Internet Business Thinking

Chapter 17 WeChat—"Spoiler" or "Successor" in the Mobile Era?

Chapter 17 WeChat—"Spoiler" or "Successor" in the Mobile Era? (3)
Another major source of profit that Ma Huateng mentioned is social games. Essentially, this is also a way of communication to add value.Tencent has successful experience in operating PC games. Since July 2011, Tencent has officially set foot in games on mobile terminals.According to Analysys International data, in the first quarter of 7, the market size of mobile online games was 2012 million yuan, of which Tencent accounted for 4.4% of the market share. Mobile game applications have become one of the key industries for Tencent's game development.If Tencent uses mobile game applications as plug-ins and embeds them into WeChat, it will undoubtedly put WeChat on the road to profitability.

Rebuild the second Alipay platform

What reassures people in the industry is that Ma Huateng made it clear that WeChat only does "some very simple rules and connections at the network layer", and the business model will be handed over to "external partners or individuals."

In terms of platformization, WeChat public accounts already have powerful functions.For example, the WeChat account of Meifuhui can directly conduct group purchases, and allows fans to independently query the information they need, push the brand information, and transform it into the active demand of fans.Another example is that some airlines have launched a WeChat seat reservation service, providing electronic boarding passes directly through WeChat.

However, if it only provides a platform for developers to use their creativity freely, WeChat will not be able to obtain direct benefits from it, just like Sina Weibo is currently facing a profit dilemma.The next step for WeChat platformization is to improve the payment system so that user behavior can form a closed loop on the WeChat platform.Usually, we think that WeChat’s competitors are mobile social tools such as Momo and Michat, but from the perspective of platformization, if we regard WeChat as a life assistant, its competitors will It will be Alipay, and the Jack Ma empire behind Alipay.

Whether it is social value-added, mobile games, or platformization, we believe that if WeChat wants to achieve profitability in the future, it will carry out a new kind of development based on its "user-oriented" and a win-win attitude. Innovate, not just copy.

Online Business Tips
WeChat function and business case

Drifting bottle: China Merchants Bank's "love drifting bottle"

Case details: WeChat users use the "drifting bottle" or "shake" function, and they will see "China Merchants Bank lights up blue light". Autistic children donate points.

QR code: "Huang Feihong (Food)" QR code marketing
Case details: "Huang Feihong" company conducts user promotion through WeChat. Users scan the football-themed WeChat QR code printed on the packaging of "Huang Feihong" with their mobile phones, and the mobile phone will display the "Huang Feihong" lottery event.

Public account: Wechat operation of CEIBS public account

Case details: China Europe Business School opened a WeChat public account in February 2013, and gained more than 2 new "fans" within 10 days of sending information.

Voice Messaging: The Mobile Promotion of the Superstar Podcast
Case details: A sports listening program created by Intel in the United States uses a QR code to allow users to scan and open it, and then directly transfers to the voice module on the WeChat platform, so that users can experience sports information and game status at any time.

(Section [-]) In a shocking situation, the real opponent of WeChat is actually it

Will Tencent have the last laugh?

In the current Internet arena, WeChat is not without rivals.Line, a mobile instant messaging product of Japanese and Korean origin, is very similar to WeChat in terms of user capture and product functions. Not only will Line go head-to-head with WeChat in the US, but it has teamed up with Qihoo 360 and is planning an attack in Tencent's backyard.What's even more shocking is that the Japanese and Korean cartoon stickers, which are Line's unique profit model and capture users, are very popular with female users.

After WeChat gained 3 million mobile users in China, Tencent's ambitions have expanded. In February 2013, Tencent announced the official establishment of an office in the United States to explore market opportunities in the United States. However, a product similar to WeChat arrived in the United States at the same time as WeChat. It is Line developed by NHN Japan, a Japanese company controlled by Koreans. .In other words, Line, who has never met WeChat before, is about to duel with WeChat head-on.

Grab women and win the market
WeChat has finally met a real opponent. NHN Japan is very popular in Japan and South Korea. In particular, its business scope is similar to that of Tencent Empire—it also has almost a complete set of Internet products such as portals, games, mailboxes, maps, and search.

Line, developed by NHN Japan, came out in June 2011, only half a year behind WeChat. However, in January 6, 2013 months after its launch, Line announced that its registered users exceeded 1 million.Although it took 18 days for WeChat to reach 1 million users, the market base of WeChat is a population base of 1 billion, while the total population of Japan and South Korea in Line’s market base is less than 435 million.

In addition, Line said in its official blog that it has been used in 231 countries and regions, and ranks first in the App Store in 41 countries and regions around the world.It is noteworthy for Tencent that the downloads of all iOS products of Line's parent company NHN surpassed that of Tencent in December 2012.

For Ma Huateng and his WeChat team, they are more concerned about two issues: how does Line use to attract 1 million mobile users? Is Line profitable?

Just as Japanese and Korean companies are good at capturing female users and then gaining a larger market, Line is also following this logic to seize the needs of young female users first.For example, from a variety of cute cartoon stickers, to a series of related female games, to attracting Japanese and Korean stars to make public accounts, etc.Therefore, Line was first driven by women, then spread to families, and then developed to 1 million users.

It is said that Line has found a profit model, which is to rely on paid sticker emoticons and in-app purchases of series of games (during the download process, accept the charging requirements of the product manufacturer, and directly deduct the fee from the mobile phone bill in the current month). In addition to providing a small amount of free "sticker emoticons", Line requires customers to purchase a large number of "sticker emoticons".Don’t underestimate these seemingly inconspicuous charging items, which can generate an average monthly income of 3 million yen (about 0.2 million yuan) for Line.And a series of online games based on the image of stickers can not only further enhance the stickiness of users, but also enrich the income structure through in-game purchases.

Alliance with Qihoo 360 to attack WeChat
If Tