'Location Based Applications Helps Small Businesses to Generate Valuable Leads'

Launched in January 2015 with an idea backed by inspiration of making small business of India Digital on mobile, HeyBiz is a pioneering free mobile application available on android and IOS platforms where the users can connect, follow, chat and get their queries answered from businesses and services in the close vicinity of their location without having to share their contact details.

As the tagline, ‘Making Business More Human’ conveys, HeyBiz understands the companies and customers well and offers an effective platform for Sales-Marketing-Support (SMS) of the businesses on smart phones, helping the businesses grow. The company identifies its trade with L-Commerce (Local Commerce) empowering local business by helping customers and businesses both to reach their target audience and avail the desired services basis their needs in a more useful way.

In a conversation with Faiz Askari of SMEStreet, Bhartesh Chibber – Co-Founder – HeyBiz explained some key industry-wide trends and his organization’s main focus.

FA: What are the key trends in today's online content consumption? 

Bhartesh Chibber:  Mobile App, Games, Deals, Local services, reading and watching online content relevant stories.

Mobile has taken a lead in the online space. For your business, what level of importance does mobile carry? 

Ans: Smartphone has opened a door for many to First Mobile users to experience internet. HeyBiz see this opportunity for offline businesses that desperately need online presence to increase the revenue. Hence Mobile only is our primary focus.

Today’s consumer is very keen to gather information before buying any product. India has more than 130 million Smartphone users along with 250 million Internet users already.

How many users you have on your platform?

Ans: The customers can find the relevant businesses and can initiate real time chat with the business without disclosing their personal contact details. Consumers are happy to associate with HeyBiz. For business there are five Thousand users and next there are Twenty Seven Thousand plus users in total and 50 to 60% users are coming on monthly basis.

What are the key areas on which you are working on in order to expand and grow in next one year?

Ans: We are working towards Local Commerce and bring small business as easy to use a platform to sell services or product. HeyBiz will be an engagement platform to Sale, Marketing and Support for businesses. We are planning to integrate all the offline businesses into the online world.

Location based information delivery holds great relevance for marketing and advertising.

Ans: Yes location and contextual connect helps any business to convert lead to businesses. For HeyBiz, it is our USP. Service providers or local shops need to get connected with local customers where they can strike a deal and provide services within an hour. A chat option on such marketplaces which can be used by the consumer to communicate with sellers buying the product.

Does your revenue model have these priorities?

Ans: Yes we do have we are generating around 100 leads per day for our businesses which now needs to be converted into revenue model.

Please share a glimpse about your revenue model.

Ans: We shall be charging 5-10% of platform fee for each deal happens through our platform. If it is COD, we shall be charging very nominal lead fee. The revenue model will be based on premium listing on the site and advertisement comes from different businesses.

What are the key milestones you have achieved so far?

Ans: We have won trust of businesses within a very short span of time and we have reached to 5k businesses, then the user’s growth is organic and we are achieving 50 to 60% every month.  We are planning to invest in Indian market in order to engage Indian audience with us. The versatile culture and its limitation geographically will be our biggest challenges.