Talking about the profit model and future development of O2O industry through the rise and fall of group buying website

Intermediary transaction SEO diagnosis Taobao guest Cloud host technology Hall

O2O is a concept of the rise of the electrical business industry in recent years, O2O (online to Offline and Offline to online) are divided into two kinds, one is to bring consumers from the line to the offline consumption, one is to bring the offline groups to the online consumption, The author of the previous venture is a project that belongs to the latter. That is, the positioning of the two or three-line city, for the main line of consumer groups to sell local brands do not have the brand products, in order to establish a business in the bustling community experience shop model to achieve sales services. It is similar to the British Argos E-business model, which has been successful in the UK. But today I want to discuss the first kind of O2O is to bring online consumers to the real store-to pay the goods and services under the purchase line, and then to the line to enjoy the service. At present more than the fire of group buying, is a O2O mode.

In fact, O2O is one of the earliest electric business models in China, the model of Ctrip is a typical O2O mode, but he only realizes the information flow, the fund flow and the service is realizes under the line, can say is one kind of phased pattern, O2O finally needs to realize the information flow and the fund flow on-line realization, the commercial flow and the service on-line realizes.

At present, everyone in the market is familiar with the group buying mode, the public comments network, 58 with the city (classification site), love help, Word-of-mouth network localization Search these belong to the O2O mode.

I want to talk about group buying first, as we all know, the ancestors of group buying is Groupon in America. Originated in November 2008, with its simple profit model, a short period of 7 months to achieve profitability, the establishment of a year has a net income of 50 million dollars, 2009 years more than 100 million U.S. dollars, 2010 years more than 400 million dollars, to the third quarter of this year, Groupon revenue was 430 million dollars in 2011 3, up 426% per cent year-on-year, and was successfully listed in Lasdark this November 4. Groupon, in an interview with Forbes, said its goal was to "reach 1 billion dollars earlier than any other form of sales in history, and he did."

Group purchase because of the simple mode, around the world crazy follow-up imitation, group buying sites do not include China has more than thousands of times, China's more outrageous peak of the time to buy more than 5,000 sites, each group purchase site surprisingly recruit, in the market hand-to-hand combat, the capital market is also seize this opportunity, crazy investment, according to Analysys International statistics, 2010 China Network Group buy a total of 13 financing, involving 9 group purchase sites, financing of nearly 700 million yuan, including handle Nets, F Regiment, full, ah-ya Regiment, Cool Regiment, the United States and other well-known sites accumulated to invest tens of millions of yuan level.

As capital intervened, group buying began to expand wildly, and in just a year, the company quickly expanded from dozens of to thousands of people, with branches all over the country's main one or two-line and major cities, especially since Groupon entered China this year, adding to the competition for talent. According to handle network marketing director Zheng said the company many mid-level and salesman have been in the company received Groupon search company recruitment phone, given the conditions are very attractive, "as long as the handle network staff, 2 hours can sign labor contract, salary level is said to be higher than 20%."

China group buy Overall market performance is also rising, from the beginning of 2, 300,000,001 months to August has exceeded 1 billion. But the next message for the group buying model to question, first of all, a group buying site began to send out layoffs news, especially Groupon China Partners high Friends, in just a few months from the crazy digging angle to layoffs, like Sichuan opera face, changeable, the next large number of group buying collapse, arrears of business loans, High-friends selling fake form, McDonald's time, the handle network also spread the cancellation of the IPO.

What happened to the group buying site? Is it really a pattern problem or is the industry growing too fast?

Personal opinion, there are several factors that lead to the current dilemma of group buying industry:

First, the profit model is simple, not too big threshold: The System program of group purchase website hundreds of dollars can be done online. Such a low threshold of intervention, so that many entrepreneurs passionate, swarming, in China on the ground staged a day dozens of group buying site, so that everyone together to buy the concept of the market is really good, but the consequences are terrible.

Second, positioning is not clear: the original position is the landlord, do is a farmer's business, group purchase needs to serve two types of customers, a class is a merchant, a consumer, as a third-party platform, should be done is to build a mutual trust, organic business environment to establish an orderly business order for Merchants to act in an opera, but we are Taibaodalan, What all do, the merchant instead became Shang, look at the side of the lively, this is not valid business logic, in an effective and reasonable business society, we all need to clear their positioning, that is, to play their own advantages, to form an orderly development.

Third, the development is too fast: to get the investment of group buying under market competition and investors pressure, crazy expansion, just one year branch bloom the country, everyone applauded, I had biological experience a start-up 6 years time branch to 70, the national team of more than 6000 people, I know very well, this rapid expansion of the consequences of what , due to the management problems caused by rapid expansion, process issues, corporate culture, employee sense of belonging, the establishment of talent mechanism, etc., I believe that only these group purchase site themselves, if the internal are not smooth, talk about how to give customers a good user experience, talk about what good faith mechanism, talk about what employee loyalty, if a mechanism, process, Sound corporate culture, a group of cohesion of the company, how can be simply by 20% of the salary of the team to be easily dug away, do not believe that you dug Alibaba employees try.

