Chongdong: O2O is the only solution to online education

Article | Guiling Chongdong is a veteran of the education industry. He from the traditional postgraduate training field into, has been in the industry for 17 years. He created the Beijing Three people Videotage Education Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter called "Too odd") has more than 50 direct subsidiaries, as well as Huanggang school, Xinghong and many other well-known brands. In a recent interview with the "Entrepreneurial state", Chongdong said that too odd has completed a, b two rounds of financing, and set up an overseas structure, "is for the Nasdaq listing financial and other aspects of preparation." With the rapid development of the network, online education has become prosperous, the plate in the domestic and foreign venture in the field of high fever. However, despite the bullish gold plate, but for the point where the force, but has been extremely confused. "must be combined with traditional training, O2O must be the only solution to online education." Chongdong said bluntly. Pure offline institutions are becoming more and more difficult, but throwing money at companies that only provide online education is no doubt "skipping the stone". "Pure network mode of education companies, also certainly not." "Looking for market gaps said Videotage development, Chongdong that:" The main win in the strategic innovation, if only the tactical lead, will be too hard. In 1998, Chongdong is still preparing for an examination. It was April, he found a remedial class in Beijing campus, but nothing. Later he found that the postgraduate class is not to start enrollment until July or August, this is the market practice. But he is very keen to see: This is a blank spot in the market. "Why not do a remedial class now?" From my own point of departure, there is a need for this time. Then he will call directly to postgraduate training in the field of the ace Instructor Zhu Tai professor. Mr. Zhu agreed. "Later he realized that it was the blank time that hit the spring postgraduate training, and it was so unthinkable." At that time Shandong hand venture, all funds only 100 yuan. "I used 100 dollars to print 1000 admissions ads to the campus bulletin board. "And Mr. Zhu's lecture fee is to pay after the course is over." In fact, at that time Chongdong heart very disturbed. It was not known that Mr Zhu had so much influence. "What he did not think of is that he April 11 advertising, April 20 class, and can accommodate 400 people of the Peking University audio-visual room full." This first bucket of gold he earned 200,000. In fact, in the postgraduate market has been the Red Sea situation, a bit of a Chongdong foot, on the market blank. And the next year he went on to do this time period, and rushed in too many competitors. He began to wonder what other gaps there were in the market. It happened that he had a friend call to take an MBA class. At that time, the MBA market enrollment has just started, but has been Beijing University, Tsinghua official class monopoly, the two schools a recruit is thousands of people. Chongdong bullish on the market. Less than one months into the MBA exam, he planned a "pre-Test Proposition dynamic prediction class" to start recruiting. He followed the previous postgraduate training to do. Can "see to have a class, but only recruit to fifty or sixty people". He was conscious of the need to change the pattern. The way the MBA was taught was "The last class of the school system, and generally to October classes. And he gave the four-round three-stage, elongated product line of the MBA training model. This new model later became the training industry's general course training model. Lengthen the industry chain, adjust positioning and teachers, Chongdong will be the original course fee is also "high-end", from hundreds of to three thousand or four thousand yuan. "We stand out in the MBA market by changing the intrinsic production model." "But not for a while. In the spring of 2001, Chongdong, the business is rising, suffered a setback from partners. At that time, Chongdong, a graduate student, was enrolled in the spring of the second year when he found out that the guy who was in charge of the admissions business was "independent" and that the same brand was recruiting. Chongdong want to give up. But coincides with the 2001 China "ushered in" a wave of internet cold winter, a large number of internet companies to burn money after the disappearance of the collapse. You can not imagine, today's heyday of the giant Ma Yun's speech was: 2001, let Ali Baba to do the last stand of people, through the cold winter; In 2002 Alibaba will set a great goal-to make 1 yuan. This shows the cold of winter, but for the Chongdong struggling in the traditional field, it is an opportunity to continue to write entrepreneurial dream. The Chinese MBA network was famous in the industry, but suddenly the news of the collapse, Chongdong training companies have tried to advertise. Chongdong immediately to China's MBA network related departments call, from the morning until 12 o'clock noon, after the asset department responsible told him that the same day 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the Chinese MBA network will changed hands, but the agreement has not been signed. Chongdong decisive, take all 200,000 when, as a down payment a brain shot to the person in charge of the table, and the remaining agreement stipulated one months later paid 200,000, "there is no landing." Back, Chongdong immediately played "China's MBA network and Videotage Joint School" The more authoritative sense of the banner began enrollment. One of the two things that impressed him was that, in the first place, the company changed its name to