How South Africa's top online portal Snupit works

In a time where an increasing number of important things are happening online, the success of a website such as Snupit makes sense. Snupit is South Africa's leading online marketplace that lets users quickly find and hire local service professionals, pros as they're lovingly called by this company and its users.

The need for Snupit

Snupit was born out of the frustration the company's MD felt when he spent days trying to find a particular service online but without any luck. There had to be a simpler way. Since there was none, but should have been, Snupit was conceptualised and soon after, willed into reality.

The people behind Snupit claim to intimately understand the market because they are part of it. Snupit is led by a team of seasoned professionals with extensive experience in engineering, Internet software, finance and telecom. This pool of expertise seems to have worked as Snupit helps countless consumers and professionals.

How it works for consumers

There are basically two ways of finding pros on Snupit. One is to search the database yourself. The other option, recommended by Snupit, is letting Snupit find the most suitable professionals.

It works as a simple three-step process:

1. Post a requestThe user is asked a few questions about their requirements. Based on the answers, Snupit will create a request and post it for all the relevant pros to see.

2. Compare quotes from prosIdeally, a number of qualified local pros will see the request sent out on the user's behalf. Users can receive up to five quotes at a time. They can also be contacted by Pros who need more information about the job.

3. Hire a proAfter receiving competitive quotes, the user simply needs to compare the offers and choose a professional. The user can call or message a pro to get more information.

How it works for the pros

For the pros, Snupit utilises a pay-per-lead model. This means professionals can see lead notifications for free. They will not be charged for simply reading about a job. The pros have to only pay for potential customers that they contact and/or send a quote to. Here's how the Snupit system plays out for the pros:

1. Receive lead notificationsWhen customers use Snupit to hire local professionals, the system creates and posts a request. If the job description matches a pro's profile, Snupit sends a lead notification via a text message or e-mail. The pro can review the lead request details and decide whether he/she wants to pursue the lead or not.

2. Buy a lead and send a quoteOnce a pro is interested in a lead, he/she can buy a lead to contact and/or send a quote to that customer. Buying the lead gives the pro complete contact details of the customer. For higher chances of hiring, it's best for the professional to call or text the customer within an hour to discuss the details of the job.

3. Get hiredAfter sending in the quote, the professional needs to wait for the customer's response. If a pro is hired, Snupit recommends ironing out the details of the project before starting work to avoid confusion later on.

Once the job is complete, it's recommended for professionals to have the customer to write a positive review to improve their profile.

Pricing

Free for customers

Snupit is a completely free service for customers. This seems in line with the service's goal of helping people find and hire the best local professionals quickly and easily.

Pay-per-lead for pros

As mentioned above, professionals are given the option to buy leads they are interested in. There are no monthly or annual fees. Snupit maintains that their pricing model is quite convenient as even a single job will most likely cover the cost of an entire year's worth of leads.

Growing Fast

Today, over 2 million people per month use Snupit to find the best local pros. With over 350 000 professionals and businesses on Snupit and a well-thought-out system connecting them to people who need their services, Snupit is transforming the way people discover and hire service professionals. The company is growing quickly, helping both South African consumers and professionals along the way.