Reinventing the Millennium

"Mr. Li just asked about more specific product strategies. This is a good question."

"Products and markets are the beginning and the end, and the product strategy in the middle is execution, which is how to push products to the market."

In the bright hall of the house at night, a whiteboard is placed in the middle.

Fang Zhuo held the marker as if he had the most handy weapon. After saying these two words, he nodded to Li Taimao, the chairperson, and then looked at his daughter Li Xinyue.

Li Xinyue listened attentively and waited for the next chapter.

"This trip to New York, the goal of my team and I is to reach a wider group of users using Microsoft systems that Ipod has not yet exerted its influence on." Fang Zhuo energetically wrote down "M1" and "Ipod" on the whiteboard. "The two products are very similar in terms of hardware, functions, and body shape, so they are in direct competition," he said.

"But as Mr. Li said, there is another obstacle in front of them: Walkman."

"M1 will compete with Ipod and promote mp3 music players in a tacit understanding, poaching the original Walkman camp users."

"Because this process and this product strategy have not yet started, it is empty talk. I will use a case that has happened and is still happening to explain it. Mr. Li will listen to see if it makes sense."

Fang Zhuo wrote the third word "walkman" on the whiteboard and pointed the M1 and Ipod arrows at it.

Li Xinyue nodded slightly, indicating that she was listening and thinking.

"Mr. Li must have heard of 'A diamond is forever', right?" Fang Zhuo asked, "'A diamond is forever, a diamond will last forever'."

Li Xinyue said: "Yes, I have heard of it."

She said this, but she laughed in her heart. Could it be that she wanted to talk about the connection between this advertising slogan and love? It's too cliche.

Sure enough, Fang Zhuo said: "Then Mr. Li must also know that this is known as one of the most classic advertisements in the twentieth century, right? Love and diamonds are closely related."

Li Xinyue didn't speak this time, as her evaluation of the young president was lowered, and she wondered whether he was going to talk about a scam about diamond mining volume or something like that.

Fang Zhuo said: "Many people say diamond marketing is a scam."

Li Xinyue didn't want to interrupt and reached for the tea bowl on the coffee table.

However, Fang Zhuo changed the subject: "Let's leave this aside for now. Have you ever thought about it, Mr. Li, why an advertising slogan can get such praise? Is this advertising slogan really so touching? Do consumers buy it as soon as they see it?"

Li Xinyue, who was drinking tea, was slightly startled. She had never thought about it from this perspective. Diamonds are forever, and a diamond will last forever. It seemed to be a pretty good word.

"Since the target is Japanese walkman, we will take the Japanese market as an example." Fang Zhuo smiled, "Before the 18th century, diamonds were also ornaments but not as valuable as they are now. All thanks to the global presence of diamond market manufacturers. marketing layout.”

"This marketing is especially typical in the Japanese market."

Fang Zhuo took a pen and looked at the whiteboard and talked eloquently: "Japanese wedding customs in the 1960s, only very few people would choose diamonds, the proportion was only 4% or 5%. But ten years later, Japan Half of women choose diamonds when they get married, and the rise in this proportion is extremely exaggerated.”

He reached out to the whiteboard and drew a steep upward curve. This represented a market worth billions and was a complete subversion of a nation's habits in a short period of time.

"You must know that diamonds are not like the semiconductor competition between Japan and the United States later. At that time, there was a competition at the national level, and Japan also signed an agreement in humiliation. This marketing is more focused on the market level."

"Mr. Li, do you think this can be achieved with just one advertising slogan?"

Fang Zhuo pointed to the curve and asked Li Xinyue with a smile.

Li Xinyue thought deeply about these words and realized that she knew it but didn't know why. She shook her head honestly.

"Behind this advertising slogan is a whole set of product strategies, a set of combos." Fang Zhuo taught tirelessly, "Japanese women in the 1960s (anti-harm) lived a conservative life, and what diamond manufacturers wanted to instill in them was to be more advanced. modern lifestyle.”

"The marketing of diamond manufacturers does not just put a diamond under the camera. They associate diamonds with all modern things and show them to the Japanese."

"Many Japanese women are housewives, so manufacturers put out advertisements asking women to wear diamond rings to go outing, go cycling, and lead a seemingly freer life."

"There are very few Japanese women going out in cars, so manufacturers put out advertisements to show women wearing diamond rings and holding the steering wheel to show their confident charm."

"Such as this, all marketing methods during this period are to display and give diamond rings a new meaning, to subtly subvert women's cognition and allow them to live a modern life."

