A Study of the Marketing Model of Indian Ed-Tech Company Think

and Learn Pvt. Ltd. (Byju’s-The Learning App)

A project report submitted by

Alok Saini (2310098)

Manas Kumar (2310145)
Mayukha P (2310146)
Nistha Shukla (2310152)
Nithishvardan AVJ (2310153)
Rahul J (2310375)

as a part of the coursework of course Marketing Management- 1 (MKT- 001) of Indian

Institute of Management, Visakhapatnam

under the guidance of

Prof. Pankaj Vishwakarma

Assistant Professor (Marketing)
Indian Institute of Management, Visakhapatnam

September 22, 2023

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Executive Summary

Each nation's progress depends heavily on education. Each country is seeking ways to make
education accessible to all inhabitants in order to strengthen their economies. As they provide
education to people living in rural locations and those who were unable to access schools,
colleges, and universities owing to various reasons, ed-tech firms serve as a helping hand to
the country. The yearning of younger generations to learn and the availability of decent internet
access made India a potential market for ed-tech enterprises. Byju's is one such well-known
ed-tech business. The Indian ed-tech business Byju's' marketing strategy, its marketing mix
(from a value perspective), SWOT analysis, SBUs, market analysis using the five C's,
information about the company and its partners, and the value proposition provided to
customers were all covered in this study. STP analysis, brand analysis, new product
recommendations, as well as the company's growth strategies, were all covered.

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Contents

Sr No. Particulars Page No.

Executive Summary 2
Contents 3
1. Introduction 4
1.1 Industry Profile
a. About Ed-tech 4
b. Global Ed-tech market
c. Indian Ed-tech market
1.2 Company Profile 5
a. About the Company
b. Products and services 7
i. Domestic Offerings 8
ii. Foreign Offerings 9
iii. Market Mix 10
iv. Strategic Business Units 11
c. Market Positioning 11
d. Major Competitors and Offerings. 12

2. Research Methodology 13
3. Analysis 14
3.1 The 5C Market Analysis
3.2 The S.W.O.T. Analysis 18
a. S.W.O.T. Analysis of Byju’s
b. S.W.O.T. Analysis of its competitors
3.3 STP Analysis 19
a. Segmentation
b. Targeting 20
c. Positioning
4. Social Initiatives by Byju’s 21
4.1 New Product Recommendations
5. Controversies involving Byju’s 22
6. New Product Recommendations – Is this the right time? 23
7. New Product/service recommendations and ideas 26
8. Conclusion 27
9. Individual Contribution 28
10. References 29

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1. Introduction

With the introduction of information and communication technology, the educational system
in India has undergone a significant transformation. Significant changes were also made to
learning methods. Physical classrooms are becoming less and less important as online
classrooms take over. Students now favor individualized instruction. A teacher serves as a
mentor and a facilitator in addition to instructing. According to the Constructivism Principle,
teachers should simply lead their pupils while they actively construct knowledge. According to
Statista, as of April 2023, there were 5.18 billion internet users globally. According to the same
statistic, the smartphone penetration rate in India was 71 percent in 2023 and is predicted to be
96 percent in 2040.
Due to this, India is the ideal location to implement various online education services using
cell phones and the Internet. All of these elements had an impact on the development of
educational technology, or Edtech. In a broad sense, techno-centrism refers to the use of
technology to address universal social issues. When it comes to education, techno-centrism
uses the benefits of technology to address ongoing issues, such as enhancing course
deliverables and outcomes, reaching more students, and enabling them to study in the comfort
of their own homes. In the current study, essential marketing components like marketing mix
and STP analysis have been carried out on the Indian ed-tech firm Byju's marketing model.

1.1. Industry profile

1.1.1. Global
The market for educational technology is expanding quickly and is predicted to reach USD
348.41 billion by 2030, rising at a CAGR of 13.6% between 2023 and 2030. The K–12, higher
education, corporate training, and other end-users are the market segments according to end-
users. The market is divided into five regions based on geography: North America, Europe,
Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.
The largest edtech market in the world is in the Asia Pacific area, followed by North America.
The region's growth is being fueled by the increased need for personalised learning and the
usage of technology in education. The edtech industry is essential to changing education and
making it more egalitarian and accessible for everyone. Edtech firms are assisting in the
development of a more skilled and effective workforce by offering cutting-edge learning
solutions that help students get ready for the workforce of the future.
1.1.2. National:
One of the marketplaces for educational technology with the greatest growth is in India. It is
anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 39.7% from 2020 to 2025, reaching USD 10.4 billion. On
a bigger scale, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has had an impact on the edtech industry.
Schools, colleges, and universities were compelled to implement online classes because of the
suspension of all levels of education. This has accelerated the expansion of Indian edtech
companies. In India, edtech platforms use a business-to-consumer (B2C) business model to
distribute educational content to clients. Frequently, their in-house production teams or external
content creators produce the content. The platforms charge a subscription fee from the users.

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1.2. Company profile

1.2.1. About the company

Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath created Byju's, an Indian Edtech business, in 2011.
Engineer Raveendran began by offering online learning videos for K-12 and entrance tests. In
2015, he launched the hugely successful mobile application Byju's The Learning App to
capitalise on the enormous potential of the Indian ed-tech market. The company's valuation
increased to almost twenty billion dollars after an important round of financing in early 2022.
Byjus, which was founded in 2015, provides highly personalised and effective learning
programmes for students in grades 1 to 12 (K-12), as well as aspirants preparing for competitive
exams such as JEE and IAS. Byju's has established itself as a top education platform
worldwide, with an amazing 50 million registered students and 3.5 million paying
memberships.

