Yoho! 's electric dealer's double-edged sword

This company is called Yoho! (hereinafter referred to as yoho!), its parent company was founded in 2005, the current "yoho! trend Zhi" and "yoho! Girls Zhi" Two fashion magazine media, including "trend" has been published 160 Doyan, covering all parts of the country newspaper kiosks, convenience stores and other channels. Yoho's online community opened in 2008, then opened the road to electricity dealers, 2011, the electricity business reorganization, in May 2012 to achieve profitability, 2013 sales breakthrough 500 million yuan, a profit of 40 million yuan.

The purpose of this paper is to extract the successful experience of this company and analyze the role of media attribute in the mode of an electric business enterprise.

Yoho! Vice President Cong was born in Dangdang, Consumer-to-consumer Division general manager. He attributed the success of the company to two elements: low cost enough to flow, or strong enough to control the supply chain. The two have the first, can be based on both, that is the forefront of the industry. Taobao, for example, gave up control of the supply chain, but its flow is invincible; Dangdang's flow cost is very general, but the supply chain control of the publishing industry is strong, so in the Beijing-East when the price war, when the book business is not shaken the foundation.

Media resources can play an important role in the acquisition of these two elements.

Bypassing the "cold start" phase of the supply chain

Look at supply chain control first. The pain of the supply chain is often reflected in the inability to talk directly to the brand. Liu in the creation of Beijing East nearly ten years later, only to obtain the direct supply of all brands, he also specifically sent a piece of micro-blog feeling. The size of the General Electric dealers, the beginning of the demand for supplies, the basic will be sent to the agents there, which gives the commodity models, prices brought many restrictions. But the media, which has the advantage of "high level connections", starting to do the electric business is almost not subject to this restriction, because before the electrical business, the media has been through the brand advertising, offline activities and high-level interviews, and other forms of senior executives to establish a direct contact with the brand, many times can also be a small number of products for trial and launch. Nike, for example, yoho! through this transfer from advertising to distribution, gaining the franchise of Nike's QSL wear and action QSL series, bypassing the initial sales thresholds and dealership links.

In the establishment of direct contact with the brand, the media can be based on their own audience of the adjustment, further launch the brand cooperation section. Especially in the fashion brand, exclusive, exclusive and other products such as line, can be very effective to lock new and unique audiences. For example, yoho! through the above-mentioned media channels, once with the world's three jeans brand Wrangler (Gwage) launched a cooperative Wrangler-x yoho! series; Meanwhile, Zhou Chang's begins and Edison Chen's clot and other stars to create brands, Also because the media advantage settled in the Yoho! platform.

In addition to this customization and star, media attributes are also important in improving the efficiency of the purchasing team. Usually, the media-type electric dealers will not do the Jingdong, the cat such comprehensive type of electric dealer, because it needs a whole category, the entire population coverage, not the abundant capital can not. The media because of its own positioning of the ordinary, covering always a specific audience, so the media-type electric dealers generally always focus on for this group of people to provide all kinds of consumption options (the Ancient Reader service department can be said to be the prototype of this electricity business?); If the distribution of specific categories such as footwear, electrical appliances, such as electric operators, such as vertical electric business, then for a specific group of goods to provide a number of products of the electricity quotient, it can be called the Distributor.

The position of the buyer is very important, they determine the taste of the audience is accurate, determines the sale of goods and inventory ratio. In the Yoho! brand cooperation audit Group and procurement team, there are senior fashion editor in which the Committee does not directly affect the operation of the company, but in the selection and purchase of advice, so that media influence and the audience taste as much as possible to coincide. Another obvious example in this regard is that the shopping guide website created by the media, such as fruit cooler, has great influence on the audience in the direction of consumer guidance and trend.

The media itself is creating a topic, the ability to create a star, so that it has to absorb a group of unknown but powerful designers potential. Yoho! the use of their own fashion media platform, attracted a group of independent brand designers, small studios, through the injection of capital, design guidance, market research feedback and other means, yoho! and this batch of original brand formed a loose alliance, making the original brand on its platform to form more than half of the sales scale.

In addition, many media have a mature ability to organize offline activities, which can also be directly transformed into the impact of the supply chain. Yoho! will hold an annual yo ' hood line activities, the most recent a total of 20,000 people to the scene, Edison Chen, Zhou Chang and other brand designers and owners will also attend. The audience can make a demand for some brand prototypes, and for the next quarter of goods to pay a deposit, by yoho! will be more concentrated demand feedback to the brand, when the quarterly models listed, these products in line with consumer direct demand can be sent to subscribers, complete C2B (customer to manufacturer) process.

