You work for Uber and you need to increase your revenue. How would you proceed?

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You work for Uber and you need to increase your revenue. How would you proceed?

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Tarun Kumar · Answer 1 · 2023-10-20T22:00:00+0000

Clarification is needed on the following points:

Is the geography a constraint, for the sake of the interview I'd consider Indian geography (Interviewer: Sure, go ahead)
What is the objective here? Do we want to increase revenue from the current offering or are we thinking of new product lines that can generate revenue? (Interviewer: Up to you. The objective is to improve revenue)
Is there some budget and time constraint for this? (Interviewer: It's up to you, no such constraints as of now)
Should we focus on riders or drivers? (Answer: Riders)

Moving ahead:

Uber provides an on-demand ride-hailing service for riders where they request a ride and Uber matches them to the best possible driver available. Uber also launched a food delivery service, Uber Eats but it did not work out as expected and Uber had to sell it. Uber is also transporting parcels within the city by leveraging it's ecosystem.

Check with the interviewer, they say go ahead.

Now, the task at hand is to improve revenue. To achieve that, let's break it down.

Increase revenue from current offerings
- Increase price per usage
- Increase the frequency of usage for current users
- Bring new users to the service
- Launch into a new geography
- Launch new cab cateogry
Increase revenue with new offerings
- Launch new services
  - Leverage current strength
  - Build new capabilities
- Backward and forward integration in current services

Analysing the road forward:

Don't think increasing the price would be a good option, there exists strong competition in the Indian market, and Indian consumers are value seekers and hence they would churn to competition.

Frequency of usage can be a lever, but 70-80% of the cabs that work with Uber also work with competition, the challenges of not able to find drivers during peak hours remain consistent across tier 1 cities, this is where majority of the rides are observed

Need wise, Uber has already tapped into Indian market and they are one of the prominent players if not the dominant one. Getting new users is not desirable at this point of time.

Similarly, Uber is launched across India and don't think there is any more geography left to be covered here.

Launching a new cab category is an insightful option, but looking at the need during peak hours and limited supply in tier 1 cities, this feels like an unfulfilled promise.

Analysing further into new services,

Launching new services leveraging current strength seems like a good option

Building new capabilities seems like a task that might take a long time and need a lot of market validation. Let's not do this.

Backward and forward integration with the current services and improving the user experience is also one of the options.

Check with the interviewer if they are aligned well to this point of time.

Alright, coming back to the point. I'd like to discuss some user needs that we can address upsell opportunities

1. Traveling is boring, especially when you're alone.

2. In emergencies, I'd need a cab urgently, no cancellation, please

3. Know when to book a cab

4. Often forget to pack few necessary things when I'm in a rush

5. As a tourist, I want to ensure I get great experience of the city

I'd like to prioritize (based on intensity and frequency) 1st and 4th needs to create upsell opportunities

1. Upsell on-demand micro-subscriptions of services like Spotify, Audible, Kuku FM etc., during the ride so that users are not bored

2. While passing from an important site or building, let users know what they are passing right now. This way they can get some information while we can also understand what users like and dislike.

3. Create a tour plan for the entire city where we can upsell an audio guide while the driver takes them through all the places

4. Allow me to buy necessary stuff from the Uber app, that I'd need for my upcoming trip. I can get these items delivered to hotels, airports, and railway stations at the last minute. These items can be anything from snacks to electronics items.

5. I want concierge services at the airport, railway station, and bus stands

6. Upsell snacks, and beverages within the cab

Next, I'd like to prioritize some of the solutions based on the impact on our objective, user needs, and the effort required here.

FeatureImpactEffort

Micro-subscription	Medium	Medium
Know your city	Medium	Medium
City tour guide plan	High	Medium
Shop while you ride	High	High
Concierge	Medium	High
Relax... and eat	Low	Medium

Based on the above table, I'd prioritize two features:

1. City tour guide plan that I can upsell on Uber, for people who want to get a guide and know the city and monuments a bit better

2. Shop, while you ride, is an interesting feature, I can check the feasibility of the same with some minor upsell banners within the Uber app to check if it's working.

Metrics:

1. No. of users who buy city tour guide plan

2. No. of users who shop from the Uber app while riding

3. Increase in the revenue

4. Customer satisfaction and ratings at the end of the service

Check with the interviewer.

Summarize the overall situation.

Some points have to be figured out before venturing into "Shop while you ride", the time has to be matched. The trip distance and remaining time will dictate what users can and will buy from Uber's app.

Looking for feedback here.