Byju's distinguishes itself by providing students of all types with personalised learning
experiences. The BYJU method of learning gives students a platform to participate, learn, and
be enthused about charting their own unique paths to experiencing the world. Byju's has created
a seamless, world-class learning experience for each student by bringing together top-tier
professors, cutting-edge technology, rich material, and media.

Figure 1

Byju's, valued at $11.1 billion, is a major player in the ed-tech sector, providing a
comprehensive online education platform to millions of students. This innovative firm
seamlessly blends hardware and software technologies to revolutionise the learning experience,
benefiting both students and educators. Byju's marketing strategy includes its unique business
model, general information, and inventive marketing technique, establishing it as an ed-tech

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leader. The commitment to making learning accessible and enjoyable for students, regardless
of location, is at the heart of Byju's goal. The platform is designed for smartphones and
desktops, ensuring that learning is not only convenient but also personalised to meet the needs
of each student. Byju's uses cutting-edge artificial intelligence and data science to create
personalised learning paths that provide students with a customised educational experience.
Furthermore, the platform offers crucial one-on-one mentorship opportunities, connecting
students with experienced teachers who advise them throughout their educational path.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian ed-tech company Byju's expanded its user base and
revenue, becoming a unicorn and surpassing a $10.5 billion value after receiving $100 million
in funding from Silicon Valley investor Mary Meeker's Bond Capital. Despite closures, Byju's
offered free access to its entire app until the end of March 2020.
Byju's, a global sponsor of the Indian cricket Jersey, has been announced as ICC's global partner
from 2021 to 2023. The three-year contract allows Byju's to partner with all ICC events,
including the upcoming T20 World Cup in India and the women's World Cup in New Zealand.
Byju's will receive extensive in-venue, broadcast, and digital rights. The successful 'Keep
Learning' campaign led Byju's to invest more money in cricket. Byju's made Shahrukh Khan
their brand ambassador and became ICC's Global Partner, gaining trust and popularity in India.

Figure 2

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The concept of reciprocity suggests that when someone helps, they are expected to reciprocate.
For example, if a student uses an app for two months, their likelihood of returning and
purchasing a subscription increases. This strategy was successful, with the company registering
6 million new students and 7.5 million users in April. In 2020, the company paid 300 million
dollars for WhiteHat Jr., an online coding school.
Global:

Byju’s has expanded in more than 21 different countries. They've expanded their reach to the
United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and the Middle East. In
these countries. It entered the global markets via acquisitions and partnerships majorly as
follows:
1. USA – American-based Edtech company, Osmo has been acquired. Osmo is an
educational platform where learning is accomplished through playing.

2. UK – WhiteHat Jr. is a UK-based educational platform that teaches coding and

programming. Byju’s has acquired it and entered into the UK market.

3. Brazil - CoderZ is an EdTech company that is prevalent in Brazil. This platform

provides both coding and robotics classes. This acquisition has initiated Byju’s’ entry
into the Brazilian market.
It has also released its product and services in all the aforementioned countries. Globally it
has a great market and is decently profitable. Customers have a positive outlook towards
the company and their product/service.
National:

Founded by Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath in 2011, it focused on offering robust,
engaging, and productive learning programs focusing majorly on the K-12 segment and later
expanding to competitive exams like CAT, NEET, JEE, and Bank. The headquarters of Byju’s
is in Bangalore. With 120 countries represented, 7 million annual paid subscribers, and more
than 150 million registered users worldwide, Byju’s became India's first ed-tech unicorn with
over $ 1 billion valuation. In 2016, Byju’s became the first Asian company to get funding from
the Chan-Zuckerberg. It is currently valued at US $ 5.1 billion and claims to have over 150
million registered students. To realize its ambition in the mission of "Building a community of
active learners globally," Byju's has strategically strengthened their position by partnering with
prominent organizations. They have achieved this through significant acquisitions of Osmo,
EPiC, Tynker, White Hat Jr, Great Learning, Gradeup, and GeoGebra. In 2021, their expansion
reached new heights with the acquisition of Aakash Educational Services for an impressive
$950 million.

1.2.2. Products and Services:

The learning app from Byju’s has a freemium business model wherein it provides no-cost
access to restricted material after signup for 15 days. It provides diverse educational products
and services tailored to specific student segments and educational levels. These offerings are
broadly categorized to cater to early childhood education (class 1st to 3rd), middle school (class

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4th to 10th), high school (class 11th to 12th and above), as well as people seeking graduation and
postgraduation (ages 18 to 30+) in the domestic market.

