Micro-Union: the establishment of a year, valuation 300 million, why such a cock?

Intermediary transaction SEO diagnosis Taobao guest Cloud host technology Hall

Earlier, the Weimob had just completed a wave of 30 million of the financing and announced a 300 million valuation. By the tiger-sniffing invitation, I went to the Micro-Alliance headquarters in Shanghai to talk to their CEO, Tao, about the micro-union.

Because it is also involved in micro-marketing consulting and business services, but also a little understanding of micro-letter Third-party Services, a word to describe the market is "disorderly."

The number of such projects in the market is not at all. In this field to make a use of things, the development of technology is not very difficult. Do website development, 10 days and half a month can be able to play out a look of the package out. More direct, some marketing companies, to climb the last tyrants customer demand, outsourcing development to find customers to pay, and then bid a price, sell more sets are profit. In the environment where everyone wants a piece of soup, it is not so easy to sink down to make a good product.

According to the micro-alliance, they are currently the largest Third-party micro-credit service providers, which in the micro-marketing of small partners in the circle is still basically agreed. What makes the micro-alliance stand out in such a chaotic market? After this conversation, I got a little bit of a sense of the logic behind the rapid development of the AU. This is more interesting to me than the micro-union product, from an entrepreneur's point of view.

Wide applicability of the industry

Tao said, "We always think of micro-letters as the best user channel." This sentence basically summarizes the development concept of the whole product of the micro-union.

As far as I am concerned, since most of my clients come from the Internet or the electricity business, most of them have a clear ROI requirement when they ask me questions about the operation of the micro-trust, so I will basically recommend the White Jay's pocket pass.

The pocket Pass is the General Electric business Domain's franchise project, the so-called ordinary electricity merchant mainly refers to the electricity merchant. In the establishment of micro-credit shop, data management, payment of orders and other issues related to the electrical business, Pocket Pass is quite professional, can make the electricity commercial very comfortable. I am personally more familiar with the pocket pass. Plus the popularity and reputation of the white Jay in the Internet circle. Besides, the pocket Pass is free for the time being. Unless I am an agent of other third party products, I have no reason to recommend products other than Pocket pass. However, the service capacity of the pocket-pass is limited to the field of electricity quotient, not to mention other areas, even if it belongs to the field of electric business, but the service flow and the General Electric trader have different projects, such as C2B or O2O, the pocket pass can not fit the unique requirement of this project.

Look at the micro-union. After the public account is bound to the micro-union, you can see more than 20 functional modules, which I have roughly divided into five categories:

The first category is the display module. For example, "micro official website", "360 panorama" and so on, you can let customers on the public platform to show their own corporate identity or other information, similar to a web1.0 Web site, but he is based on the micro-letter terminal.

The second category is the industry scheme module, such as "micro-catering", "micro-medical", "micro-real Estate", "micro-car," "micro-Hotel", "micro-shun Wang shop" and so on, look at the name can be clearly seen that these modules are specific industries. Generally the solution developed to meet the general needs of these industries. Take catering as an example, the majority of merchants share some of the needs, such as store information display, menu, online booking, called takeout functions, can be met within the framework of the micro-union.

The third type is the event module, for example, "booking registration", "micro-invitation", "micro-survey", "micro-group purchase", "micro-credit card", "micro-union payment" and so on, these modules provide a number of common requirements of the function, so that users can be through the micro-trust public platform to complete

The fourth category is the management module, such as "Fan management", "Data Cube", "Store Management", "permission system" and so on, is to facilitate the operation of micro-trust platform for efficient management of the function.

The fifth category is the marketing module, such as "micro-activity" and "micro-beat", and so on, is generally to help the operators of public platforms for user marketing, and provide some entertainment features. This classification is not very accurate, some features such as "micro-au-wifi", where it seems not appropriate to plug. This is not an official claim. It's just a general description of what I've done to make it easier for you readers to understand the entire product shape of the alliance.

An electric business franchise, a total industry-wide; a positioning of sales channels, a positioning communication channels. Take the micro-union and pocket through a comparison, will feel that their two are not on a parallel line.

In fact, the pocket pass and the micro-Union can also represent the micro-credit Third-party service providers of two development models. One is a specialized industry, in one area to do the strongest, such as pocket Pass and car business pass. The other is a highly adaptable platform for anyone who can use it, such as the micro-union. While the latter may not have an advantage in the franchise competition, it is clear that the potential customer base will be much larger and that love will be more likely to form a scale effect.

