Follow and star ↑↑ [New Distribution] See how many friends are with you in following industry trends A little joke. A miser fell into water. Someone reached out to save him, shouting, "Give me your hand." The miser, on the verge of drowning, still didn't reach out. The rescuer, remembering the man's stingy nature, changed his words: "Take my hand." The miser happily extended his hand. As I've grown older, I no longer see it as a joke but as a story rich in Zen.

  1. We are all that miser, wanting to gain and not lose, even if it's just a verbal sense of gain; we try to avoid any sense of loss.
  2. When communicating, we might as well change our wording, keeping the meaning consistent while making the other party feel a sense of gain, which will improve communication efficiency. In recent years, the internet has seen a frenzy of coining new terms. Jiang Chacha, a well-known advertising self-media person, said, "Coined-term marketing is a lie told by clients without money." Every year, many new words are born, and many also fade away. Luo Zhenyu's annual New Year's speech is a place for mass-producing new terms, and through his joint communication alliance and followers, he can often quickly popularize a new term (this year's effect seems a bit weaker; the only one truly remembered seems to be "small trend," but it didn't stay hot for long). Alibaba, Jia Yueting, Lei Jun, and others are also masters of coining terms. Where there is praise, there is criticism; where there are radicals, there are reflections. This year, exposing and mocking various new concepts has become the mainstream of public opinion. Not long ago, we laughed about a round of "truths behind" various new terms. Recently, someone used comics to "seriously" teach everyone how to quickly become "internet elites" by creating concepts. I roughly divide these new concepts into three categories: 1. A very few are revolutionary, summarizing new things, new cognitions, and new laws. 2. Most are old wine in new bottles, reinventing the wheel, giving existing concepts a new name, and basically not as precise or practical as the original. 3. Some are illogical, chicken-soup-style nonsense. But regardless of the type, new terms share this commonality—they are easy to spread, either giving people a sense of gain or being vivid, evoking positive associations. For example, the pinnacle "ecosystemization" (生态化反): four simple characters, each understood, but together seemingly all-encompassing yet unclear in specific value. Most new concepts don't have new meanings, but Lao Miao doesn't oppose them for that reason. On the contrary, I often cheer for new concepts; their existence has other unusual significance. Why do new concepts emerge and become popular? Ultimately, it's about seizing discourse power. Young people don't want to use the concepts of the previous generation, and they probably don't understand or want to understand them. Previous classic concepts might be very precise and practical. But the environment has changed; old terms may not spread well, aren't "sexy" enough, and can't interact with this era, so new terms naturally emerge to replace them. For example, the business model of "cross-subsidy" has existed for perhaps half a century, and its principles, techniques, and application conditions have been studied in detail. Traditional media like TV and newspapers belong to "cross-subsidy." But in today's communication environment, not many people are interested in this old term. However, if you rephrase it as "internet thinking" or "wool comes from pigs, and dogs pay," many people will immediately flock to it. Of course, most people's pursuit is blind following out of anxiety, so a certain master could fool half of China with the unreliable story of "free underwear, only charging shipping, earning 70 million a year." But some people will gradually transition from interest in new concepts to the essence of the "cross-subsidy" business model. Another example: In Porter's competitive strategy, there is the classic Five Forces model and "changing industry structure." Although the explanation is comprehensive and the tools are reliable, it is indeed difficult to learn. If you call competition from different industries, technological progress, and the resulting industrial changes "dimensional reduction strike" or "cross-border robbery," it immediately becomes "sexy." The whole world will help you publicize "takeout kills instant noodles," "mobile payment kills thieves," "the era abandons you without saying goodbye." This is actually nothing new; it happens in every era: The popularity of water heaters affects the business of foot therapists; vegetable greenhouses eliminate cellar diggers; cavalry and archers were eliminated by alchemists (who invented gunpowder). People still drink old wine, but new bottles make more people pay attention, let more people drink old wine, and taste its richness. That's the value of the "new bottle," the value of "form." An industry that frequently creates concepts means the industry has large bubbles, and it also means someone is "cutting leeks" or collecting "IQ taxes"; but at the same time, it also means the industry is full of vitality. In the 1990s, the health products industry created many new terms: "meeting sales," "momentum building," "first push," "promotional sales," "three magic weapons," "carpet bombing," etc. After 2000, the FMCG field had "deep distribution," "channel intensive cultivation," "terminal vividness," "distribution alliance," "eight steps of terminal visits." In the last decade, the right to coin terms belongs to the internet: "dimensional reduction strike," "cross-border robbery," "traffic thinking," "KOL," "KOC"... Have you noticed, first, where the industry is active, there are more new terms; second, more new business concepts have been born in the last decade than in all previous times combined; third, previous new concepts were mostly tool-oriented and action-oriented, while recent ones are mostly thinking-oriented and abstract. In Lao Miao's "Marketing Enlightenment Movement" group discussion, a friend proposed: Chinese people are good at creating concepts, and Chinese is also good at producing new concepts. A few characters combined can convey a lot of information, while English can only use acronyms, which is too abstract. A friend in pharmacy retail said that Chinese patent medicines sell well because customers know what they are for at a glance: Xiaoke Pills, Xiaoyao Pills, Jianwei Xiaoshi Tablets, Weikangling. Western medicines are mostly ingredient names: aspirin, cephalosporin, omeprazole, metformin. If buyers are not following doctor's orders or truly understanding the condition, they usually choose Chinese patent medicines. When naming a thing, Westerners emphasize "what it is," while Chinese people like to emphasize "what it can bring you," at least giving you very positive associations. From this perspective, Chinese-style