Victoria Cotton Network: Sentenced to death, the hope of survival of the new marketing system

In the last few days, the CEO Lin saw several former colleagues in the Golden Age. "Now this situation, we have not been very good, every family in the CD, and finally they gave me the determination." "He's been so obsessed with the idea that he had a job cut years ago, and it was a really hurtful thing for a dozens of-person entrepreneurial company," he said. "My original point was to make a business adjustment through layoffs because this year's focus shifted to net sales and needed more front-line salespeople," he said. And just like our small company, do we need a front desk? To be fully operational. "Aside from the emotional factor, it all seemed logical to him, but what happened immediately almost made him desperate."

Sentenced to death.

February 22, a person claiming to be a cotton network staff members posted in Baidu Post said, the cotton network occurred in personnel "Earthquake": 2 veteran, chief operating officer, 3 Web site editors and 1 personnel assistants were dismissed. Then "aftershocks" continued, another 7 employees were dismissed; in the outflow of an internal mail, Lin repeatedly used to "leave immediately" such words, and the payment and advertising money has been as much as millions of yuan, broken capital chain, and even suppliers to collect debt.

These messages began to go crazy on Weibo, and when Lin saw it, it appeared in the prominent positions of the four major portals. "I was so stupid. He could not understand how such a simple and normal business behavior could have been so great. "Once interviewed by a website reporter, I asked him, in your company, layoffs should also be common?" Lin always think that in the aftermath of layoffs, has done enough in place, "we actually cut only three or four people, but also to the normal compensation, the remaining few people are voluntarily resigned." ”

And this is the point of contradiction between the two sides, in the "denunciation" of the staff, the Cotton Network's redundancy reason is only "late", "if you can not give me a reasonable explanation, then you are an absurd enterprise, a group of absurd leadership, an absurd management." ”

Lin efforts to calm himself down, completely refused to interview reporters, but also did not actively and the staff representatives to negotiate. "I really have nothing to say, and then think about it, perhaps the old employees of the company's feelings too deep." "When you see this reporter, it's been two weeks," I've tried to look at it from a third party perspective, which is actually a public mood catharsis. Everyone is saying that electricity dealers are going to fail a large number of people, and we are so close to the whole story of the demand: in the most sensitive time to lay off, so we are sentenced to death. Lin wry smile, a little puzzled. "So I'm just going to stop talking and think about a lot of companies that have been around for a year and are hiring and running, and we've started to tinker with the business." What do you want to say about a baby company? Say that you will grow up like Zhang Ziyi, or Einstein? Lin so relieved himself.

The rhythm of the CEO

In a way, the cotton net is an easy company. The so-called "easy decline" is because this kind of subdivision and the pursuit of quality of the electric business model is in a consumer awareness of the transition period, the long fault is easy to drag the small company dead.

In the past 10 years of e-commerce development process, the price is always the only dimension standard, the country's economic structure (pyramid-shaped) determines the E-commerce site users are extremely sensitive to the price of the lower-level people in the society. and the quality of the middle-class life that the cotton net pursues is incompatible with the mainstream environment. "It does exist at the inflection point of a trend, which is an opportunity in the middle." "In Lin's view, a first-tier city such as the North has begun to converge with the economic structure of Europe and the United States," it is a rugby and the middle-class economy will be the biggest. ”

Another potential risk is Lin's own rhythm. has been in the game circle, his only experience is in 2000 in China's first web site "cool compared to" as the director of product marketing. In the eyes of the outside world, Lin always do not follow the usual routines, and even often and market trends to the left. In the second half of 2010, when many meet the "three high (Gaumauli, high customer price, high frequency of purchase)" category of vertical electric dealers began to be favored by VC, he chose a very unpopular category socks. In the first half of 2011, when big and small electric dealers were madly throwing money, cotton network but once out of sight of consumers, almost no promotion, and in the second half of the electrical business into the "cold winter", Lin announced a high-profile media (micro-blog), also revealed that will introduce a sum of 30 million dollars of financing. "The time of the" disappear "I almost didn't do anything else, in the whole product, the procurement model and the team to build things. "Because of this category of socks E-commerce is very poor, the entire industry chain does not have any integration, which is far beyond his expectations," I thought one or two times the communication can be done. ”

Cotton Network is a small company, but its quality requirements can not be casually to butt a small upstream manufacturers, and in cooperation with large manufacturers, Lin has encountered a variety of not smooth. "In the beginning, it takes 4 months for a pair of socks to be printed." Suppliers generally have two lines: domestic and foreign trade, and they always put our orders on the domestic line. Really is repeatedly communication ah, because the domestic trade line does not meet our requirements. ”

This is just an example, the creation of the early days of the cotton network and many do their own brand of electric dealers, suffered a supply crisis. Lack of bargaining power, supply chain out of control ... These small electric dealers can not hold their own backyard, but still have to bite the bullet to the enclosure, otherwise it will disappear instantly.

