DISSERTATION REPORT

ON

Importance of Digital Marketing in Start-Up Ecosystem

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of MBA

degree

Submitted by

ANKUR MISHRA

MBA
(Marketing and Business Analytics)

Batch – (2019 - 20)

Roll No.: 180251038

Under The Guidance of

Dr. Ankur Agrawal

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS STUDIES

SHARDA UNIVERSITY, GREATER NOIDA-201306

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost I would like to thank my guide Dr. Ankur Agrawal for providing me

with an opportunity to work under him through the medium of this research project. He has

been instrumental in my being able to complete this project to the best of my capabilities.

I would also take this opportunity to express my gratitude and thank all other individuals

who have been kind enough to spare their precious time to share insights with me which has

facilitated in making this project a more rewarding outcome.

I would like to give a special mention to acknowledge the assistance provided by some of our

esteemed faculty members, friends, family, and professionals for always being available to

attend to my doubts and queries.

Also, I am heartily thankful to the administrative staff at school of business studies for their

perennial support in making available all possible facilities intern reading my research for this

project. Finally I wish to thank my colleagues at Sharda University for their support and

motivation which has contributed in making the project a successful effort.

Ankur Mishra

MBA (Marketing & Business Analytics)

Date:

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 DECLARATION
I, Mr. Ankur Mishra, student of student of MBA (Batch 2018-2019), School of Business

Studies, Sharda University hereby declare that I have successfully completed the Dissertation

Research in the Academic year 2019-2019.

The dissertation project work entitled ‘Importance of Digital Marketing in Start-Up

Ecosystem’, submitted to the Institute is a record of an original and independent work done

by me under the guidance of Dr. Ankur Agrawal (Project Guide), submitted in the partial

fulfillment of the requirement of Sharda University, for the award of degree of Masters of

Business Administration.

I further declare that the information submitted is true and original to the best of my

knowledge.

This Report has not been previously submitted for any Examinations / Institutes /

Universities.

ANKUR MISHRA

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 INDEX
S.NO DESCRIPTION PAGE NO.

1 TOPIC A

2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT B

3 DECLARATION C

4 Chapter I Introduction and Rationale to the Study 1

5 Chapter II 9
Organisational profile and Business Overview

6 Chapter III 14
Outline of Problem/Task Undertaken

7 Chapter IV 16
Literature Review

8 Chapter V Objectives 23
and Scope of Project

9 Chapter VI 26
Research Methodology

10 Chapter VII 33
Analysis And
Findings
11 Chapter VIII 44
Key learnings

12 Chapter IX 46
Bibliography/References

13 Chapter X 48
Questionnaire/Checklist of Questions

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 Chapter I
Introduction and
Rationale to the Study

1|Page
Introduction to the Title:

“Importance of Digital Marketing in Start-Up Ecosystem”

Social media is one of the most cost effective ways to market your start-up. In addition to
providing a platform for growing your brand, it offers an easy medium for promotion and
customer service opportunities.

Many start-ups fail because they are unable to reach their target market or due to poor
marketing, even though they have a winning product. According to a survey conducted by
CB Insights, 17% start-ups fail due to poor marketing.

As a start-up entrepreneur, person should be ready and available to the customers at right
place and right time. The only efficient, effective and possible medium to reach the
customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, is through digital marketing.

Bewakoof.com, apparels and mobile phone cover seller has become India’s top most
socially engaged brand with 1.5 million fan following on Facebook. Recently, they started
selling their products using the medium of instant messaging application called WhatsApp
and now, they claim that 15% of their totals sales are influenced only by WhatsApp – This is
the power of digital marketing, which is nothing but the future of marketing.

In the recent years, it has been proven that digital marketing is much better and sophisticated
way to communicate with target audience at an affordable cost. Even it will provide start-ups
the ample opportunity to compete with big players or large businesses in their markets.

There are number of reasons for start-up entrepreneurs to embrace digital marketing in their
business. Some of them are:

 Cost-Effective & affordable way to reach target audience

 Increases your visibility
 Increases customer engagements
 Creates brand awareness
 Boosts online conversion
 Tracks ROI (Return on investment)
 Increases sales and leads
 Influences purchasing decisions
 In the last couple of years, start-up ecosystem in India and the world over has seen a surge in
online ventures. With the growth of internet start-ups, online marketing has become an
integral part of an overall marketing strategy. According to the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), digital advertising spend in India grew at 30
percent in 2020 as compared to 2019. Whereas TV and print advertising grew by 13.8% and
4.6% respectively compared to the year 2019.

Significance of the Study:

Digital Marketing:
Digital marketing is an umbrella term for the targeted, measurable, and interactive marketing of
products or services using digital technologies to reach consumers. The key objective is to
promote brands through various forms of digital media.

Digital marketing includes Internet marketing techniques, such as search engine optimization
(SEO), search engine marketing (SEM) and link building.

The promotion of products or brands via one or more forms of electronic media. For example,
advertising mediums that might be used as part of the digital marketing strategy of a business
could include promotional efforts made via the Internet, social media, mobile phones and
electronic billboards, as well as via digital and television and radio channels.
 Digital Marketing to be Integrated

User friendly & Responsive Website

Social Media
Marketing

Digital Advertising / Emailer

Search Engine Optimisation

It encompasses things like:

 Online Banner Advertisement

 Search Engine Optimisation
 Search Engine Marketing
 Social Media Marketing
 Pay Per Click
 Content Marketing

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO):

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a
search engine's unpaid results - often referred to as "natural," "organic," or "earned" results. As an Internet
marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for, the actual search
terms or keywords typed into search engines and which search engines are preferred by their targeted
audience.

