The Birth and Growth Trajectory of Shaadi.com

Introduction

Coming up with business ideas is not difficult, but coming up with solutions that will enhance the quality of life of its customers is the real challenge. In the wave of new companies and product and technological advancements, the only brands that succeed are those that have a greater good in mind.

Brands today not only have to provide solutions but also use technology and automation to make their brand and services. Shaadi.com is one matrimonial site that understands the hindrances faced by parents, young adults, and relatives in the matchmaking process. Shaadi.com provides the user with a platform on which they could find partners to marry beyond just the small human network and connect with like-minded individuals.

Shaadi.com is a brand that has been in the market for decades and, with its improvisations, is a brand for the future of India. In this article, we will be diving deep into the Birth and Growth Trajectory of Shaadi.com, the plans of Shaadi.com, and also taking a brief note of how internet matrimonial sites are going to be in the future.

The Birth of Shaadi.com

Image 1 − Shaadi website logo (Attribution: Mrimam, Shaadi-logo, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Shaadi.com was founded in 1995 by Mr. Anupam Mittal. Shaadi.com wants to serve as a platform on which people can interact with each other and find themselves the right match in terms of life partners as well as some good friends. Today, Shaadi.com has more than 35 million users all across the globe and is one of the oldest and most renowned platforms for marriage. The patent group of Shaadi.com is the People Group.

Anupam has also launched other start-ups such as Makan.com, Mauj, and others. In the initial years, Shaadi.com was not a hit in India because of the poor accessibility of the internet and the reluctance of Indian parents to arrange weddings through a new startup. The non-residents of India, however, found Shaadi.com to be helpful. In addition to the online matchmaking services, Shaadi.com also runs a retail outlet called Shaadi Centers, which helps couples with all the rituals related to marriage. Some of the major competitors of Shaadi.com are JeevanSaathi.com, Bharat Matrimony, and some of the indirect competitors are Tinder, Bumble, Happn, Aisle, OkCupid, and other dating sites.

The mission and vision of Shaadi.com are to help users connect with potential life partners spread across the nation or other countries. Shaadi.com is a company that connects people.

The Growth Trajectory of Shaadi.com

Use of Television Show as Marketing Initiative By Shaadi.Com

Shaadi dot com understood that customers in India had to be educated about the functionality of the applications and their benefits. Shaadi.com starred in a new show at Star Plus (a famous channel for Indian soap operas). It was a reality-based television show that used Shaadi.com to find matches for the brides and grooms. The show was a hit in creating awareness about the brand and its uses.

Cause Marketing by Shaadi.com

Shaadi.com as a platform was helping users find their life partners, and hence Shaadi.com felt it was their duty to address the social issues related to marriage and marriage ceremonies. In 2012, Shaadi.com came up with a Facebook game named Angry Brides to increase awareness about dowry abuse and its implications.

Furthermore, in 2014, Shaadi.com came up with Shaadi Cares to highlight and address m marital issues happening in society once of the issues targeted by Shaadi Care were domestic abuse, dowry abuse, child marriage, marital rape, gender inequality, and others.

Revenue Model of Shaadi.com

Users can download the application for free and browse through the profiles as well, but whenever a user wants to connect with another person, they would have to take the premium membership. This model is based on paying only if you like the service and the account. The premium members are also known as Gold, Gold +, Diamond, and Diamond +.

The visibility of the account increases, the contact information becomes visible, the number of swipes or matches one gets increases, and others can be attained with the premium version of the account. Along with this, once the account has been created on Shaadi.com, the business owners use the personal information of the user to connect with them and inform them about the latest package and its benefits. Shaadi.com also earns money from the advertisements done by other brands on the platform.

Social Media Marketing Initiative by Shaadi.com

Shaadi.com comes up with new games like Angry Bride to increase awareness regarding dowry abuse, child marriage, and marital abuse, which has been a very engaging campaign for the brand. This campaign by Shaadi.com was applauded in more than 35 countries.

Along with this, Shaadi.com is also active in hashtag marketing, the most underrated but effective tool of digital marketing. Shaadi.com came up with hashtags like #WohEkBaat, #FastForHer, and others.

#WohEkBaat was started at the time of Valentine's Day to portray Shaadi.com as a celebrator of love. Shaadi.com also used influencer marketing to discuss what is helping to maintain the relationship. Shaadi.com has always been sharing its success stories on social media platforms to show its efficiency as a matchmaking application and how it has helped more than 6 million couples.

Conclusion

Today, Shaadi.com is one of the top marriage websites and also has more than 200 affiliates in India and neighboring countries. Shaadi.com, to date, has initiated more than 3.5 million marriages and is installed by 12, 000 to 15, 000 users daily only in India. Shaadi.com is a celebrator of love and is here to help people arrange marriage through technology and the Internet. Shaadi.com, through social cause marketing, its success stories, influencer marketing, and other reality shows, is trying to win the hearts and confidence of its customers.