"How can such a woman not have a diamond ring that represents love?"

Fang Zhuo spread his hands and said the result of this kind of marketing: "Japan is now the world's second largest market for diamonds. At the moment, diamond manufacturers are using this method in China, and they are also playing a combination of punches."

"The marketing of diamonds in the United States began with its connection with love. In Japan, it is not just love, but a vane of a more advanced and free modern life."

Not only Li Xinyue, but also Li Taimao, who was originally just observing Fang Zhuo, was attracted by this case analysis. Yang Wan on the side even slapped his thigh, sounding suddenly enlightened.

Fang Zhuo did not stop. He turned around and wrote the word "diamond" between "M1, Ipod" and "walkman" on the whiteboard.

"Mr. Li, back to our products, what inspiration can this product strategy bring?"

He asked Li Xinyue a question.

From the opening to the present, from the expected to the in-depth analysis, Li Xinyue looked at Fang Zhuo who was looking forward to his answer and looked as panicked as a student in the back row being asked a question.

"Well, this." Li Xinyue pursed her lips and said half-guessing, "Imitate?"

Fang Zhuo smiled and said, "Absolutely."

However, Li Xinyue seemed to see the emotional color of "this student is really bad" in the other person's eyes.

"This product strategy of diamonds is worthy of our imitation. Broadly speaking, diamonds materialize love, and we can also give meaning to M1." Fang Zhuo said loudly, "The target is Walkman, right? It has Twenty years, right?”

"M1 represents advancement, the spirit of the Internet, and the development trend of the times."

“Promotion under this strategy is very easy. For example, in an advertisement, a young man takes out a tape, and another young man immediately exaggerates and says, Come on, you are actually using something your father used. How cool. "

"There is no need to show the walkman in the advertisement to avoid being sued. Just tell the people who watch the advertisement that this way of listening to music with tapes is outdated. The current trend is the lightweight M1."

"We want to tell those who use Walkman that M1 represents advanced productivity, while Walkman is honest and conservative."

Fang Zhuo concluded without saying anything.

He looked at Li Taimao and Li Xinyue and asked: "President Li, Mr. Li, what do you think? Is it effective for us to eliminate the time accumulation of walkman in this way?"

Li Taimao was slow to accept this kind of live lecture, and he looked at his daughter.

Li Xinyue is still thinking about the diamond strategy and M1 imitation that she just heard. She feels that the treasure is right in front of her, but she still needs others to point it out to her.

She was stunned for a few seconds and said with admiration: "According to what Mr. Fang said, the Walkman, a classic product for 20 years, has become a weakness because of its classics?"

Fang Zhuo smiled and repeated something he once said to the Japanese on the plane: "Yes, Walkman has been selling for 20 years, which is really too long."

Li Xinyue did not express her attitude immediately. She reached for the document from the coffee table and briefly read it again before saying to her father: "Mr. Fang has thought carefully about M1. He is not doing anything randomly."

Fang Zhuo was amused by these words: "Mr. Li, of course I'm not messing around. I still have an M1 in my pocket. I came prepared."

Li Taimao trusted his daughter's judgment on this matter, and felt that Fang Zhuo was good through his observation just now: "Mr. Fang, I remember you mentioned Wal-Mart, right?"

It's so straightforward... Fang Zhuo nodded.

"Wal-Mart, we Anliang don't have much contact with each other." Li Taimao said slowly, "But what do you think of Kroger?"

Kroger?

Fang Zhuo was stunned, he had never heard of this.

Yang Wan, who was standing next to him, saw his boss deep in thought and quickly added information in a low voice: "Mr. Fang, Kroger Supermarket is one of the top chain brands in the United States."

"Of course." Fang Zhuo smiled, "We are looking for gaps in offline channels. With such a supermarket here, the follow-up work will be easy to carry out."

Li Taimao turned his head and said a few words to his assistant. The latter went out and came back quickly.

Immediately, Li Taimao took the notebook brought by his assistant, flipped through it and said, "Mr. Fang, Kroger and Wal-Mart are very different. Do you know the conditions for the products to be sold there?"

Fang Zhuo said: "I would like to hear the details."

"We also sell things in there, mainly three items, one is a commission of 1.5% of annual sales, one is a warehousing commission, usually 3%-15% of sales, and the other is a Kroger store over-the-counter service. There must be product discounts when opening a new store." Li Taimao stated the conditions.

