Managing customers requires treating them as people, not as traffic.

-01- We are very prone to illusions, always treating what we hope will happen as what will definitely happen. A small trigger can make us feel that we possess power and resources we never had. When a big shot pats you on the shoulder and calls you "brother," you immediately feel your network has expanded. When a customer casually asks about your business, you immediately think a big order is coming. When subordinates pat their chests and guarantee to exceed targets, you may appear calm but are secretly delighted. Hearing about a good book, you rush to buy it, creating the illusion of mastering that knowledge, even though you may never finish reading it. ... This is human nature; no one is immune. Back then, Empress Dowager Cixi, after watching the Boxers' "bulletproof" performance in the Forbidden City, immediately developed the ambition to expel the foreigners and issued the "Declaration of War" against eleven countries. "They rely on deceit; we rely on heavenly principles. They rely on brute force; we rely on the hearts of the people. With our loyal soldiers and righteous etiquette, everyone is willing to die. With our vast lands of over twenty provinces and a population of over four hundred million, how can we not quell their arrogance and display our national might?" Sounds righteous and awe-inspiring, doesn't it? (Cixi fleeing Beijing in Han Chinese attire) But as soon as gunfire sounded, the Old Buddha still fled in panic from Beijing to Hebei, then from Hebei to Shanxi, and feeling unsafe there, fled to Xi'an, and if that wasn't enough, would have gone south to Chengdu. In the end, it was naturally "to use China's resources to win the favor of the foreign powers."

-02- As early as two years ago, traffic thinking had already hit a dead end. At that time, people in the industry kept shouting "traffic exhaustion" and "traffic peak." Just as everyone came to their senses, understanding the essence of so-called "traffic thinking" and beginning to abandon this outdated concept of being harvested by platforms, a new marketing term emerged out of thin air: "private domain traffic." They claimed: as long as you bring users who follow you into your official account, mini-program, community, website, or other closed network spaces, forming your private domain, you can then use them repeatedly at zero cost. Doesn't that sound appealing? Here, users are like fish in their pond or leeks in their vegetable patch, to be harvested whenever they want. To be honest, the last time I heard such an arrogant concept was when hackers called the computers they controlled "meat chickens." Unfortunately, these marketers have only the arrogance of hackers, not their skills. They don't even understand common sense, or pretend not to. This violates the basic logic of free commerce: in the relationship between a company and its customers, the customer always holds the dominant position. Positioning theory says: what determines a company's survival is not whether customers enter your private domain, but whether you enter the customer's mind. In plain language: to win customers, you must at least treat them as people, not as traffic. One would think that such low-level "word-making marketing" wouldn't fool smart business owners and marketers. But human nature is like this: once the temptation is strong enough, illusions arise, and everyone's IQ gets ground into the dirt. Look: zero cost, repeated use, diverse methods, fully controllable, customers not only stable but also continuously fissioning. Such a tempting prospect makes your mouth water just thinking about it, so it must be true. As for whether users will obediently "come into the bowl," many companies are also blindly confident. Many people think that once a customer uses their product, there's some kind of "destiny" between them, and from then on, they are "my people." They probably think they're not selling products but a spell or a talisman, and once customers touch it, they'll be enchanted and never forget them. When these two illusions collide, the wonderful "private domain traffic" is born. The term "private domain traffic" is very clever, clever in that it gives companies a sense of gain and control: "managing customers" sounds like you have to work and manage, and you don't know if you'll do well. "Private domain traffic" sounds like "my turf, my rules," and just the name makes you feel fulfilled. So many people like it. Since we like it so much, it must exist. If it doesn't exist, experts will come to tell you it must exist.

-03- The idea that customers who have bought your product or joined your community become your controllable private domain is a delusion. Users never have an identity called "consumer"; "consumer" is a one-sided term we use for internal communication. They won't become your private domain just because they bought your product once or joined your community, to be continuously harassed by you. Those who allow you to continuously harass them may not necessarily be valuable; some might even want to take advantage of you. And those who keep their distance and don't want to enter your "private domain" may not necessarily not be your customers; they might even be high-value customers. They just bought your product; they don't necessarily want to have more relationship with you, unless you can provide enough compelling benefits. If you try to force things or use self-righteous tricks, you're more likely to drive them away. Users can be managed, but they cannot be "privated." Managing users and doing private domain traffic are completely different things, even though they look similar. One is a radish, the other a ginseng; one is Feng Jing, the other Ma Liang. Managing users is user thinking, providing value to users, and taking the brand owner's stance. Private domain traffic is still traffic thinking, making you spend more time on the platform, clearly taking the platform's stance. The usual traffic thinking (so-called public domain traffic) is the stance of transaction and information platforms, while private domain traffic is the stance of social platforms. So those who tout private domain traffic to the skies ultimately tell you to do "WeChat official accounts," "communities," "mini-programs," and various other apps. Many who do "private domain traffic" use the guise of "managing users," but both in name and practice, they are completely opposite. In terms of naming, managing users puts users at the core and respects their values. Private domain traffic doesn't treat users as people but as traffic, as leeks to be harvested, leeks that they can cut but others can't. This is ignorance plus arrogance, full of offense to users. If the name is not right, words won't be smooth. It's hard to imagine a customer-value-oriented company calling its users "traffic." In terms of practice, managing users is user-led. Sophisticated user management is driven by values, encourages user participation, and lets them gain a sense of value and even belonging through interaction. Examples include Harley clubs and Xiaomi community. Private domain traffic, on the other hand, is promotion-led, with a pyramid scheme style, encouraging repeat consumption, sharing on social media, and recruiting others. Examples include many low-end WeChat businesses, like the "Shanghai socialite group" you can join for 500 yuan.