Figure 3

In addition to this, Byju’s also maintains a global presence in 120 countries including U.S.,
U.K., Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico the Middle East, etc. Various offerings of Byju’s are described
below:

1.2.2.1. Domestic Offerings:

Product/ Service Segment Price Mode of

Delivery
Early Learn KG- class 3 Rs. 3333 per month Online mode
Online Tuition 4- 10 class 3-class program- Rs. 399 Online mode
(Math and Science) 1 month pack- Rs. 3999

Foundation Program Class 10-12 and for Rs. 2,10,000 – 2,20,000 Tablet Facility@
JEE and NEET also available
Tutor Math and Science Raging from Rs. 35,000 Offline
Foundation Program Class 9 -10 (both) Rs. 55,000
Class 10 Rs. 25,000 Tablet Facility@
Class 8 Rs. 25,000
Test Series Mock Rs. 3000
(JEE* and NEET*) Ranker Rs. 17,000 Online mode
Scholar Rs. 6,000
Daily Practice Rs. 4500

Byju’s Preparatory Graduate students Rs. 45,000- Rs. 63,000 Online mode
Exam for **GATE and above
Byju’s Preparatory Graduate students Rs. 40,000- 50,000 Online mode
Exam for CAT# and above
Byju’s Preparatory Graduate students Rs. 90,000 Online mode
Exam for IAS^ and above

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* National entrance exams are held each year for admission to various UG engineering and
medical programs. NEET refers to National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test, and JEE stands for
Joint Entrance Exam.

**GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) is a yearly national admission test offered by
the IITs and IISc for admission to master's and Ph.D. programs in engineering and sciences.

# IIMs administer the computer-based CAT (Common Admission Test) to applicants for
admission to a variety of management programs.

The annual IAS test, also known as the Indian Administrative Services exam, is held by the
UPSC in order to fill several top positions in the Indian government.

@ SD cards or tablets from manufacturers like Lenovo and Samsung are used to distribute
content.

1.2.2.2. Global Offerings:

Products and Services Segment Mode of Delivery

Byju’s Learning through Disney Pre-KG to Grade 3 Online
Byju’s Learning Live 1-on-1 Pre-KG to Grade 12 Online
Tynker (Coding)
Epic (Storytelling) Pre-KG to grade 8 Online
Osmo from Byju’s (learning games)
GeoGebra (Math) Grade 8- 12 Online

1.2.2.3. Marketing mix of Byju’s

India's popular learning app was founded by Byju’s. It was founded in 2015 and provides
incredibly effective and personalized learning programs for students in grades from 1 to 12 and
those preparing for competitive exams like the CAT, JEE, Banks, IAS, and NEET. Byju's has
experienced both successes and disappointments in its marketing endeavors. To access the
largest K–12 education market in India, it has instead established a thoroughly thought-out
marketing mix. Vedantu and Unacademy are the closest rivals. According to the most recent
ratings in the mobile app stores, customers like Byju's. Byju’s app has a Google Play store
rating of 4.1/5. Byju's website has excellent search engine optimization and ranks highly for
terms relating to schooling. The 7P of Byju’s are

• Product: Byju's products are offered both offline and online. The official app has more
than 100 million downloads in the Google Play Store. It focuses on providing
comprehensive, interesting, and effective learning programs, primarily for the K–12
market, then branching out to competitive tests, coding, and professional upskilling
courses. The software encourages a distinct and engaging method of instruction for pupils
and focuses on assisting with conceptual understanding. The online goods are accessible in
a number of areas, including coachings for the CAT, GATE, Banks, and IAS civil services,
grades 1 to 3, 4 to 10 for various boards, and grades 11 to 12 with JEE and NEET

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 preparation. Top professors and their internal development teams work together to create
their main content, which concentrates on engaging the learners.

• Price: Byju’s has a varying price as it depends upon the product chosen by the buyers and
allows them to choose the plans accordingly. They offer a free trial to attract new customers
and the cancellation option is also available. The price differs between online and offline.
There are two types of paid services: subscription-based and one-time payments. Prices
start at Rs.199 and go up to Rs.2,50,000. The cost of the items depends on the quality and
quantity of content they provide. After making a purchase, a client has 15 days to decide
they don't like the item and ask for a full refund.

• Place: Byju’s distribution channel is through its website and mobile app. Byju’s has a
strong online presence on both the website and mobile app, ensuring students can access
content from anywhere, anytime. Approximately 1700 Indian cities now have app users.
The penetration is in rural and small communities. The regional penetration is high because
the products serve a variety of state boards, including those in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. The material is more trustworthy because of the
presence of a skilled product development team, especially for customers who can't get
quality coaching services in their city.

• Promotion: Byju’s invests heavily in marketing and advertising to create brand awareness
among people. It used various platforms for promotion including television and social
media. Shah Rukh Khan is the brand ambassador of Byju’s. It sponsored Indian cricket
jerseys’, featured prominent Indian celebrities in their advertisement, and focused on other
aggressive marketing campaigns, which brought visibility and recognition to the company.
Byju’s used various cricket stars for advertising like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul,
Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Shikhar Dhawan, etc., Lionel Messi is the global brand
ambassador of Byju’s ‘education for all’.

• People: The CEO of Byju’s is Byju Raveendran. Divya Gokulnath is the director of Byju’s.
The number of employees working in the Byju’s ranges from 20K to 50K. There are
different types of people working in different areas like Marketing, Finance, Operations,
Human Resources, etc, the content team is one of the important teams in Byju’s, which
makes one of the finest content to clear the concepts and for learning the concepts.

• Process: The majority of Byju’s product is delivered through the mobile application. It has
additional unique features like doubt-clearing sessions, one-to-one sessions, and recorded
and live sessions, which make the learning engaging and interactive to the learners. There
is a customer support option available for the users, which it helps to clarify the technical
issues. AI support is available 24*7. It takes only less time to resolve the issues. The Byju’s
app is one of the successful products of Byju’s.

