P Gopalakrishnan is CMO of BharatMatrimony Group

Gopalakrishnan will be playing marketing, strategy and operational roles at the BharatMatrimony Group

The BharatMatrimony Group, one of the leaders in the online classifieds space in India, has appointed P Gopalakrishnan as its chief marketing officer. Gopalakrishnan was earlier vice-president, international business, at Cavinkare, the FMCG brand; he worked there for seven years. Prior to Cavinkare, he worked for seven years with a diversified industrial group, Texmaco, in Indonesia.

P Gopalakrishnan

At BharatMatrimony, Gopalakrishnan will head the marketing and operations for all of the group’s portals, including the BharatMatrimony.com sites, ClickJobs.com and IndiaProperty.com. Speaking to agencyfaqs!, Gopalakrishnan says, “BharatMatrimony has a unique model because it has both online and offline elements. I will also be involved in the creation of strategies for the group.” He adds that consumer satisfaction is one of the important factors common to both FMCG and online companies.

Gopalakrishnan says that consumer behaviour is also similar in both industries, and BharatMatrimony has the advantage of a “fantastic backend” or technology support.

Gopalakrishnan’s experience of international markets will be useful to Bharatmatrimony’s plans for expansion in NRI markets, says J Murugavel, founder and CEO, Bharatmatrimony. “His background with FMCG products ensures that he understands consumers very well,” adds Murugavel. The group has already expanded internationally with the launch of MuslimMatrimonial.com, which is popular in markets such as Indonesia and Malaysia.

In terms of marketing plans for the group, Murugavel says that the company will continue with its multi-platform advertising. He says the company is “one of the largest spenders on the Internet”.

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