Chapter 382: Take Action

“Welcome to this episode of Focus on Entrepreneurship. Today, we have invited Jiang Qin, the first ‘Study Star’ from Linchuan University and a renowned young entrepreneur.”

“Hello, Jiang Qin.”

“Hello to the host and all viewers. I am Jiang Qin.”

“Let’s talk about Zhihu. I heard that it now has tens of millions of users and an average daily active user count of about three million?”

“Yes, Zhihu has become the largest campus social networking site in the country.”

“How did you achieve this?”

“I think the success of Zhihu on campus is ultimately due to our team being composed of university students. We understand what students need.”

“…”

“I heard that while you were setting up Zhihu Campus, you also started a group-buying website called Pintuan? The group-buying industry is booming nationwide. Do you have anything you’d like to share with us?”

“Zhihu faced a funding shortage in its mid-phase. The plan for Pintuan was developed during that time. By monetizing traffic to feed Zhihu, we managed to get to where we are today.”

“So, would it be right to say that Pintuan was a tool to nurture Zhihu?”

“Yes, in a sense, Pintuan did indeed nurture Zhihu.”

“With the current boom in group-buying nationwide, do you plan to continue with this project?”

“Currently, that’s not in the plan. After all, I’m just a college student with limited capabilities, financial resources, and energy.”

It was early April and the sky outside was gloomy, with a light drizzle that had persisted since morning. The Linchuan University campus was enveloped in the drizzles of spring.

At this moment, the cafeteria at Linchuan University was playing a video of Jiang Qin’s recent news interview.

In the video, the ‘Study Star’ sat on a couch in a suit, chatting confidently with a female host wearing black stockings, his face bearing a modest and kind smile.

“Damn, look how handsome I am!”

Cao Guangyu felt bitter, “Sure, you look handsome. I’ve been getting skinny over this period.”

Jiang Qin glanced at his plate, “So, about this chicken leg…”

“Don’t even think about it. I’ll eat it even if I’m full!”

Thwarted, Jiang Qin could only look up and continue watching the TV in the cafeteria, enjoying his every move.

Besides attending classes, he has been doing interviews daily as the craze for group-buying had kicked off, so interviewers would inevitably ask about Pintuan.

After all, they considered that since so many were entering group-buying now, Jiang Qin, who began laying the groundwork for his group-buying system as early as 2008, must have a lot to say.

Jiang generally responded with, “I am a student, I have no money, I am afraid.”

Everyone understood his mindset as the current group-buying market was indeed terrifying.

To date, there are over six hundred group-buying websites in the country, each featuring a wide variety of adverts prominent on various TV shows.

From March to April after a month of rivalry, a few group-buying websites have started to get recognized.

Lashou Network leads thanks to its strong capital backing which enabled it to smoothly penetrate the markets of the top four first-tier cities while continuously swallowing up merchant numbers.

Next, there is Suixin Group, the “first domestic group-buying website,” which adopted a sub-station cooperation model, sending staff to every city and quickly growing their team to over a thousand members nationwide.

Then there is Wowo Network, which takes a more edgy approach by collaborating with telecom operators to send ads directly to users’ phones.

In addition, the discount coupons purchased on Wowo Network are sent via text, starting the era of displayed message codes that allow the enjoyment of discounts.

Initially in early March, each of these group-buying websites was content managing its own turf, although they were eager to expand.

However, it wasn’t long before the market became saturated, and hundreds of players inevitably plunged into chaos.

How do they compete? By burning money.

With advertisements already filling every corner, retaining customers became the primary focus.

You offer a 20% discount? Fine, here’s 30%. You give 30%? Well, then 40% it is.

Continuing like this until April, Laishou directly introduced an aggressive 60% discount, with additional cuts for members, practically giving away their services, leaving consumers too happy to close their mouths.

But the problem is, with everyone slashing prices, loyalty became non-existent; customers simply went to whoever was cheaper.

Can you stop offering discounts?

No, because stopping would mean losing everything.

Thus, the battle for market share turned into a battle of financial attrition. Using money to buy market share became an unwritten industry rule.

But such burn rates cannot sustain for long, so now, the hottest group-buying websites are all desperately seeking funding while also trying to outlast their competitors.

3 p.m., a light rain continued and it was slightly cold.

At Linchuan Airport’s passenger hall, Jiang Qin greeted Wei Lanlan’s team and Su Nai’s team returning from Kyoto, each holding two bouquets.

After being away for two months, they had lost weight but their eyes shone brilliantly, clearly showing they had achieved much.

“Everyone, you’ve worked hard.”

“Not at all, boss. It’s what we should do.”

“Let’s go. I’ll treat you at Juxian Building.”

From Linchuan Airport to Juxian Building, accompanying staff were arranged to a nearby room, while Jiang Qin entered a reserved private dining room with Wei Lanlan and Su Nai.

Once inside, Wei Lanlan pulled out a contract from her bag, an exclusive authorization agreement from Gaode.

Su Nai also took out a notebook, filled with her observations from the overseas supply chain inspection and her thoughts on the product management system.

After carefully reviewing, Jiang Qin smiled, “We’re halfway there. I’m scared for them.”

“What’s next?” Su Nai couldn’t help asking.

“How long will it take to develop the product management system?”

“I have the concept sorted, but to produce a mature product, I need about three months.”

Jiang Qin nodded, “And the integration of LBS?”

Su Nai thought for a moment, “If we work on both projects simultaneously, I’m not sure how long it would take.”

“Can you complete it by year-end?”

“That’s no problem. There’s still nine months till the end of the year, plenty of time.”

Jiang Qin checked the date, “It’s about time to do something big. Let’s make sure the ceremony matches. Lanlan, could you book a hall at Longkai Hotel and call over all the division managers for a dinner?”

Wow, even Longkai Hotel is booked. Wei Lanlan knew the boss was serious, so she immediately nodded, “Okay, I’ll arrange it when I return.”

“No rush. Let’s eat first. Nai Nai, you too. Eat well and nourish yourself. Your work is crucial for Pintuan’s mid-term development.”

Vital work? Su Nai thought for a moment, “Boss, a glass of water.”

Bloody hell, this Ms. Su, the programmer, is getting a bit cocky! Jiang Qin muttered to himself before quickly pouring her a glass of water.

After returning from Juxian Building, Wei Lanlan sent out the gathering notices via email to all managers, while Jiang Qin started working through the night, pondering the promotion details, preparing for the next day’s troop inspection, and hardly sleeping all night.

It was 6 a.m., and dawn was breaking when Boss Jiang finally climbed into bed to catch up on some sleep, waking up only at 3 p.m.

Realizing he didn’t have much time before the banquet, he quickly got ready and set out.

Hearing that Jiang Qin was headed to Longkai Hotel, young master Cao and others insisted on following. Lately, the cafeteria had been full of news about Jiang, making it hard for him to even eat. Now that they heard about Longkai, they were eager to join him for a meal.

“You can come for the meal, but you’ll have to sign a confidentiality agreement,” Jiang laid down the condition.

“I’ll sign it. To share a meal with you, I’d sign even a servitude agreement!”

Cao Guangyu pounded his chest as he asked, “What’s a confidentiality agreement?”

Jiang Qin glanced at him, “Never mind, you’ll understand once you get there. Are Ren and Chao coming?”

“Yes, I’ve never tasted food from an international hotel. I can’t miss this!”

In fact, the main agenda for today’s banquet wasn’t the food; it was the meeting. Even if they ordered a lot, it would be a waste. Thus, Jiang decided to also invite Feng Nanshu and others from his dorm.

This was like cycling through bars: save where you can, spend where you must.

By early evening, as the sky darkened, the lobby of Longkai International Hotel filled with a large group of people.

The manager responsible for security arrived with a squad of guards, stationed on either side of the hall doors. Soon after, core employees from Room 208 and various division managers began to arrive, discovering that only those who had signed the confidentiality agreement could enter.

Seeing this setup, everyone felt nervous, guessing that something big was about to happen.

Once everyone was inside the hall, the pre-arranged projection started playing a video.

The first half of the video showed monthly growth figures for group-buying websites, the middle section displayed various adverts and marketing efforts, and the last part showed pie charts of market share in various cities.

Though not particularly sleek, the video was straightforward and allowed viewers to quickly grasp many details.

As the glittering hall’s attendants watched, their hearts were filled with shock.

Truth be told, they were aware of the many group-buying sites on the market, but none could have imagined just how numerous they were and that the battle in the top cities was so fierce, appearing almost brutally intense.

At that moment, Jiang Qin walked onto the stage, microphone in hand, and waved at Wen Jinrui; the television switched off in response.

“Lately, group-buying websites have been very popular. Most of you should know this, and if not, this video should have made it clear.”

“Some of you have been with me since 2008 when we started this business. Even those who joined later have experienced Pintuan’s city-wide promotions. I know you’ve been wondering whether we’ll continue with Pintuan and what exactly I’ve been planning.”

“Now, I can tell you that I’ve been waiting for the right moment, waiting for the concept of group-buying to become clear to consumers.”

“Back in 2009, outside of Linchuan, how many knew what group-buying was?”

“Not many, right? Most understood it simply as shopping in groups, nothing more.”

“But now things are different. After relentless advertising by over five hundred group-buying websites, now everyone in the country knows that group-buying means saving money, it’s convenient, and not to engage in it is almost against common sense.”

“Now, it’s our turn to step in.”

As he finished speaking, the hall fell silent for a moment, but quickly, murmurs of excitement erupted.

The most thrilled were the core employees from Room 208. They knew the boss had been waiting, so they were a bit impatient and now couldn’t wait to dive back into the market.

At that moment, Jiang Qin waved his hand for quiet, then his voice boomed out through the speakers once more.

“Today, I called you all here not just to eat but to announce this news and to understand a few more things first.”

“We are entering the market, but we need to shift our strategy slightly. We can’t play the same game as them. In short, our promotional strategy this time will focus on two main points.”

“The first key point: encircling the cities from the rural areas.”

“The fight in the first-tier cities is too fierce, everyone is blindly burning money. You know, my net worth is in the tens of millions, I’m not afraid of them, but I think it’s foolish. Earning money isn’t easy, we shouldn’t just throw it all away.”

“So we’ll start with the second and third-tier cities to avoid their edge and quickly capture market share.”

“Once LaShou, Wowo, and Suixin Group battle it out to the point of life and death, they’ll surely enter these second and third-tier cities. Then I’ll circle back and steal their market, trading our second-tier cities’ markets for their first-tier ones.”

“Of course, we’re not ignoring the top-tier cities altogether; we’ll focus solely on university towns there, nothing beyond those.”

“The second key point is to spend our money where it counts.”

“You’ve seen the style of other group-buying sites, wildly spending to sign up merchants. We won’t do that; we’re focusing on quality selection. We’re thinking from the customers’ perspective, signing only top-notch merchants exclusively, even if it costs three or even five times more.”

“For instance, if LaShou spends two hundred thousand to sign all ten merchants on one street, we’ll choose the best one and buy them out for two hundred thousand straight.”

“During the initial promotion period, we’ll allow these merchants to participate in other sites’ group buys, but they must stop when I say.”

“Next, I’ll send out the task breakdown manual according to department. I hope everyone can work together to send a message to the entire group-buying market that their emperor is back.”

“Listening to the sound coming from the speakers, the expressions and postures at a table on the left side of the banquet hall, where people from Room 503 and 208 were sitting, varied greatly.”

“The little rich girl’s mouth was practically watering; her shining eyes didn’t blink, clearly mesmerized by Jiang Qin, her brain in a crashed state.”

“My big bear.”

“Feng Nanshu pointed at the stage while turning to look at the people around her.”

“Tears streamed down Cao Guangyu’s face as he covered it, thinking, ‘Damn it, I came here to freeload a meal to avoid being slimmed down, and now ends up in a real-life meeting discussing wiping out this and that — exactly what I’ve always dreamed of! Shit!'”

“Having this meeting with so many people, talking about killing this and exterminating that, isn’t this exactly what I always wanted? Damn!”

“Today is my seventh anniversary with my wife. I’ve booked a restaurant for tonight. I had lots of queries when I wrote about Zhuang Chen, asking whether I’ve been such a fawner. Sorry, no, I’ve been with my wife since our freshman year. Never had the chance, hehe.”