Just Dial - Search Plus Engine

Dec. 9, 2013 - PRLog -- Over the past years, Justdial has witnessed structural shifts in the eco-system and behavioral shifts in the market and responded in an effective and timely manner to these forces. What started as a vanilla voice-search based company, soon rode the wave of telecom, both wired and wireless times, followed by the dotcom era and now, in the last couple of years we are seeing a dramatic change in the eco-system – India is now going digital; India is now Mobile.

Spurred by the low cost data plans from mobile service providers, broadband penetration across the country, and the introduction of low cost ‘Smart Phones’, it is only smart to understand that the eco-system is highly positive and conducive to new means. This only strengthens our underlying belief that ‘Change is integral to evolution and will always be a perpetual phenomenon.’ We deem this change to be a huge opportunity for Justdial to go to the next level. Not just the eco-system but there is a distinct trend that is shaping new habits amongst people, our users. Gone are the days when a phone meant just an instrument to talk and text; today we do almost everything over a cell-phone. A transition towards accepting a more ‘Silent’ means to do tasks is also observed – People are spending more time on messenger services rather than use the phone for calling; time spent on social networks is increasing and the internet is here to be an integral part of our lives.

Following this trend of mobility, 24*7 connectivity and the change in habits of people, it was a logical decision for Justdial to not just remain a Search Engine but become a Search Plus Engine.

What is Search Plus?

Justdial is transitioning from being purely a provider of local search and related information to being an enabler of such transactions. These services are aimed at making several day-to-day tasks conveniently actionable and accessible to the users and provide an online platform to thousands of SME’s to get them discovered and transacted.

The big idea…

Having understood that while digital mediums are well accepted, one must note that even in a highly mature market like the USA, online commerce constitutes only about 6% of the overall transactions. We recognize that in a country like India, there is a huge potential to create a system which we call ‘Online to Offline’ whereby Justdial is only an enabler of transactions over its various platforms while the last mile logistics is taken care of, by the huge number of associates (SMEs). We are trying to change the way people do business and the way people buy things.

A two-fold benefit is apparent to both the transacting parties - the SME gets a virtual presence to not just be discovered by people, but also get transactions via the medium and on the other hand the user experiences convenience like never before by having a one stop-search destination for almost all his/her needs. The opportunities in the domain are immense.

Product Strategy @ Shop Front!

Justdial is no longer just about company and category search. One may now also directly search for a product with a brand and model specification and instantly discover a list of vendors in the area along with their offer price for the product, listed alongside. What’s better is that along with this list of vendors, Justdial will also soon add a display of ‘Trust Factors’ to aid the purchase decision and add credibility.

The trust factor tab will include the Year of Establishment of the business, the JD Verified stamp, the overall ratings and even your friend’s ratings which will factor in the vendor’s reliability and enable any user to make an informed decision.

Shopfront – The big idea:

It is common knowledge that once a user has made a choice of product, the ‘Best Price Discovery’ remains the only troublesome phase. To counter this, Justdial’s Shopfront, will offer a user a list of local vendors, along with trust factors and their offer price vis-à-vis the market price, so that a user may make a well-informed decision. Once you choose a vendor, the transaction tab - ‘Buy Now’ will assist you to make an instant purchase and enable order fulfillment; moreover, since the vendor is local, you are likely to be offered Instant Doorstep Delivery and a Cash On Delivery option. Justdial’s Shopfront will house over 37,000 products like Cameras, Mobile Phones, Televisions, Tablets, etc and hundreds of brands and be a game-changer in more than one way.

Here’s how Search Plus works on the Services front:

Justdial has always been an efficient search partner to find any information a user needed. Now, Justdial will go a step further and offer a transactional tab for almost all the categories used on a day-on-day basis. For instance, a user may search for a Restaurant’s contact on Justdial with an intention of either ordering food or to book a table. Now, a user will find these activities (Order Food/ Book A Table) actionable on the very same search platform on Justdial.

This will be a common underlying enabler across various categories like Groceries, Pharmacies, Doctor’s Appointment, Laundry Pick Up, AC Repair, Book A Cab and a host of other services.

Excited about the opportunities in this direction, Justdial’s Founder & CEO, V.S.S. Mani states, “I believe that our Company’s successes have come from disrupting our own model. We have evolved with evolving markets and have recognized and capitalized on market transitions before they happen. We continue to drive our business through scaling of volume, enhancement of client footprint, a focus on costs and advances in technology. These are exciting times, the confluence of three domains - mobile, social & technologies – has created something that can be described as the ‘perfect storm’, an unusual convergence of forces which will enable more info-gratification for users on the go in the near future. As a Company, we remain highly sensitive to the needs of society and continue to take initiatives to make a sustainable change in the lives of people.”