• Physical evidence: The headquarters of Byju’s is in Bangalore. It is presented in all main

cities of states like Chennai, Vizag, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Pune, Jaipur, Indore,
Lucknow, Kolkata etc., The service is available in both online and offline. In coaching
centers, all types of materials are provided like study materials, model test papers, and
books. There will be mentorship programs available in which we get counseling from top-

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 notch faculty from all over India. Additionally, Byju’s also provides some tangible products
such as tablets and SD cards for video-based learning.

1.2.2.4. Strategic Business Units:

• Aakash Educational Services Ltd: Aakash Byju’s provides comprehensive educational

programs tailored for aspiring medical and engineering professionals, encompassing
rigorous preparation for prominent entrance exams like NEET, JEE, as well as scholarship
examinations like Olympiads, NTSE, and NSEs. In 2021, Byju strategically acquired
Aakash with the aim of expanding their footprint in the realm of in-person education
delivery.

• WhiteHat Jr.: one of the other prominent brands in the ed-tech industry, provides live
online coding lessons for young children. Founded in November 2018, it helps children
aged 6 to 14 years build commercial-ready games, animations, and apps online using the
fundamentals of coding. However, in November 2020, Byju’s acquired WhiteHat Jr. with
the main aim to boost love for learning through innovation and cutting-edge technology.

• Great Learning: Great Learning based out of Singapore was purchased by Byju’s in July
2021 for $600 million to strengthen its position in the market for higher education and the
professional sector. However, under the direction of its CEO and founder Mohan
Lakhamraju, along with co-founders Hari Nair and Arjun Nair, Great Learning continued
to run as a separate division inside Byju's organization.

1.2.3. Market Positioning

Byju's is marketed as a high-end ed-tech platform that caters to all K–12 students as well as
those preparing for competitive exams like the CAT, UPSC, JEE, NEET, etc. It provides its
users with personalized, high-quality, and user-engaging learning experiences. Byju's was able
to draw a sizable user base because it has a solid understanding of the parents' and students'
points of view. Even the most difficult mathematical and scientific concepts were made simple
and understandable with the learning app created by Byju’s in 2015. Additionally, it offers a
platform for clearing up doubts, which aids students in finding solutions to their queries. To
help students understand the concepts, Byju’s decided to release its app in several other
languages in 2019. Users of the app can access the lectures from any location because of its
compatibility with smartphones, tablets, laptops, and PCs.

For each user, Byju’s created a profile that keeps track of all their accomplishments, places for
improvement, and particular needs. It creates content for Students in a way that is efficient and
adheres to the most recent curricular standards. Byju’s formed a collaboration with Disney to
employ Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Snow White, Winnie-the-Pooh, and others to
create interactive learning videos for kindergarten through third grade. This is one of Byju’s'
USPs - making learning interesting and engaging for kids. The business acquired Whitehat Jr.,
a business that offers an engaging coding environment for young children to develop a passion
for programming.

The students may participate in offline classroom sessions at Byju's as well. IIT/IIM alumni
oversee these classes. Additionally, it offers the students personalized feedback following the
conclusion of each test. The students can also receive one-on-one mentoring from it. Byju's

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Parent app gives parents a detailed breakdown of their children's academic progress. Byju's
differentiates itself from the competition by providing consumers with a specialized experience
based on their areas of focus. It offers students free counseling at their homes so they can
choose the program that is appropriate for them. Where none of its sector competitors have
done so and where most of them have relied entirely on online advertising, it uses a B2C and
C2C marketing strategy and promotion. Byju's also provided a 15-day free trial so the
youngsters could test out the learning environment. Byju's distinguished itself from its rivals
with superior service and visually appealing animated films, which paved the way for it to soon
capture a substantial market share.

1.2.4. Major Competitors and Offerings:

Byju’s is a prominent participant in the educational technology (edtech) sector, contending with
several other firms in the industry. Nevertheless, Byju’s possesses several notable advantages
in comparison to its competitors. These include a substantial customer base, tailored learning
programs, and captivating educational content.
Some of the offerings by Byju’s and its closest competitors are mentioned below:
• Unacademy: Unacademy offers a wide range of online courses and live classes taught by
educators in various subjects, including competitive exams, language learning, and more.
They also have a subscription model similar to Byju’s.

• Vedantu: Vedantu provides live online tutoring and one-on-one classes for students in
various subjects. They also offer personalized learning plans and doubt-solving sessions.

• Physics Wallah: Physics Wallah primarily focuses on students preparing for engineering
entrance exams in India, such as the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the National
Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

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2. Research and Methodology

The goal of the research was to examine Byju's entire marketing strategy. Think and Learn Pvt.
Ltd. is the parent organisation of Byju's. For this investigation, we mostly employed secondary
source data. Most of the information was gathered from private research websites, case studies
based on Byju's company website, and research publications about the Edtech sector. The
analysis portion of this paper includes figures or tables that represent the analysis of the sources
that were gathered.

3. Analysis:

3.1. The 5C’s market analysis:

3.1.1. Company:

India's biggest education technology company, Byju’s, made the country's most popular school
app. Byju’s, which was established in 2015, provides tailored and efficient educational
programs for students in grades 1 to 12 (K-12), as well as individuals preparing for competitive
examinations such as JEE and IAS. Byju’s has achieved significant global popularity as an
educational platform, having a vast user base of 50 million registered students and 3.5 million
paid subscriptions.

