Swot Analysis of Meru

SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths: Meru Cabs was one of the first companies to launch metered â€Å"Radio cabs† in India under its brand â€Å"Meru. † Meru has captured the first mover advantage in this segment. Meru is very famous among its customers so much that when people think of air conditioned cabs they associate it with Meru. Meru cabs offer good training to their drivers so that they can maintain the Meru level of consumer service. They also regularly maintain their cabs which make it neat and clean and so commuters enjoy their ride.They have digital tampered proof meters so there is no chance cheating. Weakness: Meru cabs largely depend on technology right from the moment to pick up customers to drop them. They use GPRS system to track the customers and to drop them to their location and also to show them the real estimated time. So if there is any server failure or breakdown it becomes difficult for the cabs to function smoothly. Usually Meru cabs are available when cu stomers call for it. So there is time lag between the call time and actual ride. They are not as easily available as local non air conditioned cabs.People usually prefer meru cabs for long distance travel. Opportunity: Meru so far is catering only to major metro cities. They should consider upon extending their services to tier two cities because these cities are growing rapidly. They can also consider upon renting cars without chauffeurs. They can also update their customers with real flight time schedules through Infotainment services. Meru should also think for strategic partnership with various travels portals so that they can extend services like pick up and drop to customers to their hotels and so on. Threats:Although Meru was the first player in this segment; it is now facing stiff competition from players like Tab Cab, Mega Cabs and so on. There is very less level of differentiation among all these cabs. So this is eroding the market share of Meru. Air conditioned buses star ted by BEST in Mumbai is also competition to Meru cabs. Driver unions also prove to be a problem many a times. Government regulations and sudden changes in policies is also a threat. CRM of Meru to retain customers * No additional or hidden charges because of tamper free meters * Printed receipts produced at the end of every trip In case of any complaints, feedback etc. , passengers can call Customer Service Center at 44224422 * Lost and found belongings due to trustworthy drivers * Usage of clean green fuel because it uses LPG and CNG cars now a days to reduce pollution * Thoroughly trained Chauffeurs in a smart MERU uniform, fluent in English and Hindi and regional languages * Users are encouraged to make profiles on the website for faster and easier bookings next time * Round the clock availability of cabs backed by a location tracking GPS – based dispatch technology and a 24Ãâ€"7 Customer Service Center.This means a quicker pickup and faster response time to call for a c ab. * Tamper-proof digital cab meters, integrated with the GPS-system to ensure that every fare is tracked, thereby ruling out any possibility of overcharging by the driver. * Ability to track the location of the cab ‘real-time’ through the GPS technology * Emergency security features installed in the taxi for complete safety, including display of our Customer Service Center numbers inside each cab – provides security in case of an emergency-PANIC BUTTON BENEFITS OF CRM * Customer segmentation Market analytics like records of customer profiles, profile, payment history etc. * Generation of accurate leads and SMS bursts that target only the right customers based on their segmentation is possible * First time retention has increased from 40 % to more than 90 % * Customized and simplified bill formats, payment collection through cards * Better value added services were provided * It facilitated knowledge sharing amongst employees * Option of booking a cab in less th an 60 seconds * Reduced cost of customer acquisition * Has resulted in savings because of fewer calls