Sekel Tech (Credit image/Pixabay/Gerd Altmann)Sekel Tech, which was founded in Bengaluru, India in 2014, is launching its hyperlocal SaaS platform in the UK. The launch reflects the growing predictions and trends from analysts such as Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey. These analysts have predicted the need for marketers to focus on the hyperclose, hyperlocal needs of consumers. Sekel Tech’s “dynamic engagement commerce” platform for national and international brands, helps bricks and mortar businesses generate and drive sales. The company says by bridging the online-offline consumer experience of brands and seamlessly integrating the physical and digital worlds.

According to Sekel Tech, hyperlocal activity, marketing and engagement has emerged as a major business imperative for enterprises particularly for those with 100+ locations. Sekel Tech plans substantial investment to rapidly scale up and grow UK market share. The company plans to establish a London office to then extend its service offering further into the EMEA region. It points to data such as UK having recorded 39% increase in hyperlocal food deliveries in the last three year. With the rapid evolution in digital logistics tools and technology as a key reason why it believes the UK market is ready for Sekel Tech.

Providing a single AI-powered platform

Sekel Tech provides a single, AI-powered, platform that includes the more typical listing management, store locator or reputation management processes. This includes Google My Business and reviews, coupled with significant value-add and differentiated services. This includes location-based microsite creation and management (within the brand’s domain), sentiment analysis, lead management, offers and campaigns. In addition to blogs and articles, product catalogues and extensive real time analytics across the entire customer engagement.

(Credit image/LinkedIn/Rakesh Raghuvanshi)
Founder and CEO Rakesh Raghuvanshi

Founder and CEO Rakesh Raghuvanshi says, “We will put first party data back in the hands of our customers. Through one cost-effective platform delivering visibility and benefit across five key pillars within the organisation. Customers; operational efficiency; technology; people and culture and governance. We look forward to helping UK businesses to get organically discovered and then engage and grow their customers.

The platform supports brands to win organically across search by distributing and engaging through relevant contextual and personalised content. This content helps consumers make seamless, informed and efficient buying decisions.

Providing a positive business impact on local level

Raghuvanshi suggests, “For us, an AI-powered SaaS company, we see the UK as the best possible market for retail. We want to have our own offices and team in place to cater to our customers here. UK businesses will now have a single view and control of all the digital transformation initiatives that are planning. This will provide a positive business impact on a local level. Showing the impact of every penny spent on digital marketing with real-time insights so they can immediately analyse and take action on their spend.”

Heading the UK operation is newly appointed Head of Business, Mark Walker-Smith who joins with 25 years’ business experience. Immediately prior to joining Sekel Tech he worked for Digitopia, helping the company establish itself in the UK market.

Sekel Tech’s ambitious growth plan is based on our analysis that the UK is primed for digital retail disruption. It is a digitally aware market which is growing rapidly. Organisations looking to mitigate business risk of losing their own customers’ first-party data to aggregators and BIG technology” says Walker-Smith.

Business Enterprise: What this means for business

Sekel Tech’s platform looks interesting. It helps enhance and drive up customer discovery and engagement throughout the customer journey. However, the marketplace is full with vendors offering similar solutions. Sekel Tech, however, are trying to differentiate themselves by emphasising the local connection. A McKinsey ‘Reimagining Marketing’ report, 2020 suggested “Managing this hyperlocal activity and engagement will require marketers to rewire their operating model. To provide a more granular presence at scale. This approach will need to build on many of the capabilities developed around personalisation (particularly analytics, trigger-based messaging, and agile test-and-learn approaches) and require renewed thinking about how to scale content supply chains and manage performance’.

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