Group buying industry, from melee to system

"Editor's note" in this two-year group buying industry changes like a change, such as 24 Securities and other group purchase sites disappear, Baidu holding glutinous rice also mission to buy the industry into the "spell dad" era. Thankfully, the handle survived and remained at the forefront of the group buying circuit.

There is no fate in the Chinese group buying a handle such ups and downs: the establishment of more than a year time to be able to obtain 3 rounds of 166 million dollars of financing, and then launched a vigorous listing plan, the final success, the fate of the downturn.

The whole 2012 was a dark time for the handle net: Sprint IPO plan complete failure, the company downsizing efficiency, founder Wu Retreat, the CFO Zhang Yi left the company, the advertising dropped significantly, more serious is the United States, the public comments group buying and other opponents seize the market share, handle from the market leader into a catch-up.

For a long time, the handle is a big injury, silently "deep healing", quiet in the market. The two-year group buying industry has changed the vicissitudes of the change, similar to 24 of securities such as group buying sites disappear, Baidu holding glutinous rice also mission to buy the industry into the "spell dad" era. Thankfully, the handle survived and remained at the forefront of the group buying circuit.

Handle is the classic story of Chinese internet start-up company. Rocket-like growth, but lack of fine management to handle the profound lessons. A top handle said that the current handle should be at each stage, each small cycle carefully repeat the strategy, including where the problem, solve what problems, achieve what kind of goal, avoid the setbacks of the earlier handle.

After the peak and trough, the two-year handle has undergone some adjustments, the most important task is to institutionalize the company to enhance operational efficiency. 2014 handle will enhance the level of service as the most important, and related to the development of management process optimization, operating security system and wireless product layout, to find a corner overtaking opportunities.

Handle past: lack of fine management

Once handle is group buying industry leaders, just 8 months 3 rounds of financing, the staff from dozens of people to expand rapidly to thousands of people, stationed in nearly 200 cities nationwide. But handle the original management lack of sufficient management experience, coupled with the early competition, we consider more innovation, go ahead and direction, not too much attention to the company's operations, for the follow-up development of hidden dangers.

Front handle staff to Tencent technology memories, in the most brilliant, handle set up "Bole Award", each successful recommendation of a person to join the handle, give a certain cash reward. But because of the need for expansion, for a long time, all the recommendations were almost never rejected, and a lot of people were waiting in line every day. Some grass-roots managers will be able to set the team's own pay.

There is no strict introduction of a perfect personnel management system, resulting in some people put their own interests above the interests of the company. And handle management is too busy to take into account. The core of the weekly executive meeting was "how many days from the IPO", a former handle said, to make a development plan. "The most typical is that profit is the core of the IPO data, the cost control method is to stop the promotion, layoffs, but the business does not care about the company's entire data, resulting in the loss of many customers." ”

Looking back, a top handle believes that the greater the company refined more important, always have to adjust weight, accounted for. The biggest lesson of the handle is that you can't obsessed feel that something is right and running, instead of really considering the problem. "This lesson is not to say a thing, but a business thinking, such as the company developed to a certain point, why there is a problem, before there is no consideration." When it came to the market, it was not the only target, and if everything else gave way to the sprint IPO, it would be problematic to do it around the IPO. ”

The senior figures pointed out that group buying developed too quickly, handle the management may not have time to fine management problems, in the handle each stage, each small cycle did not carry out the system, so that in the listed key nodes, the company any flaws may be unlimited amplification, and then also affect the overall listing plan, Lead to the handle.

And that's a big revelation to startups, a company that just started, the most important is the pursuit of market share, refinement is not likely, but run to a certain stage, refinement and scale is always the relationship between the rise, when the company developed to a certain scale, must be adjusted every 3 months or half a year, be sure to see the direction of real-time, comprehensive, Cannot pursue a single situation.

Of course, the timing of the listing was not ripe. The entire group buying industry appeared for a short time, the capital market for group buying understanding is not deep, then the capital environment than the second half of 2013, the IPO window is closed state. Groupon also did not go public purchase, in the state of burning money to break through the obstacles sprint IPO seems untimely.

Hit the brakes after the IPO failed

As happiness comes too soon, so does the adjustment. When GE endorsement of the net, full street outdoor advertising has not dissipated, the handle withdrew the IPO application. The handle began to suddenly "slam the brakes" in a fast lane.