In addition, although wide and fine for the time being two directions, but Tao has made it clear that the next step will be part of the industry to do deep, such as more CRM and ERP through and so on. So, the time to occupy the open space to rely on the army, now the encounter to rely on military essence, the times is changing ...

Easy to work for beginner

Tao said that for businesses, micro-credit marketing There are several stages, now most of the merchants are still touching the stage of the stone, so the AU provides more suitable for their current needs of the function.

Indeed, the product of the micro-Union has a feature that is relatively easy to get started. This is not to say that he has an advantage in interaction. Although compared with the screenshots of some other generic products, it seems that the AU has done well, but there are plenty of places to spit. For example, in the naming of functional modules, many names are either too popular or too esoteric to understand immediately. When used in the background, it will be a little bit unclear. Some modules are applied in a way that is not well presented for example.

The use of this, refers to those who do not have access to micro-credit marketing beginner customers, can be based on their own needs, through the different functional modules of the micro-alliance to gradually understand the micro-credit marketing. For instance, a restaurant owner who has been fooled into micro-credit marketing by various experts has not been prepared to play the micro-letter, and has no more understanding of the characteristics of the platform. But if he uses the micro-League, he can at least find a functional module that suits his industry, creating a common account in the usual way. Of course, this public account may not be the most suitable for his business, but he is generally not confused to have no clue. Feel the interaction is not enough, you can add a "little yellow chicken Answer" in (although I think this function from a practical point of view is completely redundant), I think there are too few fans to get a hit on a golden egg or a big turntable (although the lottery design on the micro-letter has to make a good effect is quite difficult). In short, even if do not understand, the micro-union modules are tossing over, pay a little tuition fees can also be in the heart of micro-letter operation has a rough outline.

As for the pocket pass, it is not that he has a low degree of access. Pocket Pass can provide more freedom, the electrical business of various management needs refinement, for experienced people, play natural more. But without the experience of Amoy electric dealers, no experience in data analysis, no professional operators, or a novice, the gap between the pocket and the micro-union will enlarge.

Due to a number of electric dealers in Taobao after years of baptism, to the micro-letter, opened up for several kilometers. Outside the field of electrical business, do not care whether you are seabed fishing or Sha County snacks, at most is just a year or so earlier than others, really want to say that everyone belongs to the O2O new players. Such a degree of proficiency with the traditional industry to the low degree of internet, and further play the advantages of the micro-union.

The first advantage on the trend line

Few TOB projects, especially SaaS-type services, have a strong explosive force such as the Micro-alliance. Even in the era of Sina Weibo's heyday, micro-chih were not so explosive. Such extraordinary explosive force, micro-credit marketing is the rapid rise of the micro-alliance and the first advantage of the combination of the effect of the two.

The micro-union is the first group to set foot in the micro-letter Third-party services, of course, is also a better product at that stage. Although the project to take care of the micro-credit third party services is starting this year, but also through various channels to continue to learn some of these projects. Impression in the third quarter of last year, micro-credit marketing has been quite hot, that time seemingly received a lot of inquiries, all kinds of micro-credit Third-party service platform began to emerge. So if the micro-union is three months late, it will be difficult to achieve the current scale.

At that time, the industry is probably in the Bronze Age of micro-credit marketing, the main contradiction is the contradiction between party A's growing micro-credit public platform operation Demand and party B's backward productivity. On the one hand, micro-credit marketing tide rolling in. On the other hand, few people know what micro-credit marketing should do. The first wave of bubbles has been punctured, Durex did a good job on Weibo, but in micro-letters, a little bit of the interaction of marketing people can see a case of packaging products.

The emergence of the micro-union is precisely the time, with his "big turntable" shiny debut, in the Dark shot a ray of light ...

I do not want to say too much about the first advantage, it is a matter of vision and determination. If your vision and determination are OK, see if the industry is really flying as you expect. The more the first advantage in the outbreak of the industry is more obvious, look at that year's Thousand-Regiment war, now the remaining three independent group purchase site, handle, litters, are the first group to set up in March 2010.

It must be admitted that Tao's judgment of trends and mastery of product entry points are both very good. In my case, at least in the middle of last year, I have started to involve some of the micro-credit marketing business, and I have given a little thought to the development of micro-credit, but not too optimistic about micro-credit marketing. As a result this year, it is not the focus of the business from micro-bo to micro-letter, their own face.