Videotage. The second is the introduction of the Web portal to do their own physical training of recruitment methods. "At the time the education industry was still posting posters," he said. "Videotage has opened up its internet age. At that time was 2001, "not to mention the portal site, even the construction of a corporate intranet is still 2 years after the event?" Chongdong is still quite proud of his first advantage: "I accidentally opened a new business model for the education and training community in 2001, the portal and training model." "The new approach to the Internet education industry, in fact, is the embryonic form of today's O2O model." In that era, it also quickly showed the explosive power of the Internet in conjunction with traditional fields. At first, China's MBA online enrollment ads played for half a month without any movement, Chongdong very anxious. One day he climbed Xiangshan as usual, suddenly received a colleague phone: "Today there are 8 people signed up." "From that day onwards, the end of the network diffusion cycle to bring them is" blowout general registration, offices, corridors are full of paid people. " He said, like the later Taobao, Jingdong once the explosion, the traditional industry can not resist the same. By the end of the year, too odd to become the industry's largest MBA training institutions. Videotage began to enter the rapid expansion period, and the MBA program was extended from Beijing to several cities across the country. But in the process of expansion, they found that to send teachers to teach "this kind of thing is not reliable, because the teacher limited." Chongdong decided to abandon the traditional way of building stations in the local area, but with the China aerospace four companies, the satellite broadcast of the Beijing class site to the local teaching. As Bill  Gates, who has invested in Khan College, said, 15 years ago, even in the United States, online education is just emerging, people can do is just the camera to the teacher, and then press the "button." Chongdong They did not understand the development of online education in the world, but they did begin to use video teaching, "because at that time the speed is not able to transfer video, the solution is to use satellite." Chongdong said that at that time in the local "pot" class, rain signal will be affected. The video is taught in the industry as the first shot, followed by widespread adoption. And in the business model, they used to join the chain, and soon built more than 20 chain campuses nationwide. These "video-class" campuses have developed into the largest local MBA programs, surpassing the local "real-teaching" training. The success of the franchise chain has stimulated the Chongdong greater "ambition". "The MBA is still too small for me to get into a big area." "he said. Activate Huanggang School In fact, there are two major product lines, one is an MBA training program, the other is Huanggang secondary schools, and then upgraded to Huanggang (hereinafter referred to as "Huanggang"). Huanggang schools to do the primary and secondary school examination education this "big field." In 2003, Chongdong took over and started operating Huanggang school. He invested 8 million yuan in the shares of 51%, Huanggang Middle School take the brand shares 49%. "At that time they had only a text version, not even audio, not recruit students, can not pay wages." After he took over, he began to rebuild the schools for the whole. Chongdong products, sales of both hands, while the American students bring back the audio teaching software applied to the Huanggang school curriculum, the Huanggang to upgrade to "audio version of Schools", on the other side of the CCTV news broadcast 5 seconds before the golden period of 170,000 yuan advertising, the national investment. Significant results. "I took over August 27 and enrolled 1.1 million students in September and reached more than 2 million in October," he said. "Chongdong told the" Entrepreneurial state ", the previous Huanggang two years of operation, the total income did not exceed 600,000, and at the end of that year, the two sides net income reached more than 2 million yuan. However, just into 2004, Huanggang schools quickly into a sales dilemma. Later Chongdong They analyzed the main reasons for three. First, there are fewer netizens. 2003 Chinese Internet users only 18 million, now is 687 million, it is really difficult to do online schools. The second is that the concept can't keep up. Huanggang schools do basic education, when most parents actually do not trust children to surf the internet, the terminal channel has not really opened. Three is 2003As a result of the SARS outbreak of the net, the country out of four hundred or five hundred of many, resulting in students streaming. And after two years, the country a large number of well-known schools such as Jingshan School, Huazhong a high school school has closed. "2005, we were on the verge of collapse. "Given the pressures of reality, they must look for patterns of change." Chongdong carefully studied the agency model of the schools and realised that the higher the total number of students, the lower the cost for the headquarters. "We change the traditional sales model, the new agent rules, will be a card to change the card 15, the important thing is that each new card marked deadlines, not to get on the bus, the ticket is void, but will be large enough to the profit space agent." "With this model, too odd to achieve the channel of the fittest, and create a group of outstanding" agent of cattle. Soon in the new model, the capable person appears. The first was their Wuhan agent, who first sold all 1500 cards allotted to him. "Do you know what this means?" "Chongdong stopped for a