Marketing rules are constantly being refreshed, and the laws of competition have become incomprehensible overnight. The year before last, when crowdfunding and the New Third Board emerged, we suddenly found ourselves out of touch with the world. Last year, when Internet+ and WeChat became popular, we suddenly realized we were behind the times. This year, with all the fuss about ecosystems, we find ourselves feeling old. But nothing has changed—the soul hasn't changed, the logic hasn't changed. The logic of competition is still about resources, products, and brands. Wrapping these things up in a package is what they call an ecosystem. Looking at this year, is the Internet still being added? Is crowdfunding still as lively? There's nothing new. This year, everyone is playing the ecosystem game, including at the March Sugar and Wine Fair, where there were no good products or good integrations to be seen, but plenty of people trying to slap labels on themselves. 1919 slapped one on, Jiuxian.com slapped one on, and Wu Xiangdong of Huaze did too. The labels are dazzling: open value chains, free docking between upstream and downstream, and using user power to drive change in the production and supply methods of the entire industry chain from the bottom up. But what does it all boil down to? Just one phrase: ecosystem. The ecosystem is not a new concept; it was LeEco and Xiaomi that hyped it up. The liquor industry's years of downturn are just being repackaged to present a new face and give people more confidence. The original intention is quite good, but the effect is confusingly good. However, the fundamental problem of product overcapacity accumulated over the years remains unsolved. A few industry leaders alone cannot reverse the industry's decline. If that were possible, Marx, who spent forty years writing Das Kapital, would have been wrong! But Xiaomi quietly doesn't mention the ecosystem, yet Xiaomi is burning hard. Xiaomi's mobile phone sales approached 80 billion yuan (including tax) before 2016. LeEco tirelessly shouts about the ecosystem, with sales of 13 billion yuan, and LeEco also talks about "chemical reaction." It's estimated that the liquor industry will also start talking about chemical reactions next. But LeEco hasn't achieved a chemical reaction—at least in front of Xiaomi, it doesn't seem to have one. What is a chemical reaction? It's a chemical reaction, in plain terms, fusion. Chemical reaction sounds more fashionable than fusion, so they call it chemical reaction. But LeEco isn't playing by conventional rules; LeEco is doing capital, and the concept is for the capital market. Whether the liquor industry should also play to capital, we don't know. Xiaomi doesn't mention chemical reactions, but Xiaomi is undergoing fusion. Its fusion isn't at the scale of phones anymore; it's a chemical reaction in the channel that connects capital and products through phones. It connects New Hope, New Oriental, and even Tencent. Like a galaxy with countless circles linking to countless other circles, cycling endlessly, mutually dependent. Xiaomi's chemical reaction is an ecosystem, and it's also an ecosystem circle. But the ecosystem isn't mysterious—in plain terms, it's like resource sharing and collaborative symbiosis. With that explanation, do you still think the ecosystem is so profound and abstruse? But Xiaomi isn't the originator of the ecosystem. There's another milestone brand that can't be forgotten: Tesi (Tongling). The creator of Tesi is Shen Dongjun, but he built his ecosystem on a different path. Tesi plays the IP ecosystem, but when you say IP, most people don't understand—only those in the film and TV circle do. But you don't need to understand; you just need to know that the concept isn't the core of things. The core is just the marketing tactics we already know, like the resources, products, and brands mentioned above. What changes is the appearance, like new bottles with old wine. We drink the wine, not the bottle. Those who drink the bottle usually can't sustain it, like flash-in-the-pan products. The liquor industry has plenty of such products, but after two or three years, they stop being hot. Small circles are influenced by big circles; the jewelry industry popularizes ecosystems, and the electronics industry follows suit. When Shen Dongjun was building his ecosystem, Lei Jun was developing software, and Jia Yueting was researching video. But Shen Dongjun had the guts to take on Chow Tai Fook and play the ecosystem against Tiffany. Chow Tai Fook doesn't play ecosystems; it only plays market share. Chow Tai Fook went west and became the leader in supermarkets, and a bunch of jewelry companies followed Chow Tai Fook. Tesi didn't go west; it went south. It played culture and IP, and as a result, it created the most valuable thing in the diamond world—the Blue Flame—and even got the King of Belgium to rush to award a medal for its diamond ecosystem. Except for President Xi, no one has received this medal. Lei Jun didn't get a medal, but Lei Jun is Apple's enemy. Lei Jun used phones as the core of his ecosystem, while Shen Dongjun used Blue Flame as the core of the diamond world. Lei Jun dares to challenge his master (Lei Jun respectfully calls Steve Jobs his master), and Shen Dongjun also dares to challenge his masters (Tiffany and Chow Tai Fook are both masters). Jia Yueting also dares to challenge—he dares to challenge Lei Jun—but his LeEco can't surpass Xiaomi for now. Jia Yueting's core is unclear; it might be TV or future smart cars. The liquor industry also has a core, but it doesn't know who to challenge. If you can't challenge, you don't need to force the ecosystem label. The first person to introduce a concept is a creator, the second is an imitator, and the third is just eating cold leftovers. The ecosystem, no matter how good, is just a concept. Of course, for those who suddenly feel left behind, there's no need to be discouraged. A couple of small tricks can't match decades of your hard work. Those who do real business will always do real business, just as even the most fashionable clothes need a good figure. The world changes every day, but the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west. Cute and lovely, like the "wow" of yesteryear, it's just a bubble. If you really can't understand it, just apply the most basic marketing concepts. Everything changes but its essence remains the same. No matter how fascinating the tricks, in the end, you're still selling snake oil. No matter how well the opera is sung, it's still a performance. Those who can truly build an ecosystem don't necessarily shout about it. Of course, shouting or not doesn't matter; what matters is doing it with your own personality. Countless personalities together form your ecosystem, just like Lei Jun, Shen Dongjun, or Jia Yueting. -END- The best learning platform for FMCG distributors in China Focusing on providing professional, practical, and actionable tutorials for enterprises and distributors Committed to helping Chinese FMCG distributors grow rapidly The most professional and practical knowledge base in the FMCG industry Reply with the red number below to get the corresponding content Reply with number 1 to view the complete knowledge base | 001 Excellent Article Selection | 002 Distributor Market Operations | 003 Terminal Visit Management | 004 Sales Supervisor Skills | 005 Sales Improvement Techniques | 006 Channel Expansion | 007 Managing Distributors | 008 Distributor Development | 009 Distributor Internal Operations Management | 010 Team Management | 011 Efficient Distribution Techniques | 012 Sales Manager's Eighteen Skills | 013 KA Operation Methods and Strategies | 014 First Lesson for New Salespeople | 015 Internet and Brands | [Long press QR code to follow] To join QQ/WeChat groups, click: Read Original