Adgully Exclusive | Social media is an effective marketing tool: Goibibo's Deepak Tuli

Today is world where everything seems to be present "online'. This could range from products - food, books, clothes, shoes to services like travel and leisure tickets bookings. One such example is Goibibo.com. Goibibo.com was launched in 2009, but today, in a short span made its mark in the online travel industry. It is rated as India's 4th leading travel portal.

Adgully caught up with Deepak Tuli, Head, Goibibo to know more about the industry, its future, social media usage and much more.

Sharing insights on the market share and revenue, Deepak said, "The online travel sector is growing at about 10% year on year. Goibibo has grown at a rate of 100% in a short span of 20 months. Selling about 3000 tickets a day, Goibibo has earned itself the position of 4th largest travel portal".

Currently Goibibo serves the domestic travel industry only. Speaking on how they plan to spread their wings, Deepak quickly said, "We plan to enter the international market by the end of the year. We plan to enter the international market with complete travel solutions of holidays, hotels, flights, car and bus hire.

Stating that Goibibo is the fastest, cheapest online travel portal, "In comparison to other competitors like MakeMyTrip and Yatra, we are completely online; sell our tickets only through our website", he added.

Goibibo, a part of ibibo, the well established social gaming platform in India. Leveraging from the expertise of its parent company, Goibibo uses social media to drive traffic to its website. "It is an effective marketing tool to reach out to our target audience. Unlike other players, we focused only on social media to reach out. We have recently initiated our first OOH campaign and will soon start with other campaigns of TV, Print and radio", he added.

"For our customer to enjoy a hassle free experience, we ensure that our interface is completely uncluttered. To undertake any transaction our customers have to create an account, personalizing all interactions", highlighted Deepak on the benefits a consumer derives from using Goibibo. "We provide our customers a detailed travel statement of all the bookings undertaken, giving them the freedom of tracking all their transactions", he added.

When asked about the potential that new media and social media hold as tools for marketing and promotions, Deepak was of the opinion that, "Goibibo from the start has only used social media as a marketing tool to reach out to its customers. With a target audience of on-the-go, internet savvy individual's, social media is an effective tool of marketing. It helps us to stay in touch with our audience round the clock, disseminate information, engage our customers, and resolve queries, spread opinions and feedbacks".

Speaking on the future of online travel industry and where does he Goibibo in the next 3 -5 years down the line, Deepak said. "Traditionally India had a low penetrative market, but it is expanding at a fast face. Today with over 70 million users, the internet space is young and exciting. The online travel industry has a large scope of growth."

Adding further he said, "The growth Goibibo has witnessed since its inception 20 months ago, is an illustration of the future of online travel industry. Goibibo will innovate and bring to its consumers newer ticketing models and be an industry leader."

Goibibo's vision is to make travel booking simple and making it a fun experience by creating a travel community and offer best deals to its members. | By Aanchal Kohli [aanchal(at)adgully.com]