All major search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo have primary search results, where web pages
and other content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine
considers most relevant to users.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM):

Search engine marketing (SEM) is a form of Internet marketing that involves the promotion of
websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) through
optimization and advertising. SEM may use search engine optimization (SEO), which adjusts or
rewrites website content to achieve a higher ranking in search engine results pages, or use pay
per click (PPC) listings.

Google AdWords is by many measures the most popular paid search platform used by search marketers,
followed by Bing Ads, which also serves a significant portion of ads on Yahoo.

Social Media Marketing (SMM):

Social media marketing is the process of gaining website traffic or attention through social
media sites. Social media marketing programs usually centre on efforts to create content that
attracts attention and encourages readers to share it across their social networks.

The resulting electronic word of mouth (eWoM) refers to any statement consumers share via
the Internet (e.g., web sites, social networks, instant messages, news feeds) about an event,
product, service, brand or company. When the underlying message spreads from user to user
and presumably resonates because it appears to come from a trusted, third-party source, as
opposed to the brand or company itself, this form of marketing results in earned media rather
than paid media.
Pay Per Click (PPC):

Pay per click (PPC), also called cost per click, is an internet advertising model used to direct
traffic to websites, in which advertisers pay the publisher (typically a website owner) when the
ad is clicked. It is defined simply as “the amount spent to get an advertisement clicked.”

With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market.
Content sites commonly charge a fixed price per click rather than use a bidding system. PPC
"display" advertisements, also known as "banner" ads, are shown on web sites or search engine
results with related content that have agreed to show ads.
Content Marketing:
Content marketing is any marketing that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing
content in order to acquire and retain customers. This information can be presented in a variety of
formats, including news, video, white papers, e-books, infographics, case studies, how-to guides, question
and answer articles, photos, etc.

Content marketing’s purpose is to attract and retain customers by consistently creating and
curating relevant and valuable content with the intention of changing or enhancing consumer
behaviour. It is an ongoing process that is best integrated into your overall marketing strategy,
and it focuses on owning media, not renting it.

Basically, content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects
without selling. It is non-interruption marketing. Instead of pitching your products or services,
you are delivering information that makes your buyer more intelligent.

Definition of Start Up: -

Start Up is a business in the form of a company, a partnership or temporary organization
designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.
Start Up companies can come in all forms and sizes. Some of the critical tasks are to build a co-
founder team to secure key skills and resources to be able to conduct research and build a first
Minimum viable product (MVP) in order to validate, assess and develop the ideas or business
concepts in addition to opportunities to establish further and deeper understanding on the ideas or
business concepts as well as their commercial potential.

Definition of Start Up Ecosystem: -

A Start Up ecosystem is formed by people, start Ups in their various stages and various types of
organizations in a location (physical or virtual), interacting as a system to create new Start Up
companies. These organizations can be further divided into categories such as universities,
funding organizations, support organizations (like incubators, accelerators, co-working spaces
etc.), research organizations, service provider organizations (like legal, financial services etc.)
and large corporations.
Fostering entrepreneurship has become a core component of economic development in cities and
countries around the world. The predominant metaphor for fostering entrepreneurship as an
economic development strategy is the “entrepreneurship ecosystem.”
Contents of a Start-Up Ecosystem:

1. Composition of the Start Up ecosystem

2. List of organizations and/or organized activities with start-up activities

1. Composition of the Start Up ecosystem: -

 Entrepreneurship Education
 Start Ups at various stages
 Entrepreneurs
 Start-up team members
 Angel investors
 Start Up mentors
 Start Up advisors
 Other business-oriented people
 People from other organizations with start-up activities
 Start Up events

2. List of organizations and/or organized activities with start-up activities: -

 universities
 advisory & mentoring organizations
 Start Up incubators
 Start Up accelerators
 Co-working spaces
 Service providers (consulting, accounting, legal, etc.)
 event organizers
 start-up competitions
 investor networks
 venture capital companies
 crowdfunding portals
 Other funding providers (loans, grants etc.)
 start-up blogs & other business media
 other facilitators
 Chapter II
Organisational profile and
Business Overview
ON9SERVICE
Mission and Vision of the Company:
Mission:

A website is a unique identity, which helps the user to know our client’s business for the
first time. We provide the website on time with robust processes and quality standards
enable. At On9service, ample time is invested to clearly understand your needs and
then manage projects to ensure we delivered on time and within budget.

We build bridges in web technology in order to connect the client’s goal to reality and
we can help our clients to grow their business.

We ensure that your website should always run at peak performance and Our Executive
takes care of it every time.On9service.

Company Profile:

ON9SERVICE is best website designing & development agency in Delhi. Are you looking for a
website designing and website development agency that can help you to improve your
business? Don’t go to another website further; you are in the best place. On9service is a
leading Digital Marketing, Website Designing, and Website Development Agency in Delhi,
India since 2018. Our old customers are still associated with us, this is the belief that has
remained constant since 2018 which shows our goodwill. On9service uses the latest and
advanced tools and technologies such as HTML 5, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, etc. to create an
attractive and user-friendly website. If you want to start your own business, No matter whether
you are a beginner or not, just get a best-designed website which will help you to show your
presence in the market.

