ASSIGNMENT

MakeMyTrip.com
Group 7
Group Memebers :
Ahmad Noor, Rida Ahmad, Muhammad Ali, Shah-e-ramsha Shahid , Zain Tariq

Q1. Can MMT sustain its business model by targeting only the inbound travelers, or does it
need to look at other markets and segments? If yes, which segments would you
recommend? If no, how can they grow within inbound segment?

ANS. The inbound market of MMT in India was 2.42 million in 2001-02. This segment is
divided into 6 categories- holidays and sightseeing, business travelers, conference attendees,
visiting friends and relatives (VFRs) and others. The exhibit 3 in the case shows the NRI (nonresident Indians) population worldwide and their frequency of visiting India for various
purposes. MMT should sustain its business model and target inbound travelers as 90% of the
NRI/VFR plan their trips in advance and sales from this segment are stable and predictable.
There are numerous advantages of catering to this segment that MMT is gaining. There has been
a new trend of NRI/VFRs traveling to India for tourism purposes, exploring new places and take
short vacations. This gives MMT opportunity to offer services to this segment within India and
also eliminate geographical constraints with efficiently providing services.
NRI population in USA has doubled out of which 67% of NRIs travel to India once a year. This
figure is expected to grow by 10% per year. This gives MMT an opportunity to expand and grow
its business each year. More over NRIs of US have buying behavior similar to Internet savvy in
America, which allows more number of NRI to use MMT services and book tickets & packages
online as compared to local residents of India.
However most of the NRIs of Middle East are blue-collar workers, having one paid trip to India
per year. Their employers, making this market difficult to penetrate, purchase their tickets.

This segment has a great growth potential so the gaps should be carefully analyzed and strategies
should be designed to grow in this particular segment.
The Hotel quality and capacity in India is an issue for MMT. So for the successful services
offered to the large international market segment it is important to upgrade hotel quality; 5 or 7
star standards and capacity as compared to international standards. This will provide comfort to
the travelers and attract more customers due to ease and convenience available during their stay
in India. Customer satisfaction is a key to success in any business.
The US NRIs buying behavior is more of Internet Savvy, so this opportunity should be used by
offering more package offers and options to these customers and making their online transaction
a comfortable experience. Portal interface should be user friendly and easily understood by local
and globally distributed customers.
Middle East NRI should be reached directly or their employers should be made aware of the
services. Keeping contact and maintaining after sale relation is very important for future
purchases.
Other than planning trips of NRI, MMT can also plan NRIs residing in different countries to
other global destinations. This will give value added services and competitive advantages.
Service changes should be kept competitive and various supplementary services should also be
offered. Opening offices or collaboration can do this with agents in different countries.
Advertising should be altered for different countries depending on their cultural, corporate and
economic environment. In this way consumers will feel connected to this service and that this
company takes care of their demands.

Question 2 Ad revenues had never been core to MMTs business plan. However MMTs
role in promoting some leading NRI-focused brands suggests that this might be another
avenue that Kalra could investigate. Does MMT need to look at advertising as a revenue
generator?

To tap the NRI and international market MMT has created a network of offices in New Delhi ,
Mumbai and New York. MMT has appointed some franchises to provide travel related services
internationally, mainly in United States, United Kingdom, Australia and India. Moreover The
Company relies heavily on information technology. Kalra attributes the success to the strategic
decisions company took in targeting NRI customers. The Indian travel market can be classified
in two broad categories, international travelers that are crossing international borders and
domestic travelers, who travel within the India. The international travelers could further be
classified as inbound travelers (those who travel into India from overseas) and outbounds of
India who travel internationally. Consumer behavior in India is changing as domestic travelling
has increased. According to Kalra estimates NRI/VFR traveler spends approximately US$ 1200
per person per trip. So more NRIs are exploring India. NRI population in United States has
increased. All the advertising of MMT done in United States is conceptualized in India. The
company relies on three pillars for its advertising. One is convenience of 24/7 service, reliability
and competitive pricing. MMT has formed strategic alliances with other brands such as Coke
which is based on specific promotion schemes, but MMT still does not rely on advertising of its
own. MMT could look into this new avenue where it can go for ad revenues, since it has never
done this so it will be new experience for the company, as NRI population has doubled in US so
MMT can use advertising other than its convenience, reliability and competitive pricing,
especially it can use this when targeting new customers.

QUESTION 3 Can MMTs business model work in other countries, in particular China,
Singapore, and the Philippines? Are there any differences in consumers and segments in
these countries that would render the model inadequate? What might need to be changed
in other countries? Could MMT expand in a modular manner by replicating their business
with overseas residents of other countries?

CHINA
China has a population of 50 million around the world with its presence in Singapore, USA ,
Malaysia , Thailand, Indonesia etc. MMTs business model could work in China as well due to

similar demographics and geographically the two countries are very close. So China could be a
very easy to target segment for MMT. To attract more customer base it could provide people with
cheap deals for the day. But for this MMT should focus on outbound and inbound customers.

SINGAPORE
Singapore is itself a tourist destination with a very low population. Of 5.47 million and over the
decade there is slow growth in population. To attract people from there to come to India will be
pretty hard but MMT with its continuous efforts and advertising in Singapore can bring inbound
customers.

PHILIPPINES
Population of Philippines is estimated at 100,096,496 as of July 1 2014. Philippines's population
is equivalent to 1.38% of the total world population. The Philippines ranks number 12 in the list
of countries by population (34% people live in USA, 11% in Middle East and 15 % in South East

Asian Countries). Philippines are also potential customers for MMT as inbound travelers. As
34% Filipino already live in USA so they could be easily targeted. Also MMT does not need to
change its model. When MMT has already a global presence so Filipinos are easy to bring in
India.