Agent mode to establish strong channel advantage

The last point, in my view is actually the most crucial point, but also really for the micro-union to lay the victory, is the micro-union channel sales model. From an entrepreneur's point of view, this is probably the greatest value the micro-union has left the entire Internet circle, enough for future entrepreneurs to look at the role of the channel.

I have contacted a lot of Shanghai Tob Internet projects, such as teambition, fast enough, seven cows, ucloud, very few rely on Agent mode expansion. See, many internet companies seem to have a natural rejection of offline channels. To exclude the emotional part of the excess of self-awareness, only to talk about the rational factors.

One, relying on the promotion of agents, is not a good copy mode, the share of each region will be limited by the sales agent capacity;

Both, internet companies tend to be very basic, too dependent agents may worry about in the future by the channel hostage;

Three, many Internet projects are free or low-cost mode, and the distribution of benefits between the agents are not good coordination, development agents have difficulties.

The micro-union is a very small company that embraces the agents quite thoroughly and gets a very good result. A general analysis of the micro-union agent model.

1, the micro-alliance agents, a total of hundreds of, these agents in general by geographical division.

2, in each province, the city, the area, all uses does not set the general agent, by the flat way carries on the management.

3, Shanghai is a special case, because the headquarters in Shanghai's relationship, the basic use of direct marketing model, do not set up agents.

4, in a similar Beijing such a super first-tier city, agents can be as many as 10. Ordinary prefecture-level cities, there are probably 2~3 agents.

5, the agent has a total of 3 levels, from top to bottom is the diamond generation (core agent), Gold generation, silver generation (separated), high-quality agents can get more than the micro-union's own income.

6, the diamond generation per month can digest the sales of about 500,000 ~100 million.

In fact, in the beginning, the micro-union is also a simple direct marketing model. But in actual sales, Tao found feedback over the consultation is a large part of their inquiries about agents. Since there are so many friends willing to sit in the same boat, then we can make money together. Then began to try some agency cooperation, and further development for a wide range of agency cooperation. I guess at that time many clients of the AU may have been party B's PR, advertising, marketing, consulting company.

The micro-alliance design of this flat proxy model is also due to the second and third reasons mentioned above. On the one hand, if authorized to the regional general generation, but the total generation does not give force, that basically in the authorization period of the city's business will not be. On the other hand, it can also make the agents compete and check and balance.

The eruption of the AU should begin with a large-scale application of proxy mode. A diamond generation can contribute 500,000 of the monthly sales, and even some agents dare to take 1 million of the sales, such sales efficiency, of course, higher than the micro-union's own sales efficiency, but also naturally higher than many other Third-party micro-trust service efficiency. and the micro-alliance in the mode of a very preferential agent, so for the agent to sell the micro-union is a good business, which makes high-quality agents continuously for the micro-union blood transfusion. It is hard to imagine that a technology-led company has won the business segment.

Do the Internet products stress standardization, standardization also contains the meaning of standardized pricing. Many internet projects are accustomed to erecting low or even free banners. It is standard pricing and low price, which makes the profit space of the whole project much smaller. In fact, think back, is not because of their own sales capacity is not strong enough to lead to lower sales pricing results? But such pricing, but also lead to more difficult and strong sales capacity of the channel cooperation, into a no sales and no profit dilemma. This time, is not a change of ideas will be better.

At the beginning of its creation, the micro-union was not a strong channel. Its products hit the market demand, the agent automatically attracted over. If the AU can, then some of our TOB projects do have its advantages and selling points, is it necessary to put low price direct sales as the only way out?

To add that, the AU has since the beginning of this year to gradually change the agency model, intends to nurture 30 Tens regional total generation, and the original agent to the General Administration. Tie the big agent to the same ship, the micro-Union is gradually no longer worried about the risk of the channel.

A word summary

Good products hit in good time, find a gang of brothers to help sell, so the micro-union not bad.

Also want to add a sentence, if you want to further understand the words, you can directly to the station of the author @suntaoyong questions, it is Tao Yong's vest ...

PS: The author of this article Bepo network (bepo.me) founder, micro-signal: Redyzhu. Bepo network is still in the sealing period, welcomed the following categories of people to add micro-letter Exchange: 1, Internet practitioners. 2. Investment person. 3. Product Manager. 4, fat men and men thin.