Media Construction Flow Entrance

And in the other important factor of the electric business enterprise "enough low flow cost" aspect, the media has the natural superiority. A stable media always has a relatively stable readership, to provide them with the content of the match, the cost of the introduction of Electronic business platform is far less than unfamiliar users.

Yoho! Currently has a paper magazine, app and yoho! community three media channels, including magazine readers since 2005 began to cover, has a solid spread of word-of-mouth; App by the company's own team design, once in Southeast Asia and other place in the app store to get Apple's editorial recommendations; Yoho! community has millions of members for consumers to exchange shopping experience, at the same time with after-sales service and market research platform role. At present, 40% of the members of the electrical business through these three channels to obtain new products and information. These platforms, in addition to direct for the electricity business diversion, in shaping the brand, guide the concept of consumption, also has an important advantage.

As a professional photographer, yoho! clothing products rarely appear bias, walk type and other complaints, printing magazine-level picture effect, as well as professional text editor writing (including brand stories and cultural background), have become an important competitive power platform. This is the direct transformation of media productivity.

In addition, the above mentioned offline activity yo ' HOOD is also an important source of traffic. The recognition and stickiness of consumers ' face-to-face communication can not be provided by simple online and paper-based media. Of the 20,000 visitors to Yo ' hood, 70% are new customers. New customers, created by media and activities, generated 67% of sales in 2012.

Integrated paper media, online and offline several flow entrances, yoho! calculated each user to get the cost within dozens of yuan, but due to the trend of the position of the electricity quotient, the average customer price of 350-450 yuan, new customers can cover the initial purchase cost, than some other electric sales promotion or even a loss to pull new behavior, to be more benign.

It can be seen that the media to become a traffic entrance, must let their audiences clear enough, and can form the transfer of values and aesthetic, receive the needs and opinions of the closed-loop communication chain, so as to accurately grasp the needs of their own audience characteristics, the past to guide the supply chain, C2B customization, And then through new products to consolidate their own delivery of aesthetic values.

The shortage of the media as a power provider

Although the media has many potential advantages in expanding its business, the reality is that there are not many success stories of the media that did this. In reality, the media actually have some "fatal" short boards.

Cong summed it up as a few deficiencies: first, the user experience. The electronic business is the experience of the economy, delivery speed, cargo packaging, User Word-of-mouth management, repeat business, experience iterative improvement and other functions, through the Internet efficient data feedback, can be continuously iterative update. And the media in this respect and the implementation of the more primitive, basically stay in the reader like can, the site to provide news content on the stage.

Next is the member operation system. Electric dealers have a very good membership policy, such as platinum, gold and ordinary members of the service, all kinds of members of the path of promotion, service policy is different, in the maintenance of user loyalty and stickiness of the role of significant. Because of the data collection and management, the media is basically not a system, standard new and old reader distinction and management system.

As for the media, the concept of "ecological circle" is also a barrier to the unfamiliar. Taking offline activities for example, YO ' Hood's live audience time is often a morning or even a whole day, far more than the general exhibition, because the scene of fashion goods and similar dress of other audiences, to its formation of the "identity field", which makes the whole site to become the enterprise transfer culture, cohesion of the furnace of the audience, Under such incentives, exhibitors are also willing to be more proactive in communicating with their audiences, listening to their needs and suggestions, and giving much support in subsequent activities. Whether it is a new release of Millet Carnival, or other Internet enterprises offline activities, a warm community identity is always scarce traditional media.

In addition, the media to do a major obstacle to the electrical business is the "logistics" concept of unfamiliar. Traditional media owned logistics is only the initial level of distribution channels, in the electricity business, this is only "trunk logistics" part. and to engage in electrical business needs of the perfect warehouse management, planning, trunk feeder distribution capacity, most of the media is not. Whether it is self-built logistics or outsourcing, the need to pay the cost of capital or management costs are very high entry threshold.

Finally, the media after years of editorial office, advertising department, Distribution department structure has not been adapted to the electrical business, and yoho! has even canceled the business department, all the use of flat system, promotion departments, content departments, electric business sector to carry out the coupling process, we will not keep the department prison, But in accordance with the needs of other departments and their own Department of responsibility, according to the actual business process to promote the work.

The combination of these advantages and shortcomings can be seen, the media to do electricity, in fact, is still a "influence to become" road. But on this road, many media can only be carried out to the relationship of the cash, the user changes at this stage, but stops in with the media business slightly far management change, the structure change and the continuous operation change, the latter often has the Internet characteristic, requests the higher efficiency, the more sensitive response and the more accurate data collection, the research. Although "internet thinking" has been said to be rotten, but without these points, the media to expand the business is not logical.