On-demand home services have seen tremendous growth in recent years, disrupting the traditional ways of booking appointments. Services like cleaning, plumbing, carpentry can now be availed with just a few taps on your mobile screen.
One company that spearheaded this trend in India is UrbanClap, an online marketplace for home services. Starting in Delhi in 2014, UrbanClap has grown to serve over 30 cities with a network of thousands of professionals. Their success proves the huge potential in this space.
In this blog, we will discuss how you can launch your own online marketplace like UrbanClap to tap into the booming on-demand home services market. We will look at various features, operational strategies, monetization options and more to help you multiply an on-demand home services business from the ground up.
The booming on-demand home services market
The global on-demand home services market was valued at around $55 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach over $118 billion by 2027. Growing preference for convenience and flexibility are major drivers of this trend.
Some key facts about the current state of this market:
In the US alone, the on-demand home services market was worth $31 billion in 2018 according to Statista. Popular services included cleaning, plumbing, HVAC, and carpentry.
Home services on-demand is growing over 30% annually in many Western markets compared to 5-10% for the broader services sector.
Younger generations have largely adopted the new on-demand economy. Over 60% of Millennials are willing to pay for convenience.
Asia Pacific is also emerging as a lucrative market, with India expected to see 50% annual growth in the next 5 years.
The shift from traditional methods to on-demand booking on phones presents a massive opportunity. Being able to offer reliability, trust and affordable prices is key to capturing this market.
How UrbanClap disrupted the market
Founded in 2014, UrbanClap pioneered the online marketplace model for home services in India. Some factors contributing to their success:
Wide service coverage - They launch with basic home services but keep adding categories like beauty, lessons, car repair etc. This helps retain existing customers.
Vast network of professionals - UrbanClap onboards local service partners after verification of skills and experience. This ensures quality and quick availability.
Convenient mobile app - Users can easily discover, compare and book tons of services at their fingertips via the intuitive app interface.
User-friendly vendor portal - The vendor app empowers service partners to better manage leads, bookings and payments. It promotes independence.
Robust reviews and ratings - Transparent reviews from both sides of every transaction build trust in the platform. This reduces risks for all.
Affordable prices - Pricing is often competitive compared to individual vendors, allowing many more customers to try premium services.
By solving major problems faced previously, UrbanClap established itself as the clear leader. Duplicating key elements of their success is vital for any new competitor.
Features to include in an UrbanClap clone app
To replicate UrbanClap's winning formula, the core features below should be developed for both customer and vendor apps:
For customers:
Service listings - Display comprehensive profiles of available services with pictures, descriptions, timing details, prices etc. Categorize them for easy discovery.
Booking and payments - Allow customers to instantly book slots, make full or partial online payments via cards, wallets, UPI etc. Support scheduling and reservations.
Reviews and ratings - Collect verified reviews and ratings on a 5-star scale from both sides after each job is complete. Calculate aggregate ratings.
Notifications - Send real-time notifications for pending/upcoming bookings, new service listings, deals, offers to keep users engaged.
In-app chat - Add a live chat channel within the app itself to enable customers to clarify doubts, ask questions and get support from the company.
For vendors:
Dashboard - Provide a unified interface to view bookings, job details, customer contacts and location, payment status etc.
Calendar - Display schedules, timings for existing and potential jobs. Allow modifying availability.
Documents - Option to upload license/qualification proofs, profile pictures, service portfolio for verification and promotions.
Invoices - Automatically generate digital invoices/bills and send to customers post completion of jobs.
Earnings - Track and withdraw earnings from completed jobs directly via bank transfer or e-wallets.
Proper implementation of these features can help build robust yet user-friendly UrbanClap clone apps for both users and professionals. Visit: https://zipprr.com/urbanclap-clone/
Building a network of reliable service professionals
Onboarding the right service partners is critical to offer quality services and gain customer trust. Here are some effective strategies:
Background checks - Thoroughly verify credentials, experience proof like licenses, police clearance before approval.
Training program - Educate partners on app/ Portal functionalities, best business practices like communication, quality standards etc. either online or in-person.
** Categorize skills** - Classify professionals basis specialization like plumbing, painting types to match right skills to jobs.
Set joinings fees - A nominal refundable fee ensures serious professionals. It can be adjusted against future earnings.
Zone-based enrollment - Limit initial signups to select localities/ zones to focus capacity and offer faster response times.
Monitor reviews - Regularly analyze performance basis reviews and take corrective action if needed like penalties, warning, deactivations.
Incentives scheme - Reward high-rated vendors via subsidies, exclusive promotions, achievements to retain Top-Talent.
With the right policies, technologies like geo-mapping skills and demands can help transform any service provider into a reliable local expert.
