On-demand mobility solutions provider Uber has recently come out with its first TVC for India. Ashwin Dias, General Manager - Marketing, Uber India, talks about the company’s plans and how it strives to ensure the best for both riders and drivers
BY SAMARPITA BANERJEE
Q] Uber recently completed three years in India and also launched its first TVC recently. Why did it take Uber so long to come out with an advertising campaign?
We started our India operation in Bangalore three years ago, post which we have launched in 20-27 more cities. At Uber, we take a city-first approach; we build every business as though we are building it only for that city. Over the last three years, we have focused on building a foundation for our business. We have tried to ensure that the service that we provide to both riders and drivers is of exceptional quality. From a rider’s perspective, we have done many things which are unique to India, the biggest being the introduction of cash payments. Other innovations like ‘Dial an Uber’ can help you call a cab without actually using the app. We have also built safety features along with building our entire team in the country. On the driver side, we have built a base by getting people on board and making sure that they love the service and recommend us to others. We have set up an on-ground team of almost 500 employees in India and thought it was time to expand further. Also, over three years, we have seen many interesting stories emerge on the platform and we want to talk about Uber through those stories. That was the genesis of the campaign.
Q] What was the thought behind the campaign?
We wanted to make sure that people identify with the campaign. Many regular Uber users or drivers have told me about similar stories and I can get the sense of empowerment captured in the films. We have had an impact on the lives of our drivers, and also impacted our riders by making them mobile. We have helped make mobility much easier for people who already had mobility. Those are the real stories we wanted to focus on. The growth we have seen has primarily been driven by word-of-mouth recommendations. We still think that’s the way we are going to grow.
Q] You have tied up with various other apps like Yatra and Zomato. How have these partnerships helped?
It’s about smartly coming up when someone really needs the service. If you are looking for a restaurant on Zomato and the app says ‘Your nearest Uber is two minutes away’, you are offering your services to someone who wants to go to a restaurant. That definitely helps us promote the brand and it also has a seamless integration with what people really want to do.
Q] While your customer service is one of the best, there are still many issues like refusals. How do you manage those?
We have feedback for every trip to know about instances like these and to help customers. We have a strong closed-loop process. Any feedback coming in goes to both the customer service team and the driver operations team. If a driver refuses a destination, the feedback is captured in his detail and is passed on to the operations team, who reach out to the driver and make sure that things like these don’t happen. If there are recurring issues, we could take various steps, starting from retraining the driver to suspending or removing him from the platform. In case a customer complains that a driver took a detour, we can show the GPS trace of the trip and tell him that he should not have done that. Drivers know that they are accountable. We are always trying to minimize such instances but that doesn’t mean they never occur. They do occur in a few rare cases, and we definitely try to take action to make sure that they don’t happen again.
Q] Safety has been a big concern for Uber users. What are your efforts to make rides safer?
We have built a safety ecosystem which encapsulates everything. We segregate the trip as before the trip, on the trip and after the trip. Before the trip, we collect all the driver information. All the documentation is captured and stored digitally with us. If ever anything happens, an accident, or if police require some information, we can provide that. Plus we also make sure that all the information is current. There is a lot of technology that goes into ensuring that. Additionally, we also have background checks done by an accredited private security firm. Thirdly, we have rigorous training processes in every city that teach drivers not just how to use the app, but also driving etiquette, customer management etiquette and gender sensitization. When you get a booking, you get the photo of the driver so you know who he is, through the photo, name, car number, etc. You know that it’s a verified profile. The app also has a help or an emergency button, so if anything happens, that button alerts our response centre which gets all the details automatically. Plus, they connect the rider to the police control room through the phone. Also, post trip, riders can rate the driver, write feedback, either in the app or over email, and then we take action, which is one of the most powerful mechanisms to make sure that drivers are accountable.
Q] What are the challenges you have been facing in India?
Currently, there are more people who want to drive on our platform than we can actually enable. They want to buy a car and drive on our platform, but may not have the ability to make the down payment or the credit score to actually get a car. However, we have worked with various partners to ensure that no matter what kind of credit rating or risk appetite a prospective driver has, he is able to get a car and earn a livelihood on our platform. We have partnered with the State Bank of India to give attractive loans. We have got a deal with Tata Motors and Tata Capital to finance people. We also have a leasing business which helps people get cars. So that is one challenge we are trying to address.
Q] India is one of the fastest growing markets for you. What will your marketing strategy be for the next few years in India?
We will always spend a disproportionate amount of time on ensuring that our users get the best service possible. Whenever you open the app, we want you to get a car within the shortest time possible. When you are in the car, we want you to have the best experience. And if you have any feedback, we want to close that pretty fast. We actually look at it as a very important part of acquiring and retaining customers. Once that’s done, we will again focus on referrals and word-of-mouth to ensure that people try and keep using our service. Based on the learning that we get from this campaign where we are using offline media for the first time, we want to make sure that we get more riders and drivers in the future.
Q] Where do you want to see Uber in the next few years?
The percentage of people who own cars in India is quite low. Given the low penetration, we would like to give a lot more people the personal car experience through our platform. We want to be able to get people to upgrade from a motorbike to a car, increasing access to reliable and safe transportation. We also want to further improve our offering. We want to work with the Government and try to provide alternative transportation within the system to help de-congest and de-pollute cities. We want to see whether with the same number of cars that exist today in a city like, say, Mumbai, we will be able to sustain the population three years down the line. With services like Uber Pool, we think we can. We also want to create livelihood opportunities. Recently, we launched a programme called ‘Uber Shaan’, the objective of which is to empower a million people with livelihood opportunities.
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