Groww Marketing Strategy: How They Became a Leading Investment Platform

“Mutual funds investments are subject to market risks. Please read the offer documents carefully before investing”. Most of us have heard these sentences on television in between the news breaks. Always wondered as a child what “mutual funds” meant. We all did. These sentences were etched in our minds and continue to live there rent-free. Share market, stocks, IPO, and the most beloved mutual fund, these terms are now a reality for anyone stepping into adulthood. Thanks to digital investment platforms, we all have at least one SIP tucked away safely in the name of investment. 

In this article, we will be learning about one such investment platform that has emerged as the hero of retail investment. The tell-tale of Groww. Let's understand Groww marketing strategy, its marketing mix, and its marketing campaigns in detail.

A Brief Introduction to Groww

As one of the most simplified investment platforms, Groww now seems to be a retail investor’s favorite. The quartet Lalit Keshre, Neeraj Singh, Harsh Jain, and Ishan Bhansal conceived and brought this brainchild to life in 2016. Headquartered in Bangalore, the web-based platform has gained grounds for investing in SIPs in mutual funds, IPOs, share trades, and gold investments. 

With over 50 million users, particularly those under 40, Groww allows retailers to invest through the website or smartphone in over 5000 mutual funds. Despite being surrounded by contemporaries like Zerodha and Upstox, Groww has placed itself successfully in the Indian brokerage market with a propelling market share of 23.4%. As of March 2024, Groww has an active investor base of 9.50 million users.

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Importance of Marketing Strategy in Fintech

The Indian fintech landscape has witnessed significant developments in the recent decade. Despite formidable opponents on the global front, the Indian fintech market seems to be making headways by reaching out to oblivious and new investors from tier 2 and tier 3 cities. The digital world has certainly influenced, rather disrupted market trends and changed business behavior. Then why should the fintech industry hold back? 

Groww, Zerodha, Uptsox, and IND money are some of the pioneers in encouraging the hesitant retail investors grappled by nationwide scams, to get over their fear and wisely invest with minimal risks. Here’s where a marketing campaign or strategy won.

Services Offered by Groww

The web-based investment platform allows you to invest with the following mediums:

• Stocks and shares
• IPO
• NFO (New Fund Offering)
• Mutual funds
• Sovereign Gold Bonds

Groww Marketing Mix

Product

Groww identified the pain points of conventional investing methods and introduced an app specifically to eliminate those frustrations.

Some features that give it an edge over the others:

• Zero account opening charges with simple digital KYC
• Fractional share investing, a rarity in India
• SIP calculators, investment guides, and education on personal finance

Pricing

Handing out premium services at minimum charges

• Zero account opening and maintenance cost
• Ultra-competitive commission charges for high-volume traders
• Free education content turning it into a lead-generation tool before monetization

Place

Groww's primary goal is to dominate the fintech landscape through mobile investment

Strategic distribution:

• User-friendly, handy app for the average millennial investor
• Collaboration with UPI platforms to enhance seamless bank integration
• Insights on the latest IPO listings to attract organic traffic

Promotion

Groww has an active engagement from over 5 million users and it capitalizes on the young influencer and content creation business to build its brand

Here are a few strategies applied by the brand:

• Referral campaigns with incentives for sharing
• Collaborating with India’s top financial influencers on Instagram and YouTube
• Comprehensive product walkthroughs by the co-founders on YouTube, building brand presence

Now that we know what Groww is and what it does, let’s delve into the crux of the matter.

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Groww Marketing Strategy

Digital Marketing

Digital marketing utilizes online platforms to reach and engage with targeted audiences, driving brand awareness and sales through various digital channels. It includes strategies like SEO, social media marketing, email campaigns, and content creation to build a robust online presence. Let's understand Groww's Digital Marketing in detail:

Content Marketing

Groww’s digital presence has been exponential with their digital/social media platforms consistently educating about financial literacy. Content marketing through blogs, newsletters, investment guides, webinars, and educational content has made audiences relate to the brand and helped them self-learn in their investment journey.