naming seems more human, more down-to-earth, and thus more popular. But Western-style expression is often more accurate and rigorous, so it is more practical. Compare the instructions of Western and Chinese patent medicines: Western medicine has a full large sheet, written on both sides, detailing ingredients, mechanism of action, metabolic mechanism, side effects, precautions, etc., all striving for completeness. Chinese patent medicines usually have a small sheet with large characters that don't fill the page; side effects are always "not clear," and contraindications are always "avoid greasy, tobacco, alcohol, and刺激性食物." To improve cognition and master methods, Lao Miao has always advocated "elite input, popular output." Most coined terms belong to "popular output." We can watch the excitement, get some inspiration, and observe social trends—that's fine and necessary. But to truly master knowledge, improve cognition, and enhance combat effectiveness, we must return to classics and grasp the underlying logic. Amateurs often lose to professionals; the dazzling street tricks of breaking stones on the chest are no match for the regular army. If you don't understand the deeper logic of business and just anxiously chase hot words, there are plenty of pits to bury you. For example, this year's hottest term, "private domain traffic," is a typical unreliable coinage. Its exact origin is unknown; it probably derived from the earlier popular "self-owned traffic" + "traffic pool," creating a new concept corresponding to the commonly said "platform traffic." "Private domain traffic" became popular because "the world has suffered from platforms for a long time," or "clients have suffered from lack of money for a long time." The term "private domain" gives us a lot of imagination, seemingly making us feel there are methods to succeed "without platforms," "without spending money or spending less." But the practical actions it suggests are still building WeChat groups, official accounts, mini-programs, or finding small influencers on Douyin with some带货 ability but not yet famous, and coining another term, KOC. Is this a new method? Of course not. If you are familiar with classic marketing systems, I believe the first word that pops into your mind is "brand community." Kotler believes that the internet makes it possible for enterprises and consumers to jointly organize a dedicated community. This community revolves around brand and mutual identity recognition. It has three identifiable characteristics: 1. Consciousness of kind. Not a family, don't enter the same door. 2. Shared moral sense or obligation. Chairman Mao said, "We come from all corners of the country, united for a common revolutionary goal." 3. Community-specific rituals, stories, and traditions. I say "Tian Wang Gai Di Hu," and you should respond with "Bao Ta Zhen He Yao." Clearer and more precise, right? And it's not over. The old master, in "Marketing Management," provides twelve value-creation methods for brand communities, divided into four categories:

1. Social network interaction, including welcoming, empathy, and governance 2. Impression management, including evangelizing and defending 3. Community engagement: defining similarities and differences, marking events, event symbols, and experience records 4. Brand use: cleaning, customization, and commoditization In fact, brand communities existed before the internet era, such as Apple, Harley-Davidson, and other car brand owner clubs. But the internet has greatly enhanced the role of brand communities. Harley has gathered over 3.3 million fans on Facebook alone, each full of pride; some even make their own Harley videos and post them on Twitter, gaining widespread shares. Isn't this the "private domain traffic" that many people covet? Lao Miao thinks "private domain traffic" is unreliable not because it "reinvents the wheel," but because its orientation is very bad. First, many people oppose it to "platform traffic," which is seriously wrong. Platforms are the infrastructure and basic services of business. If you can bring your own traffic, then the cost of acquiring platform traffic is relatively low, much lower than the cost of pulling in customers one by one. Brand communities, in most cases, should complement and drive platform traffic. Both self-owned brand traffic and platform traffic should be emphasized. More critically, the term "private domain traffic" has a broken worldview; it implies that enterprises can treat core users as private property and controllable objects. This touching logic is exactly like hackers calling compromised computer users "meat chickens." "I treat you as a friend, but you treat me as private domain traffic"—this is full of offense and desecration to users, running counter to modern marketing concepts that advocate "value." This is just enterprises and some operators fantasizing at home; if they actually implement it, it will die in the light, and users will leave cursing. Two weeks ago, to advocate Kotler's classic marketing system with everyone, Lao Miao established a "Marketing Enlightenment Movement" WeChat group. Now there are three groups with over 1,000 people. The group shares value daily; some friends proactively organize and excerpt chat records, and some draw mind maps. This is a "brand community" based on Kotler's marketing and Lao Miao personally. But if I said this is Lao Miao's "private domain traffic," I believe I would receive many cabbage leaves and rotten eggs. Many statements in this article are contributions from friends in the "Marketing Enlightenment Movement" group. Here's a rough summary: 1. Treat coined-term marketing rationally; it's neither a panacea nor a flood of beasts. It's both a bubble and a symbol of vitality. 2. Be sensitive to new terms; they often carry the characteristics of the times. Also be vigilant; the emergence of new terms is a grab for discourse power. Some coin terms because they lack money, some to deceive; their usual trick is "if you don't understand XX, you're dead," be careful not to be led into a ditch by anxiety. 3. Some new terms are fresh summaries of new things and laws, and some are illogical nonsense; both are rare. Most are old wine in new bottles, but new bottles also have their value; sometimes a change of wording can have unexpected effects. 4. "Elite input, popular output." To improve cognition, master methods, and truly keep pace with the times, you must return to classics. New bottles are good, but you should know what the old wine is. 5. This year's hottest new term, "private domain traffic," is a typical nonsense, carrying the anxiety and impatience of this era, full of disrespect for users. To understand similar marketing thinking, learn the methods of building "brand communities." This is the most valuable dry goods in this article. Source: Lao Miao Marketing Button (ID: yiheyingxiao) If a tip is adopted, a reward of 400-2000 yuan will be paid.