We have experienced web designer’s team, serving global clients with a creative and user-
friendly design. Our designer team has completed 200+ projects successfully by implementing a
professional design in the client’s project according to the needs. We developed many successful
Web & mobile applications for our clients worldwide. We are a digital agency with imaginative
ideas, technical flair, and marketing knowledge. We work from graphic design, website
development to digital marketing strategy; we not only create amazing brands but nurture them
too. All the employees that we have are keeping themselves updated with Google’s policy so that
whatever work we do is according to Google’s policy and our customers can benefit from it.
Registered Address:

J-281/33 , 3-1/2 PUSHTA,

STREET NO-8,

KARTAR NAGAR, DELHI-110053

Major Customers:

NEWBIGFASHION

SPYON CAMERA

Sleen Overseas

Sleen India Biz Venture Pvt Ltd

GOEBAZAR

SNAPDEAL

PAYTM

Functional Overview:
On9service is team of experts and professionals who provide best services in Website
Development. We are one of the trusted website development companies in Delhi. Having 3+
years of experience, our team brings you results at high business note.

Basically, a Website tells to visitors about, Who you Are, What We Offer and Values we Follow.

To get the attention of user, an attractive website is to be built! Thus, at On9service, we provide
Best Web Solutions.

The need of online business is rising every day. In short, Website Development is a way for
businessmen to conduct business online and earn a perfect online identity. Plus, it helps the users
to shop online while sitting in any part of the city. A good website :portrays the offered products
or services, improves rank, and helps your business increase its sales.

Web design and Development theoretically means creating a website through programming or
coding and installing all the necessary features required to run a good working website.
 Website Development not only involves coding but, also concerned with the layout so that
maximum user get attracted to such website. Hence, they should build error-less websites to
boost the website’s visibility on search engines.

ECommerce Website Development Company, India

A team of well-versed e-commerce web developers who will provide you with best solutions.
We create responsive e-commerce web designs as per your requirements. Moreover, our team of
experts understands every client need related to offered products or services and target markets.

With an experience of 3+ years, we left no stone unturned to satisfy our valued clients. Thus, we
provide solutions that are perfect for all. Moreover, you will get maximum online reach and can
attract more customers. Moreover, our developers would first analyze your industry, listen to
your requirements, apply technical measures and then advices. So, this would help you to get an
edge over competitors. We are best e-commerce marketing agency and striving hard to be the
no.1.

Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing enhances your brand’s online visibility. With a tough competition in the online
world, increasing your visibility on the web can be difficult. On9service is a renowned digital
marketing agency having vast experience in the field. Moreover, our team of digital marketing
professionals develops a strategy to bring out best results for your business. As served over 100+
digital marketing clients, we are known for best internet marketing service.

We provide promised services to every client. Also, strive hard to focus on increasing your
online presence and, hence, more customer attention. We provide customizable online marketing
services to meet the varied demands of customers. Also, we apply unique tactics and techniques
tailored for every business. So, choose us and enjoy digital marketing services at cost-effective
packages.

WordPress development

WordPress development involves creating or customizing plugins, themes and menu bar. It
increases easy accessibility of customers and also improves ranking on website. WordPress,
today, is one of the most easiest and powerful for content management system and
blogging. On9service provides end-to-end WordPress website development services with best
methodologies for all. From start up to small and mid size businesses, we ensure topmost service
for every client. Our major services include:

 WordPress web design & Customized WordPress Solutions

 Customized Plugins & Themes
 WordPress maintenance
 Customer Support
There are several benefits associated with wordpress development such as cost-effective
solutions, SEO- friendly websites, easy update from anywhere and anytime, seamless integration
with social media platforms and lot more. Gone are the days when creation of websites are hectic
and time-consuming. WordPress development is an ultimate way to get your own SEO ready
websites in very less time.

Therefore, you can enjoy features of simplicity, flexibility, ease in publication, easy publishing
tools, media management and easy theme system. All these benefits are exclusively provided by
our agency.

Website designing

Website designing is an art of creating a powerful platform to attract customers to increase sales
and brand image. By building a good website with attractive design, you can increase online
presence. Also, you can create reliable identity on search engines.

A web design agency that would ensure quality work with:

 Appealing Representation
 Reflect brand’s value accurately
 Bring current and prospective customers
Is what every looks for!

On9service is a Best Website Designing Company that builds perfect websites. Even more, our
team holds an expertise in this field. We help you build strong base in this online world.
 Chapter III
Outline of Problem/Task
Undertaken
In India, there is still a lot to develop in the case of services sectors. Our Prime Minister majorly
focuses on ‘Make in India’ which basically contributes on Indian made products; that are
produced in India and distributed worldwide.

Start-ups are one of the best way to create employment and produce swadeshi goods, increase
GDP overall etc. Advertising about the products and create buzz in environment is companies
need today.

Digital Marketing is other important factor for Digitisation of the country. Today, most of the
start- ups and other companies makes the most out of digital media. Social media usage is most
preferred tool used by every company as the reach of the social media is very fast.

Task undertaken was to find out how start-ups utilize their resources so as to pitch itself in the
society. Parameters were:

1) Documented Strategy for the plan.

