Map Industry: Platform is a big pit

Recently, the map industry, Baidu launched Openmap plan to tighten the net developers, Gold recently released the third quarter earnings IPO after the first loss. The Internet map is an important O2O portal for mobile Internet, which can be seen as the competition intensity. The author to slightly read:

Platform is a big pit.

First, we analyze the reason for the first loss of the gold, many layman analysts are generally thought to be the result of the gold free strategy. He also tried to steer public opinion in this direction, claiming that he had lost today and won tomorrow. In fact, we can see from the following earnings, the biggest reason for the loss is the development and marketing costs, rather than car navigation and mobile navigation and other revenue decline.

The development and marketing costs are soaring because of the open platform and the O2O battle between the German and Baidu wrestling. This year, the gold and Baidu infighting, in the layout of the platform to stride forward, from other map vendors to dig people, to promote their own open platform, and sponsored or held a number of open platform for their own meetings, with Baidu on the front of the battlefield directly fighting.

But now, it seems, the platform of the gold only a small step, in the Baidu map aloft high lay, whether the success is difficult to say. In my opinion, the platform is not only a strategic battle, but also a need to invest in real gold and silver strength competition, the two sides are still increasing the layout of the platform, in the O2O did not succeed, Baidu map and gold must face is a loss. If Baidu map has earnings, I believe it is better than Gould. And the author predicts the next earnings quarter, Gould still cannot make a loss, in the platform of the war, sales and marketing costs will remain high.

In the open platform of this matter, the gold is a bit Toda, can also be understood as the market-pleasing move.

Map O2O or Phantom

Let's take a look at both Baidu and Gould's map O2O. At present, it seems that Baidu is more complete on the O2O, by virtue of its strong financial strength, around the map O2O, has launched a Baidu tourism, Baidu Group purchase and other map-related products, and its launch of the OPENMAP program is also through netting developers to improve its O2O ecological chain. But Baidu is still not published Baidu map of any data on the revenue, want to volume is relatively small. The reality is, user habits have yet to be cultivated, group buying and online travel and other professional sites are still netizens O2O consumer preferences.

And Gould's O2O approach is to work with the cat, through the double 11, do Taobao line store business, how the effect is not known, but to the author's own test, this approach is not feasible, the user through the map navigation app to offline business consumption, with the cat online selling goods is completely different, This is entirely a hard set of raw, hard to O2O the concept of rely on, it seems a bit ridiculous, more inconsistent with the user's normal consumption logic.

I would like to say that O2O is a big trend, the general will come, map manufacturers can do should be homeopathy, rather than playing the concept of switching.

Personalized service or breakthrough

The platform is like Baidu such giants play, other map manufacturers can completely alternative, to a micro-innovation, may find another breakthrough. Recently, the author is also thinking, in addition to building a platform to engage in O2O, other manufacturers are not also able to try other ways, in personalized service this piece to find a breakthrough. For example, foreign crowdsourcing map manufacturers Waze recently launched the celebrity Navigation, is a good inspiration for the industry.

Of course, this is only the author's wishful thinking. Specifically how to find the breakthrough of personalized service, but also to see the map manufacturers specific strategic layout and actual situation.

Author Micro-Credit public number: RELYPR