One per day, limit the number of seconds to kill

Super low price, Rob! These scenes, often found in store discounts, are now appearing on group-buying sites, and users are snapping up products or services such as food, SPA, hairdressing, etc., which are launched daily on the site. After the success of the US Groupon website, similar group buying sites began to appear in China, and were prairie in early 2010.

Entrepreneur Business Card Fang, Shanghai People, formerly as McKinsey Consulting Co., Ltd. analyst, March 15, 2010 Venture, Cool group online line.

Run mode

One per day, limit the number of seconds to kill

Fang Frankly cool group NET is copy American groupon.com. In the 2009, Fang focused on Groupon's model and the concept of group buying for services. "The consumer industry is the country's future development direction." In China's low-value high-frequency Group buying market, this model should be very space. "At present, cool network in Shanghai to promote, is actively preparing to enter the second city."

Cool Group Network launched a single daily boutique consumption, involved in the field across the training courses, outdoor activities, food and beverage services. Users interested in buying can click to buy the button, in a limited time enough to scrape the minimum number, you can enjoy the group purchase price, and by downloading, printing, send SMS and so on to obtain coupons, use coupons for consumption. Most of the internet is 40 percent-60 percent of the price, some even 10 percent. This is an exciting opportunity, but if you want it, you have to get enough.

Compare the Business-to-consumer Web site

Subtract on the shopping flow

"It's easy and fun to shop online." "Fang said that the cool group net removed the previous shopping website rich product choice and the complex product display, and removed the relatively complex business website shopping flow. For example, in Taobao, when you want to shop, first to search or according to the navigation classification to filter products, for selection or comparison, surrounded by a variety of fancy related recommendations, rankings. Cool Group network provides only one product or service per day. "We're doing subtraction, it's reducing the amount of information, simplifying the process, and as the amount of information consumers need to read is reduced, the time that consumers use to make decisions and the time to do shopping is greatly shortened, which can greatly increase the efficiency of the purchase and also the efficiency of the site sales." ”

Increase viscosity

Consumers don't know what to sell tomorrow

Consumers who log on to cool networks every day will be curious: what is there to sell today? A product only stays for one day, and this day only sells this item. The obvious countdown on the page tells the user not to start the opportunity.

Fang said the countdown can lead to a time of urgency and the pressure of trading failure, resulting in rapid purchase decisions, which is a way of affecting the subconscious of consumers. and the number of group buy the design of the bottom line, so that individuals to create their own collective feeling. In order not to invalidate the deal, customers may immediately seek out other buyers to increase their chances of success, which leads to a spontaneous word-of-mouth spread by consumers. "These designs, can let the user play the heart to be big, each time is willing to go to the website to see what it sells today, and recommends to the friend, this is also increases the website stickiness, increases the customer the duplicate purchase rate the method." ”

Development bottlenecks

Product not standardized

Reporter learned that at present, there are dozens of similar websites in Beijing, Qingdao and other cities. For homogenization of competitive pressure, Fang said, entry threshold is low, easy to be copied, etc. is indeed a problem.

He believes that the key to success is the choice of business: "The biggest problem in the service industry is that the product is not standardized, the quality difference." Grasp the quality of merchants in order to win the hearts of users. Business resources to grasp the most critical, can increase the user's stickiness on the platform, quality is more important than the low price. ”

Another point that Fang emphasizes is the choice of service goods and the form in which they appear. "Lifestyle thinking is the basis for choosing a service product." The site needs to guide or conform to the consumer's lifestyle and help them find the right product. "It is also a test for entrepreneurs to have a product that is most appealing to consumers while guaranteeing the profits of businesses," he said. Because some businesses have high profits, some profit is low, no way to standardize, in product design needs to put a lot of thinking.

The idle cost of the merchant is filled with meager profit

For questions

Note: I heard that Groupon's profit is 30% of sales, plus the price is usually a few discount, why do businessmen willing to accept this form?

Side: Like restaurants, spas, training institutions, the cost is mostly fixed, the change is the time cost, idle time than to fill it with meager profit. What's more, if the number of the final enrollment did not meet the expectations of the business, Groupon will be on the website for free to do 24 hours of advertising, for businesses, the worst case is a lack of profit and yell of the transaction, compared to traditional advertising mode, this way to save a lot of costs.

Remember: How to let consumers believe that the site provides products and services?

Side: The website provides the user on-line discussion function, the current already actually buys the number, the history each time buys the product and the activity content and so on, these user's message text and the historical transaction data and the content, is uses to further strengthen the user's purchase confidence. In addition, the site sales of products or services are familiar with the business in Shanghai, we all have a certain understanding.

Remember: In the face of the rapid emergence of similar sites, how to ensure the advantages?

Fang: We know more about Shanghai market. Facing competition, will maintain its own style, walk with a lifestyle guide to the boutique service route. I think the group buying site will eventually be differentiated, such as now concentrated in the service industry, in the future may be in the vertical industry more features. In addition, in different cities, it is possible to eventually form a site in a city has a comparative advantage, but will not fully present a single big pattern.

Remember: What problems have you encountered in business?

Fang: First of all, for the user to talk about the lack of marketing channels, the need for a certain period of time, is still mainly through word-of-mouth transmission; second, profit margins are not up to Groupon, and any Chinese group buying site is currently less than 30% per cent.

Subdivision is also a choice

Professional reviews

Zuking, CEO of China Venture Portal

A few years ago, the United States had a YouTube, China for a time appeared nearly 200 video sites, the United States out of a Facebook, China, there are at least more than 40 SNS class sites, after Twitter, several major portals have launched micro-blogging; According to incomplete statistics, in the one months before and after March 2010, China has emerged from a number of highly similar group buying sites, the new Hundred "Regiment" war began.

So these sites are faced with the same problems: how to reveal themselves in similar sites, how to do a solid service and operation, do not quickly occupy a large number of cities, how to occupy? How to quickly promote yourself, let yourself well-known, there are enough "subscribers"?

Another problem is how to make services and operations solid. If you choose to shop carelessly, a group purchase has 400 buyers, but because did not coordinate with the merchant, 400 group Buy to queue "collect" the service that buys, the merchant's service does not keep up, there are many loophole link, lead to the experience of the group buyer is very bad, this way, the popularity that accumulates may soon be in "bad comment" Disappeared. Customer service after a transaction is critical.

Group Buy network space from the value chain analysis, seems to be infinite, because the merchant too much, according to Groupon business model, if a city one day only buy a product, it is clear that only 365 businesses can participate in a year. Does that mean that in China, the group buying network can have a certain number of sites and have a good time? Or is subdivision a choice? For example, to make food (catering) group purchase, to do beauty purchase, dedicated to do a healthy group purchase. Another example of a city subdivided into a few small communities, the various communities have different group buying and so on.

Groupon.com's pioneering "A Brief History"

Link

November 2008, officially online in the United States

June 2009, the number of employees reached 126 people;

2009, won Accel Partners3000 million dollar venture capital

At the beginning of 2010, revenue for the year is expected to reach 50 million dollars

April 2010, 135 million dollar venture capital of Russian investment company

At the end of 2010, plans cover 100 cities across the United States. Groupon currently registers 3 million people and manages about 40 markets. Since November 2008, the total amount of merchandise sold through the website has reached 3 million pieces.