Why should we market ourselves online?
If you notice, most of your valuable customers are people working in MNC's, Banks, Insurance companies, software and hardware companies etc. Having said that, it goes without saying, most of them will have access to internet, either at office or home or both, have multiple credit cards and own mobile phones.
Today, these customers of yours have to either come to your office or visit your branch or agents to avail your services. By you going online, you will be upgrading your services to the global
standard.
Moreover, your market reach will no longer be confined to specific areas within the country.It will reach the whole world. The internet has changed the way
business happens. It has become imperative for all businesses to have an online
marketing strategy, or risk losing business.
In short, being a bit harsh, you are left with no choice but to go online, and sooner the better before your competitor decides to go online. In our opinion, you may postpone the decision, but to continue in business, you will have to open up your services on the internet for online marketing..
|
TOP
|
What are the advantages of going online?
Plenty......
- You are reaching out to your valued customers directly thereby saving you money
in terms of agent commission and recurring expenses of maintaining branch offices.
-
Your products and services are being purchased 24 hours a day, 7days a week, even when all your offices are closed.
- Your entire operations go computerized, reducing manual errors.
- Your office
becomes transparent, and paperless.
- You have greater control over branches and
agents
- No more manual ledgers and errors associated with it.
- No more duplication
in seat, accommodation, allotment.
- Global market reach - the whole world becomes your market.
- Your organization graduates to a higher level of service and become more professional
offering international quality of service.
- Your CEO/MD/Proprietor in total control
from anywhere in the world.
- You can reduce booking clerks and use them for more
productive areas.
- With data built up over time, you can focus better on improvement
in areas of furthering your business.
|
TOP
|
What are the disadvantages of not going online?
Again plenty......
- Sooner or later you will lose out to your
competitors who have gone online.
- When all others are forging ahead, your organization
will lag behind.
- You will be employing more people to do less
work.
- Your market share will start to go down.
- You will be confined to the same market and
unable to tap other areas unless you open more branches deploying more capital and
recurring expenses.
- You will need to pay more commissions to your
agents to get business.
- You may even need to engage more agents.
- Instead of going paperless, you will be adding
more paper work.
|
TOP
|
How then do we go online?
To begin with, you will need the services of an experienced software development
company who understands the need of your business as well as the need of your valued
customers. No software developer can develop a comprehensive platform for you without
many months of interaction between the two of you. It could take many months or
even a year or so before you can really embrace the new technology. Then comes the
question of hosting the software, finding the right hosting company, expenses of
hiring a server, maintenance of the software, upgrade to the software, data storage,
credit card payment gateway etc. Besides these, you will need to invest on computers
and printers at all your offices and train your existing staff to handle the platform.
Quite exhaustive, isn't it ?
Do not worry.. we at PST Web Solutions Pvt.Ltd., Bangalore, have been working on
a software which will neatly fit into your existing business model and with all
inbuilt modules for future expansion. We developed our product called 'e-Reserve'
over a period of over 2 years after extensive interaction with the industry leaders
in the areas of tours and travel, entertainment industry, hospitality sectors, luxury
tourist trains etc. Through 'e-Reserve' you, your agents, your GDS partners and
your customers book online. Our software comes with SMS gateway
and a water tight accounting package keeping track of your last penny between various
users of the platform. The software is a ready-to-use platform and with which we
can take you online in less than two weeks time - that is a guarantee !!! |
TOP
|
We do not have a website to go online.
We have an excellent team of web designers with us who will help you plan, design and host a suitable website for your organization. Once your website is hosted online, we will integrate your customized 'e-Reserve' software onto your new
website and also your credit card processing gateway. |
TOP
|
How much will a suitable software cost us to go online?
Now that you have found a ready made solution in 'e-Reserve' and decide to go online,
give us a call and we will be more than happy to discuss the cost and other finer
details. At this point, we assure you that the cost will be unimaginably down to
earth and easy on your financials. We have different commercial models for you to
choose from viz., life time licensing with annual maintenance fee or on a very nominal usage basis. The whole package comes to you on a SaaS model, that is 'Software
As A Service' wherein you pay a monthly subscription and without any long term commitment. |
TOP
|
What is a B2B and B2C website?
Now, we will start answering all your queries, doubts and apprehensions on going
online.
Well, a B2B portal is a third party marketing agent who market your products or
services over the internet, without you computerizing your operations. That is to
say, you give them a portion of your service or inventory which they put up on their website
which will also be marketing your competitors services. So much so, your brand gets
lost in the crowd. In fact you will end up sacrificing your Brand strategy. If and
when these portals sell your service, they reimburse your value less the agreed
commission. This is a semi online process and we do not suggest this method of marketing.
This is a complicated way of marketing with many a phone calls/emails
between you and the
third party.
A B2C portal is a complete solution, provided you have access to the right software.
In this method, you are reaching out to your customers directly eliminating all
middlemen. You have your own website from which your customers buy your product
or service. Your brand is intact and your customers feel delighted and satisfied.
You could also give access to book online to your branch offices and your authorized
agents and GDS partners. |
TOP
|
What are the initial additional costs
to go online?
Now that you have made up your mind to go for a B2C portal with 'e-Reserve', let
us examine what other things you will need to do - - Install computers and printers
at all your existing offices. We suggest multiple computers(2 or more) with a single
printer at your head office and one computer with a printer at other locations.
- You may need to invest in a good power back up (UPS) until power situation in
our country improves.
- A good broadband internet connection with a minimum 512kbps
speed.
- Design and print computer stationary to print out vouchers/tickets etc.
Let the cost of above not scare you, we are sure you will be able to recover the
cost in less than a year by savings made on direct marketing to your clients.
|
TOP
|
How long will it take to go online?
Now that you have decided to go with 'e-Reserve' software, we will send you a detailed
questionnaire. Once we receive the inputs, we will integrate them onto our software
and host it. This process may take about a week to 10 days. Meantime, you could
go about computerizing your offices and arrange to subscribe to a credit card payment
gateway. In India you could use payment gateways from ICICI Bank, Citibank, HDFC
or Axis bank or go in for 3rd party providers like CC Avenue, Tech Soft
etc. Once you have computerized your offices, we
will give you the internet link to start accessing your platform over the net. Our
personnel will train your staff at your office for a day ( e-Reserve is very user
friendly. We have trained booking clerks who are over 60 years in less than 2 hours)
Initially upload all existing bookings on the software, then use the software along
with the manual system you are currently using, till such time your staff are comfortable
with the new technology. (again e-Reserve is extremely well designed, you will certainly
stop the manual system in less than a week) Once you are comfortable, inform us
and we will integrate your
payment gateway and throw open the platform for your valuable clients across the world.
The whole process will take less than a month. We suggest that during the process
of familiarization of the software internally, you start advertising about you going
online. |
TOP
|
Will our existing booking staff be able to handle the software?
Should we employ any skilled computer operator?
As stated earlier, our software is very user friendly and anyone can master it in
less than a day. In short, yes. your existing staff will comfortably handle it and you will not need any skilled operator. In fact, you will need less number of reservation
officers to do the job. You could cut down the staff strength by more than half, over a period of time and use the excess strength for more productive work. |
TOP
|
How will our customers booking online pay for the service?
Customers who choose to purchase your product or service online are redirected to a credit card processing payment gateway. Here
he or she provides their credit card details. Once your credit card processing bank approves the charge, the customer is directed back to your website from where the customer takes a print out of the voucher or ticket. The process is complete. |
TOP
|
How do we get a credit card processing payment gateway?
Many banks in India viz., Citibank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank offer credit card
processing payment gateway. Terms and conditions vary from bank to bank. |
TOP
|
What are the risks associated with accepting payment via credit
cards online?
Internet credit card fraud is being reported regularly and many merchants have lost
thousands of dollars in the process. One needs to be very vigilant while marketing
over the internet and accepting credit card payments. But thanks to latest
technology being used by the banks these days, all these risks have reduced
considerably. Using 'e-Reserve', our software is equipped to track down
such users by noting their IP address. |
TOP
|
Can we use our own payment gateway?
Absolutely yes. We will integrate your payment gateway onto 'e-Reserve' and you can manage the payment gateway. We will have absolutely no access either to your payment gateway or to your related bank account. |
TOP
|
Will our branches and authorized agents also be able to book online?
