Ex | Digital is the way forward says Kotak Securities' Jaimit Doshi

Over a period of several decades, the Indian stock market, one of the oldest stock markets in Asia has been through a series of evolutions. Started in 1875 when a few traders came together under a banyan tree it  then graduated to trade via banging the gong (ringing the bell).  Trading in the present era has moved from ring trading to trading on the computer terminals to online trading. The growth of Internet and e-commerce has certainly benefited stock trading; now one can do so from the confines and comfort of one’s  own home.

With the latest technology at its disposal, the stock trading business is vastly different from the earlier days. It is more convenient to the consumer since it facilitates mobile trading. This decade being dedicated to mobile phones and tablets, marketers too are  launching newer tools thus making it more viable to trade.

One of the leaders in the broking & securities industry, Kotak Securities understands this business like none other and is a pioneer in adapting to newer technologies. In tune with the dynamic scenario, it has been on the forefront of launching tech savvy applications to empower the consumers. One of their recent launches is “Stock Trader” which allows investors to trade from any device be it a mobile phone or an I-pad anywhere, anytime.

When asked about the need to launch trading applications and make them available to the investors on their palm, Jaimit Doshi, Head of Marketing at Kotak Securities speaking to Adgully said, “The stock markets are going the FB way. Having anytime handled access suddenly opens up the investing world to the casual investor while at the same time is a dream for the regular investor. The magic of prices fluctuating in front of you and seeing your portfolio perform is a strong enough magnet for investors to learn and interact further with the market.”

The company had correctly envisaged the growth of the mobility platform and have been pioneers in providing the same across platforms. They have even designed the platform for the non investors who can login as guests and can get access to prices. History has proved that every time you democratize access to prices, you get further penetration and engagement. The archaic open outcry system hid prices behind closed rings, till the e- trading platform changed the dynamics. The mobile platform is also doing the same with multitudes now accessing the stock markets in offices, shops or on the move.

Says Doshi, “Another big win was when we launched the Smart Order Routing mechanism. Earlier the customers had to choose the exchange for the best price before placing an order. Now that’s the job of the computer. This innovation becomes crucial as more exchanges open up thereby placing the responsibility of simplification firmly on the broker.” 

Brokers are now increasingly using social media to win clients and also allowing them to trade from their Facebook page. However at times measuring the results poses a problem. With regard to this Doshi says, “There is a myth that social media is not measurable. The crucial thing is that the companies realize that the metrics are different. We have been very active in using social media. We have taken a conscious call to stay somber in a media that naturally lends itself to frivolity. Our customers or fans get excited about prices and economy as opposed to goals and sixes.”

He further adds, “We stay within that space. Those uninterested in investing feel lost in the community creating a cult like atmosphere in our forums. Questions from newbies are answered by oldies and debates break out. In such forums the metrics change to engagement scares and organic growth rates. Our customers are clearly online and we target them there.”

Kotak Securities uses advanced science and statistics to track leads on the social platforms in terms of efficiency, cost and returns. These are constantly monitored and fine-tuned and regularly measured in terms of ROI.

Doshi stressed on the fact that digital is becoming an important medium to promote brands and digital marketing is seen as a preference over print to promote/ leverage products and brands. “Digital is the way forward,” he says. Emphasizing on it further, he says, “We spend more time, energy and money behind our digital presence. We ensure that we constantly innovate on this platform. But more than innovation it’s the numbers that we closely monitor. Digital gives you a chance to know what exactly is working. For instance we know which posts work on weekdays and which posts work on weekends and by what percentage.”

This granular detailing helps them target much better and reduces wastage of conventional media. “It’s a marketer’s dream, so who would not use it? Kotak uses it to acquire, engage and connect with its audience. We listen actively  on the digital world and respond immediately to comments. We respond to every feedback, complaint and idea, be it on a blog, a forum or the app store. Thus, a combination of reactive and proactive strategy works best for us,” adds Doshi.

Some of Kotak’s popular activities till date have been:

  • Stock Market Sutra: An educational activity on Facebook in which short e-books related to financial topics were published on a bookshelf which users could read and answer a short quiz to win prizes
  • #Fast5Quiz : This activity saw a lot of attention on Twitter, in which 5 questions regarding a particular financial topic were asked, and the fastest to respond were selected as winners.
  • BudgetHunt: In the recent interest surrounding the budget, the BudgetHunt activity on Twitter did very well. Users were asked questions relating to specific articles, infographics, and slideshows that were published on Budget Simplified Microsite and prizes given for correct answers.

In conclusion Doshi said, “Our objective on social media is to provide a platform for people to meet like-minded people, share their knowledge about the markets and learn about investing. We try to keep them informed of the latest market developments as well as educate them with generic information about the stock market and investing.”

While they are mostly active on Facebook and Twitter, they also have a reasonably strong presence on Slideshare, YouTube, and their Blog -https://kotaksecurities.blogspot.in/. They are further looking at developing their presence on Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google Plus.

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