moment, said," Is he fixed to me a year to pay 70,000 yuan fee. I am responsible for the card, a card price is 2980 yuan, he earned a period of more than 4 million yuan. "The second bull is a Shenzhen agent, making more than 20 million yuan a year," he said. As the profit margin is large enough to attract more agents to join, so that videotage in improving efficiency, reduce the cost of investment, the agent channel is fully activated. "We are first rich after the rich, to a variety of policies to make good agents to teach those who do not realize the profit agent." For example, Baoding agent is that we have to train them to Wuhan to receive training, during which we are to Wuhan to reduce agency costs, to the mechanism to help our headquarters do these training. Slowly, most of the Huanggang schools ' agents are making money. "Franchisee uprising as mentioned before, Videotage based on two main product lines, respectively, set up their own two series of direct shop structure: Huanggang School series and training programs (including MBA, Construction Division, postgraduate) series of forty or fifty. 2009, the entire construction of the net is more mature, the development momentum is very good. But Chongdong's first training program faced many challenges, starting to experience "brake contraction" and "twists" in the start-up. "At that time I decided to take a few projects on the MBA, such as builders, postgraduate exams and other products." "After the Chongdong on the formulation of" agent packaging policy, to the agents at the same time to sign too odd several product items. The fact is that agents are reluctant to be bundled up in a tree that is too odd for them to concentrate in Wuhan for a meeting. "Then send me a fax, announced the launch of the second ' Wuchang ', crusade too odd corporate headquarters, and videotage out of relationship, decided to set up joint too odd. In Chongdong's words, all of the campuses of all the MBA programs in the "Uprising". Critical juncture, 2010, for many years only do upstream of the too odd headquarters was forced to transform, fully direct battalion. "But surprisingly quickly developed. "Chongdong told the" Entrepreneurial state ", 2011 after the transformation of the Videotage won a round of financing, 2012, the merger of offline mergers, in short, after the camp, too odd every year to exceed 50% speed growth," andDirectly lead to union too singularly annihilated. " There are many flavors in Chongdong discourse. "The hardest thing to do under the offline education training is to control the problem." "Chongdong Summary, the main reason is that each branch itself is from enrollment to teaching a whole industry chain closed loop," then what is the headquarters? Fortunately, in conjunction with the Internet, the branch has a certain dependence on its headquarters. But must build a reasonable management structure, only then may form certain restriction. At present, the management of direct shop, too odd to adopt the approach is: the first is a dual-line system, two lines of business and finance; second, the local vice president and general manager of the two senior positions, the business is a vertical line, vertically managed, the project constitutes a horizontal management lines; The third is the business and the financial two are directly under the Headquarters management, at the same time dual-line, Two-layer cross into rectangular pattern structure. "and must create a reasonable mechanism of interest in the place." Our local direct store has shares dividends, let it give full play to freedom, consciousness, autonomy. "The strict structure of the direct battalion ultimately" so that the Union is too much to be annihilated, after two years, their family can not find. Chongdong stressed that the obvious advantage of the group is the collective brainstorming and cooperative combat effect. Deep in the field of education for many years, Chongdong that the current online education must be combined with the traditional line, take the O2O mode of operation. The biggest problem in the traditional model is the control of the headquarters. "This is the most challenging part of management skills. "And the online part of the network education," The water is deeper. In his view, the network for many industries to subvert, will certainly greatly change the education industry, the direction is no problem, but the problem is that education has its own particularity, "by no means by the traditional network play can open the industry." It is the key to solve this problem whether you really do education. He said that this is not an empty talk, but seriously to provide users with real services, is a final solution to online education. Pure line under the guidance of the Organization faced with the quality of teachers difficult to ensure that the management of difficulties, high personnel costs, must use the network to do industry upgrades, and online institutions are facing the service problem is precisely the advantages of offline institutions. Line under the combination of the O2O mode is the two-win solution. The next step Videotage will take advantage of years of mixed learning experience and Huanggang school strong management and resource platform to play all offline agencies online service providers. Edit elements: Chongdong undertaking 1998, with 100 yuan to do postgraduate school classes, to earn the first barrel of Gold 1999, the MBA Test Class 2001, the acquisition of the Chinese MBA network, creating a portal Training Model 2002, the use of franchise chain mode, in the country to establish more than 20 branches in 2003, To take over the operation of Huanggang schools, to redesign the agency rules 2010, the Tai Chi training program fully transformed into direct sales