Yes, of course, since without such a facility the whole project cannot be called
a total online concept. All users viz., your head office, your branch offices, your
authorized agents, your GDS partners and your esteemed clients.. all of them use the same platform to
book, postpone, cancel online. |
TOP
|
What about accounting between our head office and branches and
agents?
Thankfully, 'e-Reserve' comes to you with a water-tight accounting package. It keeps a track of every booking, rescheduling and cancellations done by any user on the system viz., your head office, your branch offices, your authorized agents, your
GDS partners and your direct online customers. Individual ledgers are maintained for every single user of the system. Separate ledgers are also inbuilt to take care of tax collection(service tax) and agent commissions. Your accounts personnel will fall in love with the package. Reconciliation of accounts between you and other users is at your finger tips and up-to-date all the time !! What more can one ask for ? |
TOP
|
Does 'e-Reserve' allow me to block seats, alter
capacity, increase or decrease our tariff, postpone booking, cancel booking etc
? How flexible is 'e-Reserve'?
Yes, and in fact much more than that. The software is totally flexible for you to
make as many practical changes in your operations as you want. Manipulating the
software is a child's play. The 'Help' option on the software is designed to literally
hold your hand while you navigate through the various options available. |
TOP
|
What is the difference between 'e-Reserve' and other software products?
For one, 'e-Reserve' comes to you after years of successful tests and most rigorous
usage by reputed service providers. While most of the other software providers are into
a sort of quota marketing online wherein your products and services are listed with
many of your own competitors, whereas, 'e-Reserve' is the only one with which you
are marketing your products and services from your own website directly to your
customers and not getting lost in on ocean of similar operators. In short, 'e-Reserve'
is a total solution wherein you have full control of your operation or business
while we take care of your online reservations in terms of providing you with the
software. |
TOP
|
What happens if the software crashes or does not respond or hangs?
These things happen if proper care and attention to detail is not looked into in
areas of the software hosting company, the server specifications, broadband internet
connection service provider and specification of computers uses at your offices
and branches. While you take utmost care in buying hardware of good quality (preferably
branded ), sign up with reputed internet service providers, we have already signed
up with one of the best (and expensive) hosting company in the USA, for a totally dedicated server with near zero downtime guarantee and all your data safely stored on SQL
servers. We have not compromised on these areas and we assure you that we are with
the best of hosting service providers in the world, although it costs us a lot.
So, you can be rest assured, you will not face these problems at all, but for power
shut-downs which are beyond the control of both of us. A good UPS should solve that
problem too. |
TOP
|
How safe is the data on the software?
All your data, that is trip sheet and accounting data is safely stored on SQL servers
and we can give you all the data anytime. |
TOP
|
Is 'e-Reserve' loaded on our computers?
No, 'e-Reserve' is a totally web based software solution and no software is loaded
onto any of your computers. This eliminates any loss of data due to system crash, virus attacks,
system hang-up etc. Your up to the minute data will be safely stored on our servers.
|
TOP
|
What kind of internet connection should we subscribe and how much
will it cost us monthly?
In India, we have many internet connection providers, but we recommend Airtel with
a minimum speed of 2 Mbps. Each service provider has different pricing policies. |
TOP
|
What about software upgrades and maintenance?
Once you have subscribed with 'e-Reserve', all upgrades and software maintenance
is our problem and we will be doing these at scheduled intervals. Our software team
will be upgrading the software with the latest tried and tested technology as and
when they become available. |
TOP
|
What applications can 'e-Reserve' be used for online marketing?
'e-Reserve' is an Online Reservation Engine and can be easily modified and customized
to cater to any industry in the travel, packaged tours, hospitality and entertainment
sectors. |
TOP
|
Does 'e-Reserve' take up our online project on a turn-key basis
or a BOT scheme?
Yes, we can take up your project on either a turn-key basis or on a BOT ( build-operate-transfer)
schemes. Give us a call and we can discuss the schemes to suit your requirement
and costing. |
TOP
|
How can we contact you for further queries ?
You can email us your queries on 'info@pstweb.co.in' or alternatively you could
fax us on +91 80 2526 8899 or call us on +91 80 2527 7777 during office hours. |
TOP
|