2) Marketing budget provided for digital marketing.
3) Analytical tools for measuring success.
4) Media (out of paid media, earned media, owned media) used for advertising.
5) Digital Marketing basics.
 Chapter IV
Literature Review
Digital Marketing:

Digital marketing is an umbrella term for the targeted, measurable, and interactive marketing of
products or services using digital technologies to reach and convert leads into customers.The key
objective is to promote brands, build preference and increase sales through various digital
marketing techniques. It is embodied by an extensive selection of service, product and brand
marketing tactics, which mainly use the Internet as a core promotional medium, in addition to
mobile and traditional TV and radio.

Digital marketing concepts and practice are evolving tremendously among several industries,
especially by the leading companies among each industry utilizing the mass reach of digital tools
and social media platforms, benefiting from the possibility to create individually tailored
approach that can achieved at a very productive cost

Digital marketing activities are search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM)
, content marketing, influencer marketing, content automation, campaign marketing, and e-
commerce marketing, social media marketing, e-mail direct marketing, display advertising, e–
books, optical disks and games, and any other form of digital media. It also extends to non-
Internet channels that provide digital media, such as mobile phones (SMS and MMS), callback
and on- hold mobile ring tones.

The term 'digital marketing' was first used in the 1990s. In the 2000s and the 2010s, digital
marketing became more sophisticated as an effective way to create a relationship with the
consumer that has depth and relevance. While the term 'digital marketing' may not have been
used until the 1990s, digital marketing itself has roots to the mid-1980s when the SoftAd Group,
now ChannelNet developed advertising campaigns for several major automobile companies,
wherein people would send in reader reply cards found in magazines and receive in return floppy
disks that contained multimedia content promoting various cars and offering free test drives.

The rapid evolution of digital media has created new opportunities and avenues for advertising
and marketing. Fueled by the proliferation of devices to access digital media, this has led to the
exponential growth of digital advertising.

In 2019 and 2020 statistics showed digital marketing remained a growing field.

Digital media growth is estimated at 4.5 trillion online ads served annually with digital media
spend at 48% growth in 2010. An increasing portion of advertising stems from businesses
employing Online Behavioural Advertising (OBA) to tailor advertising for Internet users.
Though an innovative resource, OBA raises concern with regards to consumer privacy and data
protection. Such implications are important considerations for responsible communications.
Digital marketing is often referred to as 'online marketing', 'internet marketing' or 'web
marketing'. The term 'digital marketing' has grown in popularity over time, particularly in certain
countries. In the USA 'online marketing' is still prevalent, in Italy is referred as 'web marketing'
but in the UK and worldwide, 'digital marketing' has become the most common term, especially
after the year 2020.
As digital marketing is dependent on technology which is ever-evolving and fast-changing, the
same features should be expected from digital marketing developments and strategies. This
portion is an attempt to qualify or segregate the notable highlights existing and being used as of
press time.

1. Segmentation: more focus has been placed on segmentation within digital marketing, in order
to target specific markets in both business to business and business to consumer sectors.

2. Influencer Marketing: Important nodes are identified within related communities, known as
influencers. This is becoming an important concept in digital targeting. It is possible to reach
influencers via paid advertising, such as Facebook Advertising or Google Adwords campaigns,
or through sophisticated sCRM (social customer relationship management) software, such as
SAP C4C, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage CRM and Salesforce CRM. Many universities now focus,
at Masters level, on engagement strategies for influencers.

To summarize, Pull digital marketing is characterized by consumers actively seeking marketing

content while Push digital marketing occurs when marketers send messages without that content
being actively sought by the recipients.

3. Online Behavioural Advertising: Online Behavioural Advertising refers to the practice of

collecting information about a user’s online activity over time, “on a particular device and across
different, unrelated websites, in order to deliver advertisements tailored to that user’s interests
and preferences.

4. Collaborative Environment: A collaborative environment can be set up between the

organization, the technology service provider, and the digital agencies to optimize effort,
resource sharing, reusability and communications.

An important consideration today while deciding on strategy is that the digital tools have
democratized the promotional landscape.

Start-Up:
Start Up is a business in the form of a company, a partnership or temporary organization
designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model. A company that is in the first stage
of its operations. These companies are often initially bank rolled by their entrepreneurial founders as they
attempt to capitalize on developing a product or service for which they believe there is a demand. Due to
limited revenue or high costs, most of these small scale operations are not sustainable in the long term
without additional funding from venture capitalists.
A start-up incubator is a company that helps new and Start Up companies to develop by
providing services such as management training or office space. Business incubators differ from
research and technology parks in their dedication to Start Up and early-stage companies.
Research and technology parks, on the other hand, tend to be large-scale projects that house
everything from corporate, government or university labs to very small companies. Most
research and technology parks do not offer business assistance services, which are the hallmark
of a business incubation program. However, many research and technology parks house
incubation programs.

The incubation process: -

1. Help with business basics

2. Networking activities
3. Marketing assistance
4. High-speed Internet access
5. Help with accounting/financial management
6. Access to bank loans, loan funds and guarantee programs
7. Help with presentation skills
8. Links to higher education resources
9. Links to strategic partners
10. Access to angel investors or venture capital
11. Comprehensive business training programs
12. Advisory boards and mentors
13. Management team identification
14. Help with business etiquette
15. Technology commercialization assistance
16. Help with regulatory compliance

Start Up accelerators are fixed-term, cohort-based programs, that include mentorship and
educational components and culminate in a public pitch event or demo day. While traditional
business incubators are often government-funded, generally take no equity, and focus on biotech,
medical technology, clean tech or product-centric companies, accelerators can be either privately
or publicly funded and focus on a wide range of industries.

