01 The "Livestream+" Model Continues to Develop, Further Unlocking Commercial Value In recent years, the livestreaming industry has grown rapidly. According to relevant data, online retail sales as a proportion of total social consumer retail sales have been steadily increasing. Meanwhile, China's mobile e-commerce user base exceeds 800 million, with over 400 million livestream e-commerce users. The market size of livestream e-commerce is also on the rise, with an estimate of 1.4 trillion yuan at the beginning of 2022, and it is only a matter of time before it surpasses 2 trillion yuan. At the same time, the digitalization trend in livestream e-commerce is becoming more pronounced, with standardization and digitalization being key to breaking into new markets. Livestreaming has also driven innovation and development in many industry models. As industry data and consumer purchasing behavior change, the government has introduced corresponding policies and regulations to support the development of e-commerce livestreaming. Additionally, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has added certifications for internet marketers and livestream salespersons, indicating that in the future, livestreaming will be an industry requiring professional certification.
Upgrading the Three Dimensions of "People, Goods, and Scenes" First, the upgrade of anchors. Top-tier institutions, including influencer anchors, will increasingly explore their own value chains, with purchasing paths becoming more brand-oriented and channel-oriented. Second, the upgrade of scenes. Livestream rooms will increasingly become a platform for brand launches, with new products and even high-priced items appearing in livestreams, and the set design of livestream rooms becoming more sophisticated. Third, the upgrade of goods. All content and gameplay will center on products, with product-centric approaches and formats enabling more mature operations and more diverse livestream channels. Over 60% of merchants and enterprises will adopt livestream e-commerce as a long-term marketing channel for their brands. Many companies now have dedicated livestream departments; previously, livestreaming might have been managed under e-commerce, brand, or even channel departments, but now many enterprises have made livestreaming a primary department. Companies will deploy livestreaming in both public and private domains. This year, WeChat Channels livestreaming has developed rapidly, becoming a platform many enterprises are focusing on after Douyin. With the expansion of brand livestreaming, more emerging categories will reach consumers across different circles through e-commerce livestreaming, meeting diverse user needs.
The 5P Theory in Livestream Marketing Aids E-commerce Development First, People: Who is the target user? Different platforms and brands have specific target groups. Second, Product: Brand owners need to innovate products, explore product value, and create products that satisfy different target groups. Third, Price: Product pricing should be based on brand tone and positioning, using different combinations to meet consumer needs. Fourth, Place (Channel): Use influencer livestreaming to amplify reach, and self-operated livestreaming to convert and sustain sales, combining both to achieve product promotion goals. Fifth, Promotion: Livestreaming cannot be separated from short videos; use short videos to build momentum and convert through livestreaming. Integrate livestreaming with traditional marketing to create a closed loop.
Taking Liby Group as an example, Liby Group has made livestreaming a new frontier for corporate branding and image building. Liby Group believes that livestreaming will be a very important tool in enterprise digital operations. For consumers, it can enhance the shopping experience; for distributors, it can empower them to improve overall digital operational capabilities; for brands, it can increase the efficiency of product flow, enabling omnichannel operations and product lifecycle management, ultimately achieving multi-channel synergy and optimization. Especially for different online and offline channels, follow-up can be conducted through building digital livestream dashboards, content operations, product operations, event operations, and anchor operations.
02 Digital Livestream Training SOP System Empowers Livestream Talent Development The livestreaming industry also has many pain points, with many enterprises facing sluggish growth, rising costs, and a lack of internal professional talent. Many past learning methods are relatively outdated and can no longer keep up with the current development of the livestreaming industry. Moreover, due to the rapid development of the industry, chaos and uneven quality are prevalent. To address this, Liby Group has launched a "Star-Making Plan" for the strongest livestream anchors, aiming to create a large-scale, integrated livestream training system through the standardization of livestream capabilities, process normalization, and content dissemination, empowering internal teams including traditional e-commerce to develop rapidly in the livestreaming industry. Through the development of a multi-level livestream talent system and the establishment of an empowerment system, combining online and offline training models to strengthen the ability to convert training into actual business results.
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Liby Group has implemented several projects: first, building an anchor training pipeline; second, regular training and real-person micro-courses; third, combining with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security's certification training camps for internet marketers and livestream salespersons. These methods and projects meet the various needs of livestream talent.
Establishing an SOP System to Strengthen Data Feedback and Implementation Results Liby Group uses an internal certification closed-loop system to verify and implement the real value of training to the business. It has also built its own anchor pipeline, from junior to master levels, with different incentives for different levels during internal livestreams. Liby Group also uses the SOP system to build a comprehensive livestream training library to better track training effectiveness. Especially for online training, it meets the training needs of various regions across the country, forming a closed loop through tracking, review and approval, authorization certification, and data analysis. The livestream salesperson certification training camp is also a good opportunity to combine online and offline. Liby Group completed the training in two months: the first month included learning from the warm-up chapter to four major modules, as well as several livestream classes to deliver knowledge content. In the second month, participants were required to give a livestream sharing session of no less than 30 minutes and a livestream practice session of no less than one hour. Training mentors would provide feedback and comments based on the livestream performance, followed by a corresponding exam to obtain the livestream salesperson training certification issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
Liby Group also creates "Shopping Guide Family Mini-Lectures," positioning shopping guides as family and relative assistants. Anchors may livestream from their homes, offices, or stores, and through different scenarios, they can convey the brand's value proposition to users, teach them how to better use products, and thereby strengthen the bond between the brand and users. In terms of omnichannel livestreaming, Liby Group has made many explorations. Based on its original livestreaming business, it invested in establishing a wholly-owned MCN institution, "Oulike," which focuses on providing one-stop omnichannel, full-service solutions for enterprises. To address different needs, it has developed eight major training systems, from new anchor training camps to final operator training camps, as well as IP-building short video crash courses and other livestream training systems.
Compiled by Kang Zhiqiang
Zhou Li, a new retail operations expert, currently serves as the head of livestreaming business at Liby Group, focusing on omnichannel livestreaming and leading multiple 0-1 new retail digitalization projects. He is the owner of three nationally copyright-certified livestream courses, a judge and sharing guest for digital marketing awards such as the Tiger Roar Award and Digital Impact Award, and a certified facilitator and coach for organizational development and business acceleration.
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