least 4 cuts have been provided, Parameters that cuts you will 10 provided, without any along with valid reasons for for Cuts use to monitor the explanation considering these cuts funnel Suggest new At least 2 new features and 2 Fewer than 2 new features features and growth strategies have been and 2 growth strategies have Suggesting strategies that can mentioned, along with a relevant New Features mentioned, without a relevant help redBus 20 explanation & Growth explanation increase the Strategies number of transactions Mention the key metrics that would Fewer than 3 metrics to At least 3 metrics to measure the you use to Identifying measure the success of the success of the suggested features measure the 10 Key Metrics suggested features and growth and growth strategies have been success of these strategies have been identified identified features and strategies List down the Fewer than 3 challenges have At least 3 major challenges have Identifying major challenges 15 been listed, without any been listed, along with a relevant Challenges that redBus could relevant explanation explanation face Criteria

Parameters

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