A Start Up accelerator is built to foster rapid growth of its portfolio companies. It's a man-made
perfect storm of mentorship, access to technology, office space and an innovative community,
packed into a short time frame. Essentially, the function of an accelerator is to turn the art of
starting a company into a program that can be repeated, churning out valuable companies as if on
an assembly line.

While each accelerator has nuances, programs tend to share several traits: Start Ups apply to be
part of a program lasting a few months, in which they obtain mentorship, office space and
funding, usually in exchange for company stock. The accelerator program hopes to enable
exciting new businesses and of course get a return on the investment.
The primary value to the entrepreneur is derived from the mentoring, connections, and the
recognition of being chosen to be a part of the accelerator. The business model is based on
generating venture style returns, not rent, or fees for services.

Seed accelerators do not necessarily need to include a physical space, but many do. The process
that Start Ups go through in the accelerator can be separated into five distinct phases: awareness,
application, program, demo day, post demo day.

With the establishment of information technology, each and every activity of our daily life in
personal and professional aspects has seen a massive change and the role of digital media is
simply spectacular. Many people operate businesses worldwide on small scale and large scales.
However, when running a business offline, you can experience only moderate success. When it
comes to online, you can find it expanding largely in quick time. And, for this digital marketing
is the key.

Any business can reach to millions of people through digital media. An optimized website along
with marketing activities can target the customers and rive in more traffic to the website. You
can attract more customers who are interested in your products or services through marketing.
The key facts to start up and expand your business are as follows:

 Target your customers

 Engage yourselves in online communities
 Converse with audience
 Educate customers about products
 Open up new ways to expand business

A powerful marketing strategy is crucial for any business. When it comes to setting up an online
business, you obviously face huge competition. When you wish to enjoy the privileges and
success your competitors enjoy, you need to have a well-organized business plan and marketing
strategy. You need to develop a good website, have a marketing and advertising campaign and
popularize your brand. The key elements for any digital marketing strategy are,

 Website design
 Functionality of the website
 PPC campaigns
 Social media advertising
 Video marketing
 Search engine optimization
 Social media marketing
 Email marketing
Website is the basic thing to have a good start up. Design your website in an attractive and
informative way such that any visitor who views your website gets to know what your business
is about. The website content and functionality also should be user friendly. Marketing
campaigns are smarter ways of attracting target customers. Increase the brand awareness and
increase the online visibility of your website.

Search engine optimization helps you bring natural traffic to your website. With proper skills and
knowledge in SEO you can find a massive difference in the sales of your products in quick time.
Marketing activities like blogging, social bookmarking, posting newsletters and classifieds,
forum participations, article marketing and other social networking activities help in generating
back links to the website. Using top notch digital marketing tools is a good and must activity for
marketers.

Online business has become highly competitive with people opening up businesses in all industry
verticals. To gain online presence and increase brand awareness digital marketing is mandatory.
It is hard to imagine a successful business without digital marketing today. Be it any industry
vertical, small or large scale business, the website has to be designed in the right way and
marketing activities should be powerful to target online audience.

In the late 1990s, the most common type of Start-up Company was a dotcom. Venture capital was
extremely easy to obtain during that time due to a frenzy among investors to speculate on the emergence
of these new types of businesses. Unfortunately, most of these internet start-ups eventually went bust due
to major oversights in their underlying business plans, such as a lack of sustainable revenue.

However, there were a handful of internet start-ups that did survive when the dotcom bubble burst.
Internet bookseller Amazon.com and internet auction portal eBay are examples of such companies.

To confirm the commitment of the founding team, their contribution and ownership rights for the start-up
and to capture the intellectual properties being generated for the start-up, the co-founders should seek to
agree and execute a Shareholders' agreement (SHA) early on. Business models for start-ups are generally
found via a bottom-up or top-down approach.

A company may cease to be a start-up as it passes various milestones, such as becoming publicly
traded in an IPO, or ceasing to exist as an independent entity via a merger or acquisition.
Companies may also fail and cease to operate altogether. The size and maturity of the start-up
ecosystem where the start-up is born and grow, have clear impact on the volume and success of
the start-ups.
Investors are generally most attracted to those new companies distinguished by their strong co-
founding team, risk/reward profile and scalability. That is, they have lower bootstrapping costs,
higher risk, and higher potential return on investment. Successful start-ups are typically more
scalable than an established business, in the sense that they have the potential to grow rapidly
with limited investment of capital, labor or land.

Timing has often been the single most important factor for biggest start-up successes, while at
the same time it's identified to be one of the hardest things to master by many serial
entrepreneurs and investors. Start-ups encounter several unique options for funding. Venture
capital firms and angel investors may help start-up companies begin operations, exchanging seed
money for an equity stake. In practice though, many start-ups are initially funded by the founders
themselves. Factoring is another option, though not unique to start-ups. Other funding
opportunities include various forms of crowdfunding, for example equity crowdfunding.

