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[Introduction] This series of articles is based on WeChat, starting from zero to learn micro-marketing. It includes practical operations, insights from experts, and Ling Yi's own perspectives. Both practice and thinking are covered. The essence of marketing is communication; the essence of WeChat is a tool. There are seven articles in total; this is the fifth.
This is a watershed; the structure and pattern of the last three articles are completely different from the first four.
Let's get to the point.
To make money, you must first build an audience. This is a wise saying. Taobao started by offering free services, engaging in audience building, and making users stick to Taobao. Whether you make big or small money, the principle is the same on the internet.
First, let's exercise our rusty brains: Why do users stick around?
This seems to bring us back to the questions from Day One.
What kind of people do you want to attract? – Which followers are precise?
What value can I provide to them? – Why should they follow me?
Why should it be me who provides it? – Am I replaceable?
How do I provide it? – How is content generated?
Yes, let's take Doraemon's time machine back to Day One and start over!
Example
To illustrate the method more vividly, let's introduce a character: Xiao Bai.
So, Xiao Bai, after working as a Taobao operator for over a year, found he couldn't continue. He heard that WeChat business (Wei Shang) had a bright future, so he mistakenly entered that field.
The story is just beginning.
Xiao Bai originally worked in Taobao, and his circle was either sellers or buyers. These buyers were met during after-sales maintenance, and Xiao Bai treated them like gods. When changing careers, he was very confused, almost unable to see the road ahead. The idiom "uncertain future" fits perfectly.
Just as Xiao Bai was in agony, he suddenly remembered what Teacher Ling Yi said: "Choosing a high-quality audience might make it much easier." This touched a nerve. "Right! Why am I so stupid? I should do audience analysis first!" If you have a product, find the people who will buy it; if you have an audience, find the products they will buy.
Previously, in Taobao, he wasn't sharp, worked hard for a year, and ended up like this. Xiao Bai mocked himself while scrolling through his contacts.
Xiao Bai found that in his WeChat Moments, 50% were Taobao sellers, 30% were classmates and friends, and 20% were former customers. The problem was that he hadn't paid attention and didn't know what these people needed. Moreover, there were three main groups; what should he do? Xiao Bai fell into a dilemma again.
Should he choose the largest group, the 50% Taobao sellers?
Xiao Bai wasn't sure. So he went to Ling Yi and spent 30 minutes explaining the whole situation from start to finish.
Ling Yi scolded him, "Idiot, you talked for so long about something that could be said in one sentence. Time isn't money? Just ask directly how to choose the audience, wouldn't that be better?"
Xiao Bai was in tears, "Master, I was wrong. I will reform and follow your teachings."
Ling Yi sighed, hating that his disciple was so dull. "Alright, listen to me slowly."
The beginning of all business is market analysis, which seeks demand. No demand is universal; where there is demand, there is segmentation, and segmentation targets a specific group of people.
Once a product and an audience are effectively matched, their union is called "active demand." Only active demand can be converted into purchasing power, turning into many "red grandpas" (100-yuan bills).
Now, do you have a product in hand?
Xiao Bai rubbed his calloused hands, "Maybe yes, maybe no. I'm not sure myself."
Ling Yi almost fainted from anger. "Slap!" "Slap!" Two crisp slaps broke Xiao Bai's front teeth.
"You're driving me crazy! You don't even know your product! Don't tell others you know me. Ahem, ahem, continue."
If you have one, first analyze your product: Who would buy this product? What price range would make them feel at ease?
Xiao Bai blinked his panda eyes full of thirst for knowledge, "At ease?"
Yes! Consumers buy a sense of security. An iPhone 6 costs over 5000 yuan. If you see someone selling it for over 1000, would you buy it?
Xiao Bai shook his head, "I wouldn't dare! I'd be afraid it's a counterfeit."
Right! Once the price exceeds the consumer's psychological expectation, they become uneasy and feel it's unreliable.
"So what to do, Master Ling Yi?"
So, products and audiences must be effectively matched, not just thrown together. You need to do something technical: packaging!
Xiao Bai scratched his head, "Isn't packaging easy? Just buy a box, right?"
"Slap!" "Slap!" Two more crisp slaps, and Xiao Bai's canine teeth were gone.
Remember, packaging a product is not just buying a package. It's about shaping the product's value. Do you remember the buyer touchpoints I mentioned?
Any place where a consumer comes into contact with you or your product is a shaping point, a point of force. The six major touchpoints are:
Title, description, image, customer service, package, and product.
Title and description are copywriting, image is visual, customer service is communication. All of these are to make me buy. After I pay online, the package is your effort in the packaging and inside, making me feel the packaging is reliable before opening it, and possibly surprising me after opening. But ultimately, I use the product. If the product is good, I'll be very satisfied and even willing to buy from you again. But if the product is bad, I'll curse, no matter how well you did before.
Today, these six touchpoints are too narrow. Actually, as a customer, everything I see, touch, and hear is a touchpoint. Including what my neighbor Lao Wang says about the product's reputation is also a touchpoint.
To use touchpoints well, you must first understand consumers' shopping psychology. When a consumer sees a 9.9-yuan piece of clothing and buys impulsively, is it because it's cheap?