Fang Zhuo and Yang Wan looked at each other. The conditions of Wal-Mart that they had heard about before were indeed incomplete, and the warehousing commission was the bulk of it.

Calculated this way, a profit of $80 would give Kroger $14-$52.

Li Taimao thought about it and said: "This warehousing commission, Kroger's relationship through the Chamber of Commerce should be worth seven or eight points. You can do the math yourself to see if it is necessary to go in."

Fang Zhuo is very fast in mental arithmetic. If it is 8%, Kroger will take away a total of about 30 US dollars. He can still reserve 50 US dollars, but even if the other party takes 50, he has to do what he has to do. He had no intention of making M1 in the first place. It is a flagship model in China, but it has a chance to compete with Ipod in the United States.

"President Li, this commission is no problem. All we need is to sell the goods, even if we lose money." Fang Zhuo said seriously.

Li Taimao closed his notebook and said without surprise: "That's natural."

"Mr. Fang, are you very confident about competing with Walkman?" Li Xinyue was still recalling the case analysis just now and couldn't help but ask.

"Of course, between the walkman and the M1, in my opinion, there is a win out of ten." Fang Zhuo smiled and wrote on the whiteboard.

Li Xinyue was shocked: "Ten wins and ten losses?"

"1. Sony is too big, and Yike is too small to turn around." Fang Zhuo wrote down a "1" and added, "2. Yike has a first-mover advantage, and Sony is already two steps behind."

Li Xinyue thought.

"3. We represent the Internet trend, and Sony is still obsessed with the old era."

"4. I heard that Sony is trying to develop MP3 machines, but the internal walkman department is too prosperous and they have internal friction. However, all our colleagues at Yike are working together."

Fang Zhuo said easily: "5, even if Sony wants to exert its power, currently only Toshiba's hard drives are the best and most stable in the industry, but Yike and Apple have signed contracts with Toshiba, and it will not supply to third parties. Sony is looking for hard drives." I’m afraid there’s enough time for product replacement.”

"6. Yike's products perform better, are lighter and smaller, and have larger reserves."

"7. Yike is not fighting alone. Even Apple will charge to Walkman with Yike. If it is effective, other manufacturers will bravely take up the challenge."

Fang Zhuo said 7 things in a row, and Shi Shiran sat back in his seat.

Li Xinyue asked sincerely: "Are there three left?"

"I haven't thought about the remaining two." Fang Zhuo replied.

Li Xinyue was surprised, three? Two?

Fang Zhuo smiled at her and said: "8, Yi Ke's collaborator will have a heroic lady, which Sony does not have."

He pondered for a moment and looked at Li Taimao: "This is eight wins and eight losses between Yike and Sony. What does President Li think?"

Next to her, Yang Wan admired her boss so much that she teased her daughter in front of me and even dared to ask me how I felt... How dare you?

Li Xinyue felt sad in her heart and looked at her father.

"It's rare to see a young man like Mr. Fang, who comes from the mainland." Li Taimao was not angry, but just said the old sigh, "The waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead."

Fang Zhuoqian gave in and said: "Our M1 has quite a market, and we welcome partners to join. President Li, I am willing to release 5% of the equity for a price of US$4 million."

He further explained: "Yike has already raised funds with three domestic venture capital companies led by IDG. I can decide this number, but I still need to work hard to convince them."

This is sincerity.

At this time, Li Xinyue stood up and walked to his father. The two exchanged words in a low voice. Fang Zhuo turned sideways and pretended to talk to Yang Wan, not listening to the voices of the two people.

Soon, the father and daughter made a decision.

Li Taimao smiled and said: "I can see that Mr. Fang is very confident in M1. Xin Yue also agrees with Mr. Fang's product strategy and market expectations. If there are no problems in the subsequent confirmation, our Li family can come up with this number."

He held up four fingers.

Fang Zhuo was not surprised. Just when he was about to speak, he couldn't believe what he heard next.

"Four million is what the Li family lent to you. The Anliang Chamber of Commerce can help communicate with Kroger to launch M1. The loan will last for half a year, and then Mr. Fang will only have to pay back 4.8 million. How about that?" Li Taimao said seriously.

You...are a loan shark!

Fang Zhuo didn't expect to hear such words at all. After talking about so many markets, he just stared at the one-third of an acre of land in front of him? Should I say short-sightedness or wise financial management?

When he looked at Li Xinyue, she didn't feel any discomfort at all, as if this was normal.

Yes, it's normal. This is a damn normal gang!