The three Pillars of the Organization:

Personalized learning: serves as the fundamental basis for the organization’s distinct
educational programs designed for students. The program utilizes knowledge graphs to
dynamically adjust and generate personalized learning pathways for students. The platform
offers an extensive range of educational content, encompassing more than 100,000 concepts.
This includes animated videos, interactive questions, engaging quizzes, and informative
flashcards.
Technology-enabled learning: It refers to the utilization of technological tools and resources to
facilitate and enhance the process of learning.
Byju’s uses technology to integrate effective strategies such as video usage, engaging content,
and quizzes with highly skilled educators, aiming to provide optimal learning opportunities for
children worldwide.
Best Teachers & Engaging Content: The learning programs offered by Byju’s aim to provide
students with a comprehensive and well-rounded educational experience. Students from
various geographical areas have the opportunity to benefit from the expertise of highly
qualified educators and witness the practical application of theoretical concepts. The
comprehensive planning and implementation of a student's educational journey involves the
collaboration of subject matter experts, teachers, and various instructional tools such as videos,
interactive animations, quizzes, and assessments.

3.1.2. Customers:

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Target Audience: Byju’s primarily targets K-12 students and competitive exam aspirants in
India and other countries. Its audience includes students, parents, and teachers seeking high-
quality educational content.

Figure 4

User Base: Byju’s boasts a vast user base, with millions of students using its platform regularly.
It caters to a diverse demographic, including students from various socioeconomic
backgrounds.

Byju’s engages customers through personalized content, interactive video lessons, and adaptive
learning modules. The app tracks user progress and tailors recommendations accordingly.

SWOT ANALYSIS

SWOT Analysis of Byju’s:

Figure 5

3.1.3. Competitors:

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Unacademy: Unacademy is a prominent competitors in the Indian education market, posing as
a significant challenge to Byju’s. The platform provides a diverse range of educational courses,
interactive live classes, and comprehensive resources for test preparation. Unacademy has
garnered significant attention due to its extensive range of courses and collaborations with
educators.
Vedantu offers real-time online tutoring and interactive educational sessions covering a wide
range of subjects and academic boards. The platform provides functionalities such as
bidirectional communication, sessions for resolving queries, and customized learning
strategies.
Physics Wallah: Physics Wallah is a notable competitor in the Indian edtech space, especially
for students preparing for engineering and medical entrance exams. It provides video lectures
and study materials, primarily focusing on physics and chemistry.

The competitive advantage of Byju’s

It can be attributed to several key factors. Firstly, the company's innovative and engaging
learning platform sets it apart from traditional educational methods. Byju’s utilizes cutting-
edge technology.
Byju’s sustains a competitive advantage by employing a range of strategies and possessing
various attributes:
Byju’s employs artificial intelligence and data analytics to develop individualized learning
pathways for every student, thereby adopting a personalized learning approach. This particular
methodology customizes the substance and speed of educational activities to cater to the unique
requirements of each learner, thereby augmenting their understanding and ability to retain
information. It provides an extensive selection of courses that encompass a diverse array of
educational boards, such as CBSE and ICSE, as well as competitive examinations like JEE,
NEET, and CAT.
Brand Recognition: Byju’s has made substantial investments in marketing and brand
development endeavors, thereby establishing itself as one of the most widely acknowledged
entities within the Indian educational technology industry. The establishment of brand
recognition plays a pivotal role in attracting a substantial user base.

Figure 6

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 3.1.4. Context and Collaborators:

• Disney: The Early Learn app was created in collaboration with Disney India by Byju's.
This app makes learning more entertaining and interactive by employing Disney
characters. The app currently offers math and English learning programs for children
ages 4-5 and math, science, and English learning programs for kids ages 6–8.

• NSDC: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Byju’s and the
National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) to provide instructors and trainers
with the necessary knowledge and technological resources to make learning fun,
efficient, and tailored for children and youth.

• Google: To support effective learning at school, Byju's and Google have partnered to
combine Google Workspace for Education's simplicity, flexibility, and security with
Byju's content pedagogy on the "Vidyartha" platform.

• Intel: Byju's partnered with Intel's Skills for Innovation Initiative to upskill their
instructors so they could use technology for instruction more successfully. This will
assist teachers in giving K–12 students a customised and excellent education.

• AWS: For their website and mobile app, Byju's selected Amazon Web Services (AWS)
as the cloud platform. On instances of Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2),
Byju's hosts its website and mobile applications. The company's principal database
service is Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) for PostgreSQL, and
presentations and other educational materials are kept in Amazon Simple Storage
Service (Amazon S3) buckets.

Figure 7
3.1.5. Context

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 • National Education Policy: The value of online education was stressed in India's
National Educational Policy (2020). Because of this, Byju's was able to increase its user
base. The policy change represented a significant turning point for Byju's, as it
effectively corresponded with the company's mission and range of products and
services.

• Inflation: Byju's has suffered because of the current inflation rate since customers are
now more worried about pricing. It might result in fewer people using Byju's.

• Growing Young Population: Byju's was able to expand its user base because to the
young population's growth and their desire to compete in academic and competitive
assessments.

• AR and VR Technology: To improve its educational programmes, Byju's is looking at

using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

• Tax: Increase in tax from 5% to 18% tax on the Ed-tech sector. The implementation of
this tax increase leads to an elevated tax obligation for the company, thereby impacting
its overall fiscal well-being. The potential rise in tax obligations could require Byju's to
make modifications to its pricing strategies or revenue models in order to accommodate
or transfer the supplementary tax expenses.

Figure 8

3.2. SWOT Analysis of its Competitors:

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 STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
Unacademy • Convenient user
interface Focuses majorly • Expand to the K-12 Existing competitors in
• Low cost for on courses after segment as well. the market and easy entry
creating content. graduation. of others.
• Strong founders • Global
• High-Value opportunities.
intensive courses.
Vedantu • Expert Tutors • Technologically • Ulitise affordability • Competitors
• Broader Curriculum not advanced factor to gain more
• Strong base of • Lack of Variety customer • Breach of privacy
Results. • Employee • Expansion to rural
retention. areas • Work-life balance of
• Professional course employees.
Personal • Quality education at • Streamlined to • Seed Funding • Entry of new
Brands affordable prices. only a few competitors.
(Physics • Low customer subjects. • Tap global market • Low funding as
Wallah, acquisition cost. resources. compared to other
etc.) established brands.

3.2.1. S.W.O.T. Analysis of Byju’s:

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 3.2.2. STP Analysis:

3.2.2.1. Segmentation
Byju's App uses market segmentation to understand its diverse user base and tailor its
educational offerings to meet their unique needs and preferences. By applying various
segmentation variables, Byju's can refine its marketing efforts and tailor its offerings to
resonate with specific audience segments. These variables include geographic, demographic,
psychographic, behavioral, benefit, user status, income, loyalty status, social class, social
characteristics, and self-perception. Geographic segmentation targets specific regions or
locations where educational services are most needed, while demographic segmentation
considers factors like age, gender, education level, income, and occupation. Psychographic
segmentation focuses on understanding the attitudes, values, interests, and lifestyles of
potential users. Behavioral segmentation examines user interaction patterns, while benefit
segmentation explores the specific benefits and outcomes users seek from the app. Income
segmentation adjusts pricing and payment options to suit different segments' financial capacity.
Loyalty status segmentation acknowledges varying levels of loyalty among users. Social class
and social characteristics segmentation considers users' social and cultural background.

• Geographic segmentation involves dividing the market based on factors such as region,
country, city, climate, or population density. Byju's can tailor its marketing and content
to suit the specific needs of users in different locations.

• Demographic segmentation includes factors like age, gender, income, education,

occupation, marital status, and family size.

• Psychographic segmentation considers users' lifestyles, values, interests, and

personality traits.

• Behavioural segmentation targets users based on usage patterns, purchase history, brand
loyalty, and engagement with the app.

• Benefit segmentation considers users' reasons for using the app, such as exam
preparation, skill development, or general knowledge enhancement. User status can be
categorized as first-time, regular, or lapsed users.

• Income segmentation helps Byju's offer affordable pricing plans to different income
groups. Loyalty status can be enhanced by recognizing loyal users and offering rewards

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 or special content. Social class and social factors can influence users' preferences and
behaviours, and self-perception can guide content creation and marketing messaging.

Byju's App can use a combination of these segmentation variables to create targeted marketing
campaigns, develop tailored content, and offer pricing plans that meet the unique needs of each
segment.
3.2.2.2. Targeting
Byju’s, a leading Ed-Tech platform, has strategically targeted two highly promising segments:
the 'Privileged' and the 'Multitaskers'. These segments are attractive due to their financial
capacity to invest in high-end educational products and services. Byju’s offerings effectively
cater to these unique desires, reinforcing its position as a premier Ed-Tech platform in the
Indian market. This strategic alignment has allowed Byju’s to emphasize its value proposition,
emphasizing personalized learning, high-quality educational content, and engaging learning
experiences. By prioritizing these target segments, Byju’s has optimized its resource allocation
and enhanced its ability to meet the evolving demands of its chosen customer base, solidifying
its reputation as a top player in the competitive Ed-Tech landscape.

3.2.2.3. Positioning
Byju's positions itself as a brand that promotes academic excellence and holistic development,
focusing on technology-driven learning. The platform uses innovative technologies like AI,
VR, and gamification to enhance learning experiences. Byju's also offer personalized learning
experiences, ensuring effective and personalized education. The brand's reputation for quality
content make it a trusted source of education, fostering confidence in students and parents.
Byju's also provides a global perspective on education, helping students compete globally and
promoting cultural awareness. The brand also establishes an emotional connection with its
audience by emphasizing the role of education in shaping the future. Byju's is known for its
commitment to innovation and excellence, investing heavily in R&D and utilizing products
and services created by experienced educators.

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4. Social initiatives by Byju’s

The social initiatives team of Byju’s developed new strategies to prioritize sustainability and
conservation by planting trees, recycling outdated technology, and educating students. Aligning
its initiatives with its mission statement, to educate as well as inspire change, Byju’s continues
to establish its presence around the world. Some of its initiatives are mentioned below:

4.1. Education for All (EFA):

The goal of Byju's Education for All is to provide children from all socioeconomic situations with
an egalitarian and accessible education. Through a number of projects, they have been working to
make a significant difference in the lives of underprivileged kids so they can pursue their education.
They also collaborated with many Indian government agencies to secure the legendary footballer
Lionel Messi as the global partner for EFA, 2022 was an amazing year for us.
Since its inception, EFA has reached over 5.5 million kids in India overall, including nearly 2.2
million just in the previous year. Over 5,000 schools have been influenced by their activities, which
have reached children in more than 400 districts throughout India. To achieve its goal of providing
education to 10 million children by 2025, Byju’s has partnered with 175+ non-profit organizations
(NGOs).