Start-up business partnering

Start-ups usually need to form partnerships with other firms to enable their business model. To
become attractive to other businesses start-ups need to align their internal features, such as
management style and products with the market situation. In their 2020 study Kask and Linton
develop two ideal profiles, or also known as configurations or archetypes, for start-ups
commercializing inventions. The Inheritor profile calls for management style that is not too
entrepreneurial (more conservative) and the start-up should have an incremental invention
(building on a previous standard). This profile is set out to be more successful (in finding a
business partner) in a market that has a dominant design (a clear standard is applied in this
market). In contrast to this profile is the Originator which has a management style that is highly
entrepreneurial and have a radical invention (totally new standard). This profile is set out to be
more successful (in finding a business partner) in a market that does not have a dominant design
(established standard).
 Chapter V
Objectives and Scope of
Project
Objective of the Project:
Objectives for a project provide a guideline for the researcher for him to remain always focused
on the purpose of the project and avoid any possible hindrance from the main subject handled.

Primary Objective:
 To create awareness amongst the people about Start-up culture:
ON9SERVICE being a start-up itself has become a word of mouth for most of the
Delhi city. To create awareness about Start-ups was one of the tasks to get into the
depth of the project.

 To know the number of start-ups using digital marketing:

Digital Marketing, its importance, its usage was another task so as to segregate the
digital marketing start-ups from other start-ups. This would be a beneficial tool for
revenue generation purpose.

 To study the role of digital marketing and building brand awareness for the start-ups:
Start-up is the need of the hour in today’s world and especially in India where
digitisation has reached towards highest level. So, presence of the start-up culture is
to be known so as to conduct the survey in the field.

Secondary Objective:
 To analyse the data collected through the survey which was floated to the start-ups in
Delhi City and nearby Cities.

 To find out how many start-ups use digital marketing.

 To study the effectiveness of digital marketing as a tool for increasing revenue.

Scope of the Project:
• This project was carried out in Delhi City and nearby region, so data collected is applied
for these regions only.

Duration : The scope of project was limited to duration of 2 months.

Location : Location for the project was Delhi City.

Area under Study : The start-ups in Delhi and other nearby cities were under study.
 Chapter VI
Research Methodology
Research –

Research is common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. The word research is composed
of two syllables, re and search. ‘re’ is a prefix meaning again, anew or over again, ‘search’ is a
verb meaning to examine closely and carefully, to test and try, or to probe. Together they form a
noun describing a careful, systematic, patient study and investigation in some field of
knowledge, undertaken to establish facts or principles. Research is a structured enquiry that
utilizes acceptable scientific methodology to solve problems and create new knowledge that is
generally applicable. Scientific methods consist of systematic observation, classification and
interpretation of data.
Definition -
The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English lays down the meaning of research as “A
careful investigation or inquiry especially through search for new facts in any branch of
knowledge”
According to Redman & Moray “A systematized effort to gain new knowledge”

Research Methodology-
It is the way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be understood as a science of
studying how research is done scientifically. In it we study the various steps that are generally
adopted by a researcher in studying his research problem along with the logic behind them.

Characteristics of Research:
Research is a process of collecting, analysing and interpreting information to answer questions.
But to qualify as research, the process must have certain characteristics such as -
 Controlled
 Rigorous
 Systematic
 Valid and Verifiable
 Empirical
 Critical
Controlled - in real life there are many factors that affect an outcome. The concept of control
implies that, in exploring causality in relation to two variables (factors), you set up your study in
a way that minimizes the effects of other factors affecting the relationship. This can be achieved
to a large extent in the physical sciences (cookery, bakery), as most of the research is done in a
laboratory. However, in the social sciences (Hospitality and Tourism) it is extremely difficult as
research is carried out on issues related to human beings living in society, where such controls
are not possible. Therefore in Hospitality and Tourism, as you cannot control external factors,
you attempt to quantify their impact.

Rigorous - you must be scrupulous in ensuring that the procedures followed to find answers to
questions are relevant, appropriate and justified. Again, the degree of rigor varies markedly
between the physical and social sciences and within the social sciences.

Systematic - this implies that the procedure adopted to undertake an investigation follow a
certain logical sequence. The different steps cannot be taken in a haphazard way. Some
procedures must follow others.

Valid and verifiable - this concept implies that whatever you conclude on the basis of your
findings is correct and can be verified by you and others.

Empirical - this means that any conclusions drawn are based upon hard evidence gathered from
information collected from real life experiences or observations.

Critical - critical scrutiny of the procedures used and the methods employed is crucial to a
research enquiry. The process of investigation must be foolproof and free from drawbacks. The
process adopted and the procedures used must be able to withstand critical scrutiny. For a
process to be called research, it is imperative that it has the above characteristics.
Types of research Design:-
Research can be classified from three perspectives:
1. Application of research study
2. Objectives in undertaking the research
3. Inquiry mode employed
Application of research study:
From the point of view of application, there are two broad categories of research:
 Pure research
 Applied research

Pure research involves developing and testing theories and hypotheses that are intellectually
challenging to the researcher but may or may not have practical application at the present time or
in the future. The knowledge produced through pure research is sought in order to add to the
existing body of research methods.

Applied research is done to solve specific, practical questions; for policy formulation,
administration and understanding of a phenomenon. It can be exploratory, but is usually
descriptive. It is almost always done on the basis of basic research. Applied research can be
carried out by academic or industrial institutions. Often, an academic institution such as a
university will have a specific applied research program funded by an industrial partner
interested in that program.

