Quikr.com plans to expand; will launch a marketing campaign

The online classifieds portal has recently received a funding of Rs 20 crore, a part of which will be used for Internet marketing and radio and print advertising

Online classifieds advertisement portal, Quikr.com, has recently received an investment funding of Rs 20 crore from Matrix Partners India and Omidyar Network. Of these, Matrix Partners India has invested in the company for the second time. Omidyar Network belongs to Pierre Omidyar -- the founder of eBay Inc -- and his wife, Pam.

Quikr.com is the re-branded version of Kijiji.in.

Quikr.com plans to use a part of this money for expansion and marketing purposes. The company will spend most of its marketing money on search and online display advertisement; it will also use radio and print advertisement to create brand awareness.

Speaking to afaqs!, Pranay Chulet, chief executive officer, Quikr.com, says, "We will spend the majority of our advertising budget on Internet marketing, while spending a miniscule amount on print ads, which we will use tactically." Chulet is not ready to disclose the amount of money that Quikr is planning to use for marketing activities.

In terms of expansion, Quikr.com, which currently offers its services in 18 locations, will make its services available to 25 more cities. Tier II and III cities such as Ludhiana, Vadodara, Udaipur, Trichi and Trivandrum will be targeted.

The site claims that currently, it receives most of the traffic from tier I cities. According to Vizisense.com, an online audience measurement site, Quikr.com receives close to 40 per cent of its traffic from Mumbai, Bengaluru, New Delhi and Chennai. It receives around one million unique users and 8.39 million page views per month.

Apart from the expansion to new locations, the company will also add more advertisement categories in its portfolio. Chulet reveals, "We will soon allow our members to post ads in the education and entertainment categories." The portal already allows users to post ads in categories such as real estate, automobiles, jobs and matrimony.

Jiby Thomas, co-founder and vice-president, marketing, Quikr.com, points out that the company plans to increase its focus on revenue streams. Although members are allowed to post classified ads for free, Quikr.com will introduce new optional payment options for members to highlight the ads posted by them.

Another area which Quikr.com aims to monetise is advertising leads. The company plans to sell the leads to small and medium business owners.