Baidu brand breakthrough dilemma involved in e-commerce prospects good luck

In an unfavorable situation, Baidu began to quietly pilot new businesses. Following the launch of the C2C business "yes", another e-commerce business-B2C platform "window of Japan" was launched.

It is reported that Baidu and Japanese clothing vendor Nissen signed a strategic cooperation agreement. According to the agreement, the two parties will jointly carry out e-commerce business cooperation for the Chinese market. Nissen will enter the Chinese market for the first time in 2009 through the Baidu platform.

According to industry analysis, the rapid development of e-commerce platforms in recent years will be the best choice for Baidu to find the next profit growth point. At the same time, after a series of impacts such as CCTV exposure and bidding rankings, Baidu, which suffers brand damage, urgently needs to break through and reshape its image.

Select from none

Baidu, which occupies an absolute monopoly in China, has chosen to break through new services due to its relatively unfavorable CCTV exposure.

Zhang Yanping, analyst at iResearch Consulting Group, said Baidu's current dilemma is not caused by its business model, but by the damage to its brand after these scandal. Therefore, if Baidu wants to break out from it, it must reshape its image.

Baidu uses two methods to reshape its image. One is to solve the problem of its bidding ranking, and the other is to actively repair its external relations.

In terms of bidding rankings, Baidu now uses the gray font to Mark sponsor links, in order to actively solve this problem.

"They have also strengthened their external contact. We can find that Baidu also put a large number of advertisements on CCTV this spring evening. As for e-commerce, I think it will also be a good attempt by Baidu. Baidu can rely on the operations of by-products to increase its brand value ." Said Zhang Yanping.

However, the industry is not optimistic about whether the "window of Japan" can quickly create profits.

Nissen's cooperation with Baidu is that Baidu launched a special area on its website to promote Nissen products in the Chinese market. The company is currently one of the largest online merchants in Japan. It is sold through directories, websites, online subscriptions, and other methods. It has obvious advantages in women's wear, apparel accessories, furniture and groceries.

"In this process, Baidu actually provides a platform similar to the form of advertising, with its powerful brand advantages and user coverage bringing traffic to the 'window of Japan '. Baidu may only charge advertising fees, and does not take legal responsibility for other sales activities. Therefore, Baidu's B2C business cannot generate objective income for Baidu at this stage ." Cao Fei, an analyst at Yiguan International, commented.

Baidu only works with Nissen to exchange resources within Japan. On the one hand, it can enter China for Japanese brands and establish new sales channels. On the other hand, baidu may also bring more Chinese enterprises into Japan, which is beneficial to its development of overseas markets.

Promising and difficult to operate

Baidu was not involved in the e-commerce market for the first time. As early as October 2007, its C2C business began to be secretly developed and officially launched one year later.

Liao Bin, CEO of wang.com, a business company, is a senior in e-commerce.

"Baidu's entry into e-commerce is not surprising because they see a huge space and the B2C business space is far greater than C2C ." Liao Bin believes that B2C may be a market with dozens or hundreds of times different from C2C.

This is not hard to understand. Consumers are most concerned with the price issue during online shopping. Store C means to purchase products from store B, and the price will not be at an advantage. Only C stores with the lowest channel cost can win at a low price. In addition to the price, store B also has advantages in terms of product richness and service quality.

China's e-commerce accounts for less than 1% of the retail market, while the United States is 15%. If China can reach the current level in the United States in five years, it will be a very huge market ." Liao Bin believes that B2C is the best choice for Baidu in the next five years.

However, a good strategy should also be well coordinated with tactics. The industry does not recognize Baidu's capabilities in operating e-commerce. A senior in the e-commerce industry told reporters that Baidu C2C "yes" has not worked well since its launch. "The key is that their operation team has a problem. The 'youah' team was transferred from the original Jiucheng B2B team. As a matter of fact, the 9-City B2B industry is not doing well, and the level of C2C development is even worse ."

Zhang Yanping said that Baidu's e-commerce has not made much progress due to its lack of effective and targeted promotion and experience accumulation. In addition, it is not Baidu's main business, and e-commerce requires a long preparation time and a large investment cost. Therefore, Baidu is still in the trial stage.