Lin not think of this problem, his previous ambition is bigger, he wants to replicate the path: from its own brand, and finally developed into a platform operator, and this is a lot of VC subconscious investment template. "But there is really no chance that the platform operators ' pattern is strong enough, and that the next few years of contention are some of their civil wars. "He thought very clearly, only own brand has the opportunity," they to store the store's demand to be very big, especially this kind of accurate positioning electric quotient. ”

But it also means his funding situation will not be very optimistic. Lin saw more than 40 VCs last year, and almost all the VC would ask him, "Can this be bigger?" A completely unfamiliar category, coupled with a demanding business model, is really not a quick money business.

No money, Lin even if the marketing of the operation, but only in accordance with the normal pace of development. Fortunately, the industry to the good, by the trend, the cotton network also counted well. But the short time, with the U.S. capital market, the IPO window closed, the electric business "winter" soon. One of the essential reasons is that VC is firmly tied to the body of money, and the highest level of capital dependence of the electricity dealers bear the brunt of the victims.

How to spend the winter? Lin's ideas are different from others. "It's supposed to be a full contraction, but actually it's a good time to build a brand because other companies have too few voices," he said. In this way, he contributed to the cooperation with the audience. The effect is surprisingly good, the first day of advertising the total number of orders for 2589 single, Daily Orders Peak (volume of the highest time period to push the performance of the full day turnover) up to 3010 single.

But the market environment, Lin have to be responsible to the investors. "The year before Xiaoping (the founder of the" true "Angel investment Fund) voted for me, but also urged me to spend 9 months of money spent, and he will not think so now. I met all the shareholders and their first principle was "survival". For better or worse, live first. ”

"They asked me to cut revenue last November, without money, and open source is not easy," he said. So, we can only cut the expenditure. But my answer is that the company needs to continue to expand its business, so let's put it back. "Lin said," but it was such a result. ”

The hope of survival

Lin the hope of survival in his new set of marketing system, "the more difficult it should be hard to do sales, anyway, it is so cold, if you keep the movement and the opportunity to live, but also may be consumed too much and die." ”

Before the cooperation with the division of the brand advertising can be said to lay a certain foundation, "Brand is a very important part of marketing." It is to build a reliable foundation with the consumer, and if there is no such basis, it is marketing, of course, the initial effect of marketing is likely to be better than sales. ”

Today, he is not just a need to let consumers see the cotton, but really touch. Experiential marketing is the first card he played, and the cooperation of the audience is the user through the Q card to obtain the verification code, and then log on to the cotton network free of charge to receive a limited edition of socks. And the same way is grafted on some navigation sites and dating sites, "this way it's easy to generate two marketing, as long as your product is good enough." "Lin was a well-known behind-the-scenes trader in the early days of online gaming, using it to be handy," he said.

But this is still a niche marketing approach, but also to compensate for a lot of money. Cotton network at this stage, the lack of traffic is not, but the real conversion rate. Lin began to try the so-called "whole network marketing", that is, in addition to their own website, but also in the days of cat (micro-bo), Jingdong Mall (micro-bo), such as platform operators Open shop. "In fact, the sites themselves are turning to quality," he said. Look at their KPIs, now in the first place is the tune, that is, positioning is in tune, and the second is the customer unit price, too low category simply can not be settled. "Lin said," and this is my chance, with cotton butt that day cat staff initially did not believe we have more than 100 customer unit price (average transaction amount), but later when he really understand us, the initiative to give us some traffic. Now, these platforms fret that there are too few proprietary brands like ours to pinpoint. "To rely on the Giants, is undoubtedly a good way to winter." Lin earlier on the cotton network positioning, as well as the quality of industrial chain control, to the present, but unexpectedly produced a miraculous effect.

Lin to find shareholders to increase SKU (category) things, "Let them increase capital is not easy, after all, their attitude or survival first." "In the cold winter, many of his plans can only be done and seen." "In fact, E-commerce is not a business model of the problem, now the winter is more investment losses, rather than operating losses." It is more difficult to fall on the industrial chain, the electricity business lacks its own positioning, the lack of integration of industrial chain, resulting in the result is this. ”

But this is still not a foolproof, because the cotton network before the operation of more than the male supplies, it is almost impossible to bring a very high purchase frequency, and the male two times spread is very poor. "I would like to vigorously open up the female market, product structure changes will completely change the cotton Network marketing model." ”

March 5, because of layoffs, Lin went to see Xiaoping. "Funny to say, he actually sent me a poem, is Chen Yi's" Mei Ling three chapter ". What "decapitated", "Lo", this if the media to read, it should be said that the cotton net has finished. But in fact, teacher Xu's meaning is to keep me brave, this is the hardest time. "Lin smiled," after this one toss, I have only this courage. ”