User acquisition and retention strategies
Growing the customer base is as vital as the service network. Here are some smart promotional tactics:
SEO Optimization - Target relevant keywords, blog etc. torank organically in search results over time.
Referral programs - Incentivize existing users to invite friends/ family via a customizable template with credits or discounts on future bookings.
Social Media - Run campaigns on Facebook and Instagram emphasizing speed, convenience, quality to catch local audiences.
Offline promotions - Distribute leaflets and posters at residential communities, retail stores, partner events to raise awareness face-to-face.
Email Marketing - Send periodic newsletters highlighting deals, new features to engage subscribers beyond the app.
Retention Discounts - Reward loyal, high frequency customers with special pricing, premium featuresaccess to prevent churning.
Deals/Coupons - Launch flash sales, combo offers and offer codes on Google Ads/ Facebook to acquire budget-conscious users.
Regular engagement initiatives coupled with data-based personalization can maximize lifetime value from each customer.
Operations and logistics management
Optimizing backend processes is equally important to ensure asmooth marketplace experience:
Scheduling - Automate booking of concurrent jobs using tools to maximize capacity and minimize idle time gaps between appointments.
Dispatch - Assign nearest available vetted vendor by analyzing real-time location, skills and appointment times. Map details.
Job tracking - Monitor status of active jobs - In Progress, Completed via SMS/GPS check-ins from partner app. Handle delays.
Payments - Integrate with multiple wallets, UPI, credit/debit cards to accept both online and cash-on-deliveryremunerations.
Customer support - Maintain live chat, call, email channels to address issues, feedback pertaining to jobs, accounts, payments etc.
Analytics - Continuously analyze KPIs like response times, resolutions rates, top services etc. to optimize processesbasis usage patterns.
Robust backend operations lay the groundwork for hassle-free experiences every step of the way.
Monetization strategies for the app
To successfully run marketing campaigns and operations, the app needs robust monetization strategies like:
Transaction commissions - Charge a percentage (10-20%) from the total cost of every booking as platform fees from vendors.
Subscription plans - Offer paid professional or business accounts with advanced privileges likeprofile highlights, booking discounts etc.
Service listings - Allow featured or sponsored placement of service profiles at the top for an additional fee to increase discoverability.
Lead generation - Certain concierge or complex jobs can be allocated to vendors at a flat cost per qualified lead.
Promoted deals - Select partners can publish exclusive combos or limited period deals with visibility promotions support.
Value added services - Cross-sell additional value adds to existing clients like one-off repair works, productinstallation services, and subscriptions to generate residual income.
Testing multiple monetization approaches concurrently helps build sustainability without overburdening any stakeholder.
Scaling Up Using a No-Code Platform
Building and scaling a marketplace like UrbanClap from scratch requires extensive development effort and thus, high costs. However, leveraging a no-code platform can help entrepreneurs launch an MVP quickly while keeping costs low.
Some key advantages of no-code platforms:
Faster Time to Market - Features like admin dashboards, user authentication, payment handling are readily available as drag-and-drop modules. This accelerates development 2-5x compared to custom code.
Lower Upfront Costs - No-code eliminates developer hiring, training expenses. Platform subscription fees range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand depending on usage which is much lower than development contractors.
Easy Management - Non-technical founders can independently handle app updates, integrations, customizations on their own without depending on busy developers.
Integration Friendly - Most no-code platforms come pre-built with connectors to external tools like CMS, CRM, analytics suites to easily import and manage external data.
Scalable Architecture - Apps built on no-code undergo less re-factoring compared to custom code and can scale traffic and usage seamlessly on the same infrastructure.
Developer Safety Net - If business grows, there is an option to hire dedicated developers to supplement the no-code development for complex features later.
Some popular no-code platforms suited for building a marketplace MVP include AppMaster, Bubble, Webflow, Aglow etc. Key elements that can be incorporated include:
- Core marketplace listings and profiles
- User dashboards and bookings
- Payments and invoicing
- Notifications and chat
- Ratings and reviews
- Analytics and reports
With no-code, an initial viable beta version can be live within a month providing enough feedback for improvements prior to full launch and scaling. This reduces the risks associated with a lengthier custom development cycle.
Concluding Thoughts
To summarize, launching an online home services marketplace using the right features, user-centric strategies and optimizing operations can unlock the huge potential of the booming on-demand sector.
UrbanClap set the gold standard, serving as inspiration to build successful clones globally. However, each local market has unique nuances and adopting a data-driven problems-first approach ensures sustainable growth.
For entrepreneurs, a no-code development approach provides an ideal and cost-effective means to test business models before committing substantial resources. The combination of digital disruption and home services presents a bright future for multiple new ventures to thrive and create value.
