Case analysis III: Shradhanjali.com new address for memories of our ancestors

Abstract

The founders of Shradhanjali.com have struck upon an interesting and viable business idea that meets a need ignored by the market so far. The Indian tradition for remembering those close family members who have passed away is to remember them every year on their birth and death anniversary through a family prayer ceremony. To remind those who are not close enough nor have immediate family members to call for the family prayer ceremony, the practice started of printing, in the local newspaper, a remembrance note on their birth and death anniversary. This enabled others who knew the family to send their messages. While the idea of creating a webpage is noble, it faces some significant issues. Being online makes the site susceptible to hacking for user data and for misuse by those who do not like the person or the family. Being reminded on every death anniversary may be appreciated by the immediate family but may be seen as unnecessary by the larger family circle who, on registering for reminders, feel they cannot later withdraw without offending someone who is close to the deceased. Providing unlimited space for photos and videos is another concern as it may be misused and prove expensive to the host. While their pricing is attractive, the perpetual hosting of content may be difficult to sustain as the site grows in data volume. Buying websites with religion-specific names is a good idea but mentioning the caste on the person’s memorial page is not such a good idea. They have decided to go without advertising but strictly controlled advertising of services related to funerals, and gifting to relatives of the deceased is a good option for additional revenue. In pricing, they have created two options—one yearly at `999 and for five years at `3999, with the difference being the duration given to edit content while the material uploaded remains till perpetuity. This is attractive pricing and should get many subscribers if it is marketed effectively. However, it cannot replace the newspaper inserts on death but can replace the ones that appear later. It is important for the founders to find ways to create value to families that is not provided by any other way. For example, a private area for close family members to forward stories and pictures about the person was shared on Whatsapp in their family group but are likely to be lost soon due to message volume. That collection could be curated and sent by a family member to others in the family group. This will enable the website to perpetuate the memory more effectively than through the other media that exists.