Social Media Presence

Groww has created its digital ecosystem through the following platforms:

Facebook

Groww’s Facebook page shares informative and educational content with its followers. It also has a discussion group that discusses the latest financial events such as budgets. 

Instagram

Groww’s Instagram page is handled in several vernacular languages including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi, and Malayalam. Engagement is driven through interesting copies and posts along with influencer marketing.

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A post shared by Groww Malayalam (@groww.malayalam)

Twitter

Groww uses Twitter to provide real-time market updates, insights, and consumer support.

Youtube

With over 2.3 million subscribers on YouTube, it offers tutorial videos and content on personal finance.

SEO and SEM

Keyword Strategy

A good SEO strategy is to mix up the right keywords to ensure your brand name is a reader’s top choice when searching for a topic. Groww’s SEO breakdown looks something like this:

• Primary keywords: Investments, stocks, SIP 
• Long-tail keywords: “How to start a SIP?”, “Mutual funds for beginners”, “How to open a demat account?”
• Local keywords that focus on “mutual fund apps in India”, “best investment platform in India” etc.

On-page SEO and Backlinks

On-page SEO optimizes title tags, meta descriptions, and headers with targeted keywords. Quality backlinks can be acquired through authoritative financial websites, guest blogging, and influencer partnerships.

Referral Programs

Groww’s referral program “Groww Referral” enables eligible users to refer new users. Head to the ‘Refer & earn’ section of the app. If you are eligible, you will see the option to ‘Share invite link’ or ‘Invite via Whatsapp’ on the ‘Refer & earn’ screen.

Mobile App Strategy

Groww’s user interface is extremely user-friendly. The dashboard provides an overview of your holdings in various types of investments including shares, mutual fund SIPs, and gold. The onboarding process is seamless which includes providing our details and KYC. 

The app allows you to pick the best mutual funds by giving you a detailed performance report including the level of risk, market cap, and overall growth. 

In case you need to pause or stop investing altogether, the withdrawal process is equally seamless.

Brand Trust and Credibility

Over the years, Groww has created a genuine relationship with its users. Transparency regarding brokerage charges, authentic content, and a user-friendly app, creating a community for learning personal finance are all important factors contributing to building trust and credibility for the brand.

Groww Marketing Campaigns

We all know the importance of reaching potential investors during peak viewing times, and Groww leverages TV and Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms to achieve this. Placing advertisements strategically on popular streaming services, helps Groww draw attention. They use these platforms to deliver their message and encourage users to explore the platform further.

Here are a few impactful campaigns by Groww:

Ab INDIA Karega INVEST

This campaign aimed at democratizing investments in India and making it easily accessible to every eligible individual, especially in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. With offline events every weekend, it educated investors through a detailed workshop conducted by industry experts.

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One Step Closer

Women's Day Campaign: Rationalising gender inequality and taking into account the general lack of financial literacy in most Indian women, this campaign aimed at educating working women and nudging them towards investing.

Investment ki Bhasha

A series of two commercials depicting common folks talking investment terms like share market, Sensex, portfolio, and stocks. Something rare and left for the financial experts to discuss. This campaign nudges the users to learn these terms by downloading the app because “market sab ka hai”.

Conclusion

Groww has cracked the code for hassle-free investments for millions of Indians. Driving its growth past Zerodha, Groww has contributed to more than 700% customer base since March 2021. Its marketing effectiveness can be seen through its educational content transforming amateur and new investors into evangelists. While there may be room for improvement in app performance and customer support, the marketing strategy of Groww can be seen taking flight.

Groww’s marketing strategy has been simple and effective; honing pain points, taking actionable steps to resolve them, and providing a safety net for hesitant investors. With a strong digital presence, Groww has gained ground in smaller cities, helping people with much-needed investment guidance. And this continues to be their best bet.

FAQs

What does Groww do?

Groww is an online investment platform that allows users to invest in mutual funds and equities directly. The company is a creator of a mutual fund direct access platform.

Who are the founders of Groww?

Groww was started in 2016 by four former Flipkart employees: Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Ishan Bansal, and Neeraj Singh.

What is the active investor base of Groww?

As of March 2024, Groww has an active investor base of 9.50 million users.