Figure 9

4.2. The Plantation drive:

In 2022, BYJUites collected at Bangalore's Vibhutipura Lake to plant seedlings along the lake's
edge in an effort to add to the garden city's greenery. They planned to revitalize the lake's walking
trails while encouraging people to protect the environment.

Figure 10

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5. Controversies involving Byju’s

Figure 11

5.1. Mass Layoffs:

As part of cost-cutting measures, Edtech giant Byju's laid off about 1,000 staff from various
divisions. The Ed-tech company already underwent a layoff procedure in October 2022, and
the most recent round resulted in a 15% employment reduction. The layoffs weren't done in
plain sight. Management at Byju’s had offered employees two months of compensation as
severance in exchange for their voluntary resignation. However, as per the recent report, it has
delayed in clearing the full and final settlement amount of the employees to November.

5.2. Lawsuit:

The company is facing allegations of concealing US$ 533 million within an obscure hedge
fund, which previously designated a Miami IHOP pancake restaurant as its primary business
address. Lenders assert that Byju's moved this cash to William C. Morton, 23, and his
investment company, Camshaft Capital Fund. This financial move has resulted in a legal
dispute that is rife with claims of default and deceptive practices.

22
5.3. Byju's-Messi deal courts controversy:

Days after firing 5% of its workers, Byju's announced that it had signed Lionel Messi as a brand
ambassador. This news received harsh criticism on social media as to how Byju’s could afford
to recruit one of the highest-paid athletes in the world while also reducing costs by eliminating
employees.

5.4. Resignation of Auditors:

Deloitte was appointed as the auditor of the Byju’s to hold office until the financial year 2025
however, due to the company’s long delay in submitting financial results, they resigned with
"immediate effect" in the middle of the contract. Meanwhile, three of Byju's board members—
GV Ravishankar, Russell Dreisenstock, and Vivian Wu of Peak XV Partners, Prosus, and the
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative respectively left the organization amidst this controversy.

5.6. Valuation slashed down to US $ 5.1 billion by Prosus:

The largest non-founder stakeholder in Byju's, Prosus, significantly reduced the value of its
holdings in the tech behemoth, meaning a substantially reduced valuation of $5.1 billion for
the Indian business.

6. New Product Recommendation – Is this the right time?

At this moment of time, considering Byju’s current position, a marketer would fail if he is
expecting a purchase response because of the following reasons –
• Existing customers lost trust in the company. They are either not using the product
anymore or are requesting for cancellation of the subscriptions so that they can
come out of their never ending loops of loan.
• No new customer is willing to purchase the product, because of the existing problem
of bad mouthing i.e the already existing customers sharing their unhappy
experiences with their relevant others.
• School teachers are suggesting parents and students to not use the application since
the problem solving methodology or even teaching methodology is different from
that taught in school.
Hence working on the existing problems and inefficiencies would be the right thing to do
as a marketer.
6.1. Major Existing Problems
6.1.1. Content Mismatch
• Student’s donot find the content provided on the tablet matching with the
lessons taught at school.
• The problem-solving methodology in Mathematics is totally different on the
app in comparison to that of school’s classroom.
• Chapter names on the app are totally different from that of textbooks’
making it difficult for the students to find the topic they are looking to listen
for and learn from.

23
 • There are few important chapters missing too on the app.
• No Doubt Solving option.
6.1.2. Clash with it’s own Social Initiative – Education for All.
• Byju’s distributes tablets installed with educational content via SD Card to
underprivileged, for free. These students mostly belong to the rurals and
study in government schools.
• Rural students who already bought the product and are existing paid
customers of Byju’s have also received this free of cost under this social
initiative.
• Now these customers have initiated cancellation of their existing paid
subscription, and since the subscription cannot be cancelled they are forced
to pay their pending loans even when they are eligible for free service under
this initiative.
6.1.3. Fake Promises by Sales Team
This is a major reason why customers lost trust in the company, and also the
very reason why there are no new customers willing to buy the product.
• There are a huge number of Twitter posts, Youtube videos talking about this
issue.
• Sales Team has high daily targets to accomplish and this is the reason why
they delve into “selling concept”, sometimes forcibly, sometimes making
fake promises to the customers.
• When the customers later realise and approach the mentoring team, about
this issue, they will not cater to the promise that has been made, saying it is
fake.
• The customers feel cheated, understand that they haven’t received any value
for the amount they paid.
• Also, the customer most of the time doesn’t know that they are being signed
up for a loan for buying the product.
6.1.4. Problems related to
• Relationship Marketing:
Byju’s lately has not been maintaining good relations with its stakeholders.
It has miserably failed in this and for instance, that is the reason why Deloitte
has quit.
• Integrated Marketing:
Every team in Byju’s has their own set of daily numerical targets and there
is pressure on employees to accomplish these. There is thus a lack of
integration and coordination in the company leading to failure to reach the
ultimate goal of customer satisfaction.
• Internal Marketing:
Byju’s conducts training for its employees, but these are not taken seriously.
The after-training examination here is vulnerable to malpractices.