Objectives in undertaking the research:

From the viewpoint of objectives, a research can be classified as
 Descriptive
 Correlation
 Explanatory
 Exploratory
Descriptive research attempts to describe systematically a situation, problem, phenomenon,
service or programme, or provides information about , say, living condition of a community, or
describes attitudes towards an issue.

Correlation research attempts to discover or establish the existence of a relationship/

interdependence between two or more aspects of a situation.

Explanatory research attempts to clarify why and how there is a relationship between two or
more aspects of a situation or phenomenon.

Exploratory research is undertaken to explore an area where little is known or to investigate the
possibilities of undertaking a particular research study (feasibility study/ pilot study).

In practice most studies are a combination of the first three categories.

Inquiry mode employed:

From the process adopted to find answer to research questions – the two approaches are:
- Structured approach
- Unstructured approach

Structured approach:
The structured approach to inquiry is usually classified as quantitative research. Here everything
that forms the research process- objectives, design, sample, and the questions that you plan to ask
of respondents- is predetermined. It is more appropriate to determine the extent of a problem,
issue or phenomenon by quantifying the variation.
Unstructured approach:
The unstructured approach to inquiry is usually classified as qualitative research. This approach
allows flexibility in all aspects of the research process.

Sampling-
Sampling may be defined as the selection of some part of an aggregate or totality on the basis of
which a judgement about the aggregate is made. In other words, process of obtaining information
about an entire population by examining only a part of it.

Types of sampling:
Probability Sampling - A probability sampling is one in which every unit in the population has
a chance (greater than zero) of being selected in the sample, and this probability can be
accurately determined. The combination of these traits makes it possible to produce unbiased
estimates of population totals, by weighting sampled units according to their probability of
selection.

Systematic Sampling - The most practical way of sampling is to select every item on a list, this
kind of sampling known as systematic sampling.

Stratified Sampling- If a population from which a sample is to be drawn does not constitute a
homogeneous group, stratified sampling technique is applied in order to obtain representative
sample.

Cluster Sampling- If the total area of interest happens to be big one, a convenient way in which
is sample can be taken is to be divided into smaller non-overlapping areas called cluster known
as cluster sampling.
Non probability sampling- In case of non-probability sampling, it is considered appropriate to
use a random selection process where the probability of each cluster being included in the sample
is proportional to size of the cluster.

Research Design
Research design is the based framework, which provides guidelines for the research process. It is
a map or blue print according to which the research is to be conducts. The research design
specifies the methods for data collection & data analysis determine the source of data. Most
specifically it was a “Descriptive” kind of research which takes care of who, when, where, what,
how and why aspects of the investigation. Further statistical methods are used to serve the
purpose of project.

Various parameter used in research -

Research Design - Descriptive
Data Source -Primary & Secondary data
Research Instrument – Questionnaire
Types of Questionnaire -Structure and non-disguised
Chapter VII
Analysis And
Findings
The survey was taken over 20 start-ups present in Delhi

These start-ups have come into existence in about 1 year.

They had been floated this questionnaire through Google Docs so as to complete the survey.

The analysis of the survey is been explained below.

Q1) Do you have a documented Digital Strategy / Plan in place?

Yes 8
No 12

Digital Strategy/Plan

40%

60%

YesNo

Interpretation:
Here, we can interpret that more than half start-ups don’t have documented plan of their start-up.

This is where we can basically segregate the life expectancy of the start-ups.
Q2) What percentage of your overall marketing budget is assigned to Digital?

Percentage Start-ups
10 7
25 5
33 4
50 3
75 1
100 0

Overall Budget to Digital Marketing

1 0

10% 25% 33% 50% 75% 100%

Percentage

Interpretation:
Here, we can interpret that most of the start-ups don’t have strategy build towards digital
marketing.

16 out of 20 start-ups have less than 50% budget towards digital marketing.
Q3) Which statements best describe your current Digital Marketing efforts?

DM Effort Count

In-house 6
Marketer/Marketing Team

Outsource the Marketing to 4

Agent or Consultant

Marketing expertise on the 1

founding team

Most of the Marketing done 5

by own, without
background
Don't Really do any Digital 4
Marketing

Digital Marketing Effort

20%
30%

25%
20%
5%

In-house Marketer/Marketing Team

Outsource the Marketing to Agent or Consultant Marketing expertise on the founding team
Most of the Marketing done by own, without background
Don't Really do any Digital Marketing

Interpretation:
Here, we can interpret that most of the start-ups prefer digital marketing on In-house marketer
(30%).

Also, 20% don’t really make use of digital marketing in their start-up.

Q4) What does your company aim to achieve with Digital Marketing?

Parameter Count
Creating brand 16
awareness
Driving strategy for 8
customer acquisition
Creating and executing 9
lead generation
campaigns
Developing company 6
messaging and
positioning
Creating marketing 6
brochures and other
materials
Other 3

16
16
14
12
10
9
8
8 6 6
6
3
4
2
0

Creating Driving Creating andDeveloping Creating Others

Brand Awareness
strategy for customer acquisition
executing leadcompany marketing
generationmessaging and brochures and
campaignspositioningother
materials

Responses
Interpretation:
Here, we can interpret that start-ups using digital marketing are more over concerned with the
creation of brand awareness and also generating lead through various sources.

Q5) How do you measure the success of your Digital Marketing efforts?