Absolutely not! Consumers never buy cheap because Chinese people know that cheap goods are not good. So why do consumers still pay?
Xiao Bai blinked, "Master, can you stop being mysterious?"
Ahem... Don't interrupt me. It's a disease; I've given up treatment.
What really makes consumers pay is that they feel they got a bargain, that the money was well spent, and they feel happy. Consumers then enter an excited state. Even if they pay only 1 yuan, they still imagine it's worth more than the price.
Xiao Bai suddenly realized, "No wonder every time I grab a 1-yuan flash sale, I'm so happy I can't sleep. So that's it! That means as long as you make consumers feel it's worth more than the price, the product will sell."
I told you not to interrupt. Slap yourself.
Slap, slap. Xiao Bai hit himself ten times harder than Ling Yi, and his whole set of teeth flew out. "Master, please continue."
Ling Yi was shocked by Xiao Bai but also understood his determination to learn.
The effective matching of audience and product mentioned above: feeling worth more than the price is the second step; the first step is demand. Without demand, consumers won't pay. Like when I go to the supermarket and see sanitary pads at a big discount, even if free, I won't take them because I have no need.
So, touchpoints should reflect user needs and value. Let me use Teacher Cang's underwear store as an example. This is purely fabricated; any resemblance is coincidental.
[Title]
Men's modal underwear, the underwear kissed by Teacher Cang
[Description]
(Value) This is a pair of men's underwear kissed by Teacher Cang, with lip prints still on it!
(Scarcity) Teacher Cang is very busy, limited edition of 99 pairs
(Urgency) Only today! Otaku guys who want to collect, hurry up. 999 yuan per pair, no explanation.
(Security) The only designated mall by Teacher Cang. If quality is bad, return; if lip prints are wrong, return. Guys, trust Teacher Cang!
[Image]
A set of photos of Teacher Cang kissing the underwear is enough.
[Customer Service]
All female voice messages
[Package]
Outer packaging: high-hardness PVC box + bubble cushioning
Inner packaging: wooden box
Unboxing: a photo album of Teacher Cang and a special underwear rack
[Product]
Needless to say, the best craftsmanship + the best materials
This is an example; Teacher Cang can be replaced with other elements, but the principle is exactly the same.
Xiao Bai interjected, "As long as there are people, there are touchpoints; with touchpoints, there are points of force. Master, am I right?"
Right!
Suppose you have successfully matched the audience and product. Then you need to start aggregating traffic.
WeChat business has no platform concept, only traffic concept.
Traffic sources are many: WeChat, Weibo, QQ/QQ Space, forums/communities, e-commerce platforms, etc., are all channels for obtaining traffic.
Xiao Bai suddenly remembered another long-troubling question, "Master Ling Yi, I heard Taobao has no future. Should I focus on WeChat, Weibo, and other channels, or continue to do Taobao as well?"
The platform's future is not important; your future is important. No e-commerce platform can last a hundred years, and e-commerce doesn't have a hundred years of history. Whether the platform dies today or tomorrow doesn't matter. What matters is whether you have acquired and retained customers on this platform.
All channels can be used, depending on your resources and energy. Each channel has its own characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages.
The biggest difference between social channels and e-commerce channels is that social channels have large traffic bursts, are scattered, and have low costs. You don't have to direct all customers to WeChat; directing them to QQ is also fine. QQ has more users than WeChat, but WeChat is used more frequently.
Today's e-commerce should integrate all channel traffic as much as possible, focusing on only one thing: customer retention.
Xiao Bai nodded, "So I understand. No matter the channel, it's all doable. The key is my resources and energy. Everything should revolve around accumulating customers. But please don't be mysterious anymore. I'm not well-educated; just tell me how to do it, okay?"
The whole system is too vast; I can't finish it in a short time. Let me first teach you how to play WeChat.
Xiao Bai suddenly became a hundred times more energetic, "Great!"
Back to your original question: your method of classifying audiences is flawed. Classifying by identity is the lowest-level method, but it doesn't mean you have to choose A and give up B.
Suppose you sell clothes. Group A might have 80% demand, and Group B might have 40% demand.
Xiao Bai scratched his head, "So I should classify audiences by demand?"
Right! Look at audiences by demand fit. Think about what these people need and what products they would buy.
Demand can be broadly divided into mass and specialized. For example, everyone needs clothing, food, housing, and transportation—this is mass demand, with lower average order value. Buddhists need Buddhist supplies, patients need medical supplies—this is specialized demand, with higher average order value.
Price is definitely a sharp knife to distinguish audiences. To classify by consumption level, think about how much these people would spend on products. As long as customers trust you, you can break free from platforms and products. Whether you're on any platform or selling any product, customers will transact with you. Of course, the product must match the customer's consumption level and basic needs.
Now, observe your WeChat Moments, dig into the needs there. What are their identities? What is their consumption level? You can take the initiative and chat with them. Once you've done your homework, come back to me.
After saying this, Ling Yi kicked Xiao Bai flying thousands of miles away... far.
(To be continued; see Day Six)
[Author Introduction] Ling Yi. Senior lecturer at Lao A E-commerce Academy, with extensive experience.
This article is from Gui Jiao Qi's WeChat subscription account.
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