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Solutions to the Aforementioned Existing Problems and Growth Strategies
1. Be brutally honest and take accountability.
• Listen to the grievances of existing customers. Provide personalised instant
solutions.
• Keep up with the promises made by the Sales Team when customers
approach the Customer Care/Mentor asking for these and ensure the
promises are catered to instantly.
• Apologise and not only guarantee a change but also ensure that this is sternly
put into action.

2. Make an Irreversible Shift in the Student’s Behaviour.

• Ensure that the content provided on the app is similar to the school’s content.
• Go according to the specific board when it comes to naming convention of
the chapters and also problem solving methodology.
• Students find it very interesting to learn from games. But often students find
it difficult to find a game partner (who is a Byjus Subscriber) to play the
game. This becomes a discouragement even though the games are very
interesting and offer exciting rewards. Ensuring that the educational games
on the app can also be played with Non Byjus subscribes as well can resolve
this. Also, giving offline access to these games so that the students donot
require internet access for these can be a game changer.
• Provide Doubt Solving services so that students, as soon as they come from
school make a habit of asking doubts from the lessons taught in school.

3. Social Initiative – Education for All

• Instead of providing the same product for free, give a different product. A
different product here can be Online Class services or Doubt Solving
Platform.
• Doing the above can contribute to “word of mouth” and can bring new
buyers too.

4. Work on
• Relationship Marketing :
Maintain good relationships with the stake holders, learn their expectations
and manage accordingly.
• Integrated Marketing :
Every team keeping in mind the other team towards an ultimate goal of
customer satisfaction can bring a major change.
• Internal Marketing :
Make after-training test more strict so that the employees are very well aware
about how to serve the customer more efficiently.
5. Shift from Selling Concept to Market Value Concept
• Focussing more on how to add value to the customer can lead to greater
customer satisfaction and greater longer term growth.

25
 • The Sales Team’s pitch needs to be monitored every time a potential sale is
being made.
• Listen to the customers and make necessary changes improving value of the
product/service.
• Also, ensure that the customers are totally aware of the fact that they are
being signed up for a loan in order to purchase the product.

6. Start a Campaign - Be the Change

• Involve students and youth as personification of “be the change” or showcase
them as standing up for change for various social, environmental, etc issues.
• This can bring an emotional connect with the parents leading bringing a
positive change about customer’s opinion of the company.
All of the above can improve Byju’s’ positioning in the market. Once their marketer witnesses
a scenario where the expected purchase response can be accomplished, Byju’s can bring its
own new products/services.
7. New product/service recommendation ideas

1. Personalised Schooling
• Data is the new oil. Byju’s, has a wide customer base from all across the country.
Using this data, it has greater needs and expectations about existing and potential
customers.
• For instance, Byju’s knows that parent customers from Lanco Hills, Hyderabad,
do not want their kids to be forced to study, and that they are liberal enough to
allow their kids to choose their career, prefer more involvement in sport, etc. It
also knows that customers from Uppal, Hyderabad need their kids to be really
good in studies and converse very good in English. Based on all these data it can
come up with Personalised Schools for that particular region/area.
• It also has the data about bargaining, affordability, income levels of customers
from each area, it can use this and can decide the location of these schools.
• Will this hinder the existing product/service?
No. It can provide its existing content-installed-tablet in these schools. Also, its
already existing offline tuition centres can be transformed into these
“personalised schools”.
• In terms of development of the country, the concept of personalised schools can
add a lot to human resource.

2. One Rupee Sessions

• There are a lot of students who aren’t subscribers of Byju’s.
• This is where it can come up with One Rupee Sessions, where any student having
to want to understand a particular topic can buy this one session for Rs.1
explaining that particular topic.
• This can lead to greater market penetration.

26
 8. Conclusion
BYJU's is a rapidly expanding online educational platform that has attracted significant
investments. The present study primarily examines the marketing model employed by Byju's,
with a specific emphasis on its strategies within the global and Indian edtech market. The study
also investigates the marketing mix of Byju's as a service. The study examined the range of
products and services provided by the company within the Indian and GCC markets.
Subsequently, the focus shifted towards the examination of various analytical procedures,
namely the 5C analysis, brand analysis, and STP analysis, pertaining to the company. To regain
trust and repair its reputation in the market, Byju’s must show a sincere dedication to moral
behavior, top-notch instruction, and a customer-centric approach.

27
10: Individual Contribution

Alok Saini Company profile, Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning (STP) analysis,

analysis and conclusion, initial one-pager format, document format.
Manas Kumar 3 C’s (Company, Customer, and Competition), Major competitors and
offerings, initial one pager, analysis and conclusion, document format.
Mayukha P New product service/ recommendation ideas, the global aspect of the
company, growth strategies, analysis and conclusion.
Nistha Shukla SWOT analysis of the company, Strategic Business Units, initial one
pager, analysis and conclusion, social initiatives by the company,
controversies involving Byju’s, document format.
Nithishvardan Executive summary, global and national industry market, industry
AVJ profile, 2 C’s of marketing (Context and Collaborators), market
positioning, document format, analysis, and conclusion.
Rahul J The national aspect of the company, Marketing mix of Byju’s, research
and methodology, initial one pager, analysis and conclusion.

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