Type of Tools Count

Using a free analytic tools 10
Using a paid analytic tools 2
Using agency produced 2
reports
Using consultant produced 3
reports
Using external eCommerce 1
platform/software
Other 2

Tools

10%
5% a free analytic tools Using a paid analytic tools Using agency produced reports
Using
Using consultant produced reports

Using
15%external eCommerce platform/software
Other
50%

10%

10%
Interpretation:
Having faith in oneself is what start-ups look out for. So 50% of the start-ups have free analytic
tools in-house.

Q6) Which 2 of the following tactics are most important to your 2019 strategy?

Tactics Count
Email Marketing 14
Social Media 18
Search Engine Marketing 10
Content Marketing 10
Blogger Outreach 6
Affiliates 3
Display Advertising 5

Tactics for Digital Marketing

18
18
16
14
14
12
10 10
10
8
6
5
6
4 3
2
0
Email Social Search Content Blogger Affiliates Display
Marketing Media Engine Marketing Outreach Advertising
Marketing

Count
Interpretation:
Here, we can interpret that start-ups create their brand’s awareness with the help of social media,
search engine marketing, email marketing.

Above tactics would surely help in strategizing in the year 2019.

Q7) Which one of the following media do you believe will deliver you the best return in
2019?

Media Count
Paid Media 4

Earned Media 11

Owned Media 5

Type of Media

20%
25%

55%

Paid MediaEarned MediaOwned Media

 Interpretation:
When it comes to delivering the best returns, earned media is preferred at most.

55% of start-ups prefer earned media over paid and owned media.

Q8) Which of the following areas do you require the most help with?

Options Count
Social Media Advertising 8

Content Marketing 10

Digital Strategy and Planning 15

Conversation Rate Optimization 7

User Experience Testing 5

Tools

User Experience Testing

Conversation Rate Optimization Digital Strategy and Planning

Content Marketing

Social Media Advertising

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Count
Interpretation:
From about chart we can interpret that start-ups using digital marketing requires most help with
digital strategy and planning which is most basic part as compared to other tools highlighted
above.

Q9) Have you ever considered or had formal Digital Marketing training?

Question Count

Yes 5

No 15

Answer

25%

75%

YesNo

Interpretation:
More than 70% of start-ups have no experience in training of digital marketing.

Findings:
After analysing the responses of the 20 start-ups, we find that there is a huge need of digital
marketing in start-ups for pitching themselves towards the society of India.

Digital strategy/plan, tools of digital marketing, training of digital marketing, budgeting the
digital marketing are the signs telling that digital marketing is the need of the hour in today’s
world.
Chapter VIII
Key learnings
Key Learnings:
Through this project and through ON9SERVICE, I got to learn about start-ups, how they work.
ON9SERVICE being a start-up let me work in every part of the organisation. I got a detailed
understanding of how start-ups are being funded and how they pitch themselves from their
competitors.

Another important thing to learn was about digital marketing. Digital marketing has a very wide
scope in the coming years which helped me in knowing how the working of digital marketing in
any organisation is and how it is cheapest and economic source of communication to reach into
the mass.

A depth knowledge of Information Technology and its association with start-ups was also
covered.
 Chapter IX
Bibliography/References
Bibliography/References:
http://www.on9service.com/

www.ibef.org

www.slideshare.com

www.yourstory.com

www.techcrunch.com

www.google.com

www.wikipedia.com

BOOKS
Principles of Marketing-Philips Kotler & Kelvin Keller (Edition 13)
Research Methodology concepts and cases- Deepak Chawla and Neena Sondhi
 Chapter X
Questionnaire/Checklist of
Questions
Annexures: Glossary, Questionnaire/Checklist of Questions

Questionnaire:
Q1) Do you have a documented Digital Strategy / Plan in place?

Yes
No

Q2) What percentage of your overall marketing budget is assigned to Digital?

10
25
33
50
75
100

Q3) Which statements best describe your current Digital Marketing efforts?

In-house Marketer/Marketing Team

Outsource the Marketing to Agent or Consultant
Marketing expertise on the founding team
Most of the Marketing done by own, without background
Don't really do any Digital Marketing

Q4) What does your company aim to achieve with Digital Marketing?

Creating brand awareness

Driving strategy for customer acquisition
Creating and executing lead generation campaigns
Developing company messaging and positioning
Creating marketing brochures and other materials
Other:
Q5) How do you measure the success of your Digital Marketing efforts?

Using a free analytic tools

Using a paid analytic tools
Using agency produced reports
Using consultant produced reports
Using external eCommerce platform/software
Other:

Q6) Which 2 of the following tactics are most important to your 2019 strategy?

Email Marketing
Social Media
Search Engine Marketing
Content Marketing
Blogger Outreach
Affiliates
Display Advertising

Q7) Which 1 of the following media do you believe will deliver you the best return in 2019?

Paid Media (any of the following: display, search, affiliate and social media advertising)
Earned Media (any form of publicity generated by your advocates, customer, fans, partners)
Owned Media (any marketing channel owned by your start-up like website and social media
profiles operated by company)

Q8) Which of the following areas do you require the most help with?

Social Media Advertising

Content Marketing
Digital Strategy and Planning
Conversation Rate Optimization
User Experience Testing
Search Engine Marketing
Online PR
Tracking and Data Analysis
Reporting
Other:

Q9) Have you ever considered or had formal Digital Marketing training?

Yes
No