-04- The concept of "private domain traffic" is so hot, but there has never been a compelling case. This is inferior to its sibling "live-streaming e-commerce," which, look, if you don't sell hundreds of millions in one session, you're embarrassed to say hello. They talk a good game, but their actual results are unimpressive. Luckin Coffee once proposed a "traffic pool" concept, which seems similar to this "private domain." In the early years, advocates of private domain traffic liked to cite "Luckin Coffee." Now that Luckin has had its scandal, everyone has flocked to "Perfect Diary." Almost every promoter of private domain traffic is tirelessly recommending Perfect Diary, showing how revolutionary their private domain operations are and how great "Xiao Wanzi" is. Did Perfect Diary really succeed because of so-called private domain traffic? Haven't they seen how much promotion they invested in the "public domain"? From Juhuasuan to Xiaohongshu to live-streaming e-commerce, everywhere is bustling with activity. Haven't they seen how many brand collaborations they did, how many celebrities they signed, how many event promotions they ran, and how much advertising they spent? This doesn't even include the key parts we can't see: product development, experience design, customer insight, and channel driving systems. These are the key factors. If these are done well, the brand can thrive; if not, it will be a flash in the pan. The so-called "private domain traffic" part, including the praised "Xiao Wanzi," mainly plays a role in enhancing customer stickiness. More importantly, Perfect Diary's official statements never said they relied on "private domain traffic" for success. The various "Perfect Diary Private Domain Operation Manual," "Perfect Diary Private Domain Traffic Matrix," and "Perfect Diary High Conversion Techniques" online are all written by experts who advocate private domain traffic. Coincidentally, Alibaba is also promoting Perfect Diary's success. But in stark contrast, Alibaba attributes Perfect Diary's success to: using consumer data analysis on the platform, making decisions with data, and thus producing products that perfectly match consumers. Isn't this the "new manufacturing" that Mr. Ma has always advocated? It's still "the butt decides the brain"; success cases are just little girls anyone can dress up. On social platforms, it's "private domain traffic"; on transaction platforms, it's "new manufacturing." In the end, apart from WeChat businesses, these touted private domain traffic cases have no successful practice. They can only use companies like Perfect Diary, which do customer relationship management well, to fool people.

-05- New technologies should be learned, but new concepts must be guarded against. Technology is neutral; anyone can use it. But concepts have stances. If you learn a concept that doesn't align with your position, you'll only be working for others. Ducks yearn for Quanjude thinking; leeks praise the sharpness of the sickle.

Summary:

  1. Abandon delusions and fantasies, or you'll take many detours, and in severe cases, be driven to death. Learn new technologies, but be wary of new concepts.
  2. The so-called private domain traffic is still a form of traffic thinking advocated by platforms. The stance is with the platform; the difference is that before it was the stance of transaction and information platforms, this time it's the stance of social platforms.
  3. The reason private domain traffic can fool many people is that they have stolen the concept of "managing users." Apart from a few similar operational techniques, the two are fundamentally different in basic cognition, operational methods, and development direction.
  4. The user management techniques in private domain traffic do have some value and shouldn't be dismissed entirely. But these techniques are only suitable for products with high customer attention and participation, and many products are not suitable. For example, if I sell ordinary soy sauce, asking me to invest marketing resources in "private domain" is nonsense.
  5. The methods in private domain traffic that tout low or even zero costs, such as content marketing and user participation, may seem low-cost at first glance, but if done well, the costs are shockingly high, and results are hard to control.
  6. Managing users doesn't necessarily mean putting them in your own pool. Your product and brand are the best carriers for connecting with users; any sales channel or information channel is a connection point. The world's best community is the "Apple fans" community, but that community is not run by the company; it's spontaneously organized by fans.
  7. Most importantly, respect users and treat them as living people, not as traffic: users don't have an identity called "consumer," nor do they have an identity as your private domain traffic. To manage users, you need to enter their lives, let them experience, enter their minds, and let them feel.
  8. Communities, official accounts, and other so-called private domain operations can be used as auxiliary means for managing users, but first, they must be placed in the correct position, and you should learn more professional operations. You should also look at Kotler's methods for building "brand communities" and mastering "customer journeys." Many concepts that people think are innovative and disruptive, as long as they have any merit, will find that Kotler's "Marketing Management" system has already been there waiting. Moreover, in his classic system, we can find more essential cognition and more practical application methods. So Uncle Benshan says, "Your uncle is always your uncle."

Source: Lao Miao Tears Marketing (ID: yiheyingxiao)