This is also normal, capital tightening, handle the speed of burning money has been criticized. Handle nets in the second quarter of 2011 a quarterly loss of 172 million yuan, close to the quarterly revenue 5 times times. In the first half of 2011, handle net loss as high as 391 million yuan.

Some analysts joked that the handle is equivalent to burning 2.46 million of cash every day, earn back 287,000 cash (not to spend the change), daily net burn 2.173 million cash, if replaced by hundred dollar bills, a total of 21,730, about 32 kg. If let the child continue to burn money play, 3 seconds light a hundred dollar bills speed, handle burning money can day and night, has been burning for a year.

The frantic burning of money made the handle investors and the management team aware of the dangers. People familiar with the matter said that at the time the handle "slam on the brakes" is not a handle no money, but we see this dry, will certainly dry to one day no money, handle needs to change. Handle investors Zhu Yuhu also said, "We make mistakes the earliest, the mind quickly become sober, there is time to change." ”

Since then, the biggest change in handle is the entrepreneurial manager to replace the founder management company, Fine management became the creed. If the company institutionalized, the introduction of KPI assessment, sales team conduct sales behavior management, quantitative visit customers, contract number of businesses, monitor the quality of online lists, need to reflect the flow of water and so on, these handles in the first half of 2012 are very weak or not.

Handle began to return to a normal company, to set up a KPI for everyone, there are job responsibilities, there are assessment indicators, these clear, each person began to clarify the responsibilities of the company's process to comb, handle some business almost weekly adjustments. Handle hope to quickly change the operation of ideas, in the cost of reducing the situation to improve revenue, to do business.

A needle company's story in the handle is more respected: the needle company almost accounted for more than 50% of the world's market share, a needle may only earn 0.001 cents, slightly lax management may lose money. But just such a needle company, rely on fine management, but can be very good survival, this gives the group buying website especially handles very big revelation.

O2O brings fate

Any change will have a price, the handle is no exception. In the handle "slam the brakes" process, some management level exit, the personnel is lower than the peak, the market position is also surpassed. But now the handle is safer and more healthy than before.

A person familiar with the technology revealed to Tencent, handle staff adjustment began in 2011, by the beginning of 2012 has been gradually completed, in the second half of 2012 began to expand the city sales recruitment, enrich the front-line sales team. After all, handle development is the most important, each employee psychology has a steelyard, some inappropriate personnel leave also conducive to the healthy development of the company.

Handle has also encountered glutinous rice in the local site to dig horns, such as Guangdong, Anhui and other sites. However, in the view of these people, the long-term impact is not large, these people go, the business list is still on the handle online, the user is still in the handle purchase. For the handle, the most important thing is to quickly find the holder, on the one hand, from other regional support, on the other hand, local recruitment.

For the handle, the biggest impact is the loss of the industry's first position on the mentality of employees have an impact. The handle needs to have a healthy physique, and then return to the fierce competition in the environment, in the balance between scale and profit.

The intention of the handle is that in some cases market share will be weak, but may lose less, the company's overall development healthier, and the whole adjustment, then the scale to provide more services to more people. In the internal optimization of the staff at the same time, handle also to staff positive incentives, and unity of internal relations, handle also gradually restore the vitality of the past.

Current handle most of the sales from the catering and other local services, from the wireless side revenue accounted for the increase, the 2013-year performance of the basic turnover a year ago doubled. Handle also changed the new look, Beijing headquarters moved to Wangjing Motorola Building, from the original decentralized office to concentrate office, the new office than the original more stylish, to a certain extent, enhance the honor of the staff.

For the handle, the biggest good is finally farewell to the turbulence of the past, and ushered in a better era: with the rapid development of O2O and mobile Internet, once by the capital market "abandoned" group purchase site value again presented.

Baidu last August to 160 million U.S. dollars holding glutinous rice net, speed up Baidu map and glutinous rice net fusion. The move marks an increase in Baidu's investment in the O2O sector. Handle people point out that the most bad way to handle is sold to the Giants, but also can change a better future. In fact, "spell dad" is just the label, it is difficult to imagine the "dad" to "children" care, more crucially, independent group buying company is not lack of glutinous rice network and other resources, everyone's resource pool is not much different.

Of course, the current handle is most important, with the help of O2O good time to further enhance operational efficiency, increase market share, gradually achieve break-even, according to insiders revealed that the handle is approaching this goal.