Four, group buying mode is actually guerrilla warfare, changing products and brands every day: The only reason consumers buy is cheap, and casual, not to mention customers stickiness, there is a suitable stickiness, no to other group buying, this guerrilla warfare practices, how may retain customers, Mao Zedong that was a guerrilla warfare that is also expedient, In the end, we still need warfare. Only the position station can really occupy the site to form its own base, in order to establish a perfect service system, really retain customers, that is, you have to root, why a good deal of group buy can be healthy development, the key is that he has the soil of Taobao, leaving Taobao the same does not work, to put it bluntly, buy can only be a promotional means, Instead of becoming a mainstream business model, unless you change the operating rules of current group buying.

Five, the lack of credit mechanism: the site of the purchase of the shop How to come, are sales representatives one by one call pulled over, many merchants at first did not know is how, confusedly came in, there is no long-term service plan, just know to bring the source on, I have a buy a pot of food coupons, The introduction of the website is very cost-effective, very attractive, bought, and so on to spend to know fooled, place is very biased, the key is to come up on the food is not so, the weight of the poor, said to be two people, I am not enough, to find the waiter theory, on one word, we are such, no language, because of the randomness of group buying, Consumers can not evaluate the behavior of the merchant, the Merchant of course is able to cheat once, who will make the long-term plan? Taobao's credit mechanism is doing a good job, which is one of the core mechanisms for the development of Taobao. With such a credit rating system, the merchant will pay for every mistake, losing the future, which he must consider.

Six, the business implementation cycle is long, consumer randomness is bigger: group buying general consumption cycle in one months or so, as long as in one months when to spend all can, such a cycle for consumers is indeed better, the choice of space is relatively large, but it brings another problem, consumer spending time concept is not strong without a sense of urgency , arbitrary, so it is difficult to live this consumer behavior, day-to-day. Can not form a continuous consumption, it is difficult to form a large market.

Seven, the capital also played a role in fuelling: the investment of venture capital, indeed for the group buying industry has provided enough impetus, can say that there is no capital intervention, the entire group purchase and even the Internet industry development at least 5 years lag. He accelerates the industry and accelerates the industry's shuffle, as the hangover from excessive competition is evident, sometimes devastating to the development of the industry, like China's high-speed rail.

Therefore, the long-term development of group buying site must be transformed, which is why the handle will open handle mall. Litters Group announced the launch of "55 Living City", the network launched the auction site "greedy", 24 coupons open "Boutique mall" and so on the entire group buying industry has set off a transformation of the trend, I think it is not a bad thing.

In addition, the public comment on the network is only to stay in the evaluation level, because the evaluation is not too restrictive, in fact, the viewer is also not clear to consumers, businesses themselves or competitors, I personally think that there is no consumer experience as a constraint of the comments are meaningless, and finally will only become a merchant and competitors attack each other platform.

Then look at the 58 city, net, no matter how it looks like the yellow pages, I really do not know how much value these can bring to consumers, and do not say how accurate the information is. Life Service Classification information platform The biggest problem is to solve the problem of accuracy of information, the author has used this net, contact some business, several telephone past some is empty number, some say wrong, and some have been transformed not to do. I think it's enough for this one experience, I don't know how valuable this platform is, and the slogan says "... ". I can only be silent. To be completely accurate, unless the classification site employs a large number of people every day to verify information for each merchant, even if it is not possible to completely solve the problem of information accuracy. If the information is not accurate, then this model has no meaning, not to mention the value.

Having said so much, what kind of O2O should it be? What kind of model is likely to take root in this market.

First, the question of positioning: Did I talk about being a farmer or a landlord? This is the strategic positioning, this positioning directly determines how far you can go, what level of support to the market scale, in the electrical industry, Beijing east is to do farmers, Taobao is to do the landlord, I am not to belittle the farmers (in fact, I was also born farmers), farmers rely on farming for a living Earn is the farming after the sale of food profits, landlords are relying on rent to make money, earn very easy, and also prices (Taobao Mall event is an example), you still take him no way, to land you must also be in his lease. Because he has a high yield.

Life Class O2O If you want to use the model of farmers, I think there is no, but also exhausted people do not die, the current group purchase, classification sites are not all farmers do? Merchants need to pull themselves, not easy to pull up, information, art still have to deal with their own, do business is very good, do not worry about, what are you have done, I will wait for guests to come, The business is not responsible for the problem, all of you do ah, whatever I do, the world has such a good thing.

If you want to solve this problem, you can only be a landlord, why? Because you have no pot of material ah, unless you like 7 days chain hotel, have their own huge chain hotel, otherwise, it is impossible, and the merchant must become farmers, such an ecosystem is healthy, you can not be a landlord, and do farmers ah, There is no such a stupid landlord in the world. This point also has to admire Ma Yun, Jack Ma before doing Alibaba, insist on enterprise customers to build the mall, you do not understand I can teach you, but you have to do it yourself, this is the rules, their roles are not the same, focus on the direction is not the same.

Only in this way can fully mobilize the enthusiasm of the merchant, they in order to pull customers, each surprisingly recruit, do not need you worry about, what promotion, promotion will, you only need to establish rules, do a good job of the overall platform operation, which is why Deng Xiaoping to the field to households. The development of modern China cannot be separated from the contribution of the field to the household. So as long as the model is right, the road is right, the other is good to solve, which is called choice greater than efforts.

Second, the product consumption time must be locked, but also to allow consumers to form a day of meals consumption habits: I said on Weibo, life class O2O is currently the only market in the field of super power, the next 5 years will certainly be born with Taobao, and even more than Taobao super power, in the end O2O market how big, "Average online shoppers spend about 1000 dollars a year, and if average Americans earn 40,000 dollars a year, where are the remaining 39000 dollars," according to US data. The answer is that most are consumed locally, and people spend money on coffee shops, bars, gyms, restaurants, gas stations, plumbers, Dry cleaners and hair salons. "O2O's mission is to put the effectiveness of e-commerce into the current consumption of more than 90% of the proportion of the part."

But to activate the market, you have to let online consumption live, the formation of new consumption habits and consumption of fashion, to let consumers come up every day, the morning to eat something, with who eat, the afternoon to eat something to eat with who, and then go to where happy, weekend, think about where to relax, The surrounding farm music may be a good place. So Life class O2O online consumption must lock time, which is no different from the line, our daily order is not a specific day, noon or afternoon, a few tables, are very specific, online should be the same, rather than now to buy a time interval, there are several online tourism e-commerce, like donkey mother, leisurely, The Bulls have a good try, and they all get the investment.

Third, online payments must be achieved: I always think that there is no online experience, there is no online payment, to talk about the site's stickiness is in vain, consumption is a very rigorous thing, only really paid, consumer experience will be profound, it is possible to form consumption habits.

Four, to achieve a variety of orders under the way: the consumption of life is not the same, there are diverse needs, positioning, booking, ordering, ordering, and so on, the platform needs to combine the reference line service model, the need to achieve a variety of ordering methods, and can not be as simple as product supply and demand, and sometimes need to create new Order mode, such as positioning, a table dishes 400 yuan, 8 people, 50 yuan per person, you can set a bit can also set multiple bits, or even set a table, their own choice, these ways can be tried.

Five, establish the credit mechanism: buy, classify, evaluation of the site did not solve the problem, the evaluation class tried to solve, but if there is no actual consumption based on the evaluation is questionable, group buying, classification, not to mention, is almost blank, this point Taobao has made us a successful example, can be used for reference. Only on the basis of establishing the credit mechanism and system, we can talk about the service, talk about the orderly competition, talk about the business environment, the kind of hope that the power of the moral change all this, basically is nonsense.

Social, need to find sufficient reason for consumers: according to Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, the human needs are divided into five levels, the most basic is the physical and security needs, in order to meet this level of demand, there will be emotional and ownership needs, respect for demand, self-realization of the needs. At present, with the improvement of people's living water, physiological and safety problems have been basically solved, which requires us to design products in the need to meet the needs of consumers higher levels of demand, social needs, which is why the SNS, Weibo development so fast for the reasons.

At social level, O2O has a natural advantage because he's landed, we can totally put the online social network real, this experience I think is now purely online social difficult to achieve, that is, consumers not only value the quality of products, sometimes may be because of the mind that she (he). But know her (he) but do not need extra cost, when the consumption of natural realization. This is how social marketing works. Imagine you spend 50 yuan not only can enjoy a meal, but also can know the heart of her (he), you will hesitate?

Seven, mobile, mobile phone orders will become the normal: this is the future of the biggest trend of the electricity quotient, in the future evaluation of the value of the platform, the need to add a mobile phone terminal application download and usage.

VIII, must establish a competition threshold: the biggest risk is no threshold or low threshold, then how to establish the threshold of competition? The threshold establishes the core in the resource, namely merchant. How to establish exclusive cooperation with the Merchant is worthy of our research. Say difficult, say simple is actually very simple, as long as can the Merchant line all order meal, point meal channel integration together, form a closed loop, so that competitors inorganic can multiply, to do this, if you have enough traffic, orders.

Recently, many things happened to the electric dealer, first Bi Sheng sing decline e-commerce, then a lot of electrical appliances merchants closed down, call HA network employees in the home page for salary, where the customer was the internal staff of the explosion, all this is indicative of the future of E-commerce road doomed bumpy, difficult not afraid, afraid do not know where the opportunity, setbacks not afraid, as long as our road is right.

Consumers need a social life platform that can be ordered online in real time, and businesses need a way to meet their daily and ongoing on-line distribution, and society needs a faster, more convenient line of eco-entertainment. O2O is currently the only organic power in the field of electricity business, the next five years will be born with Taobao and even more than Taobao aircraft carrier, to tell the truth do not want to be Taobao, if all Taobao eat, it is not necessarily a good thing for consumers. Recently have AH split positioning this piece, group buying are in the transformation is also aimed at this market, also has the travel website to begin to try, the net ticket net realizes the on-line order completely, on-line chooses the place the whole journey the real sense O2O to see the movie pattern, these all are worth our attention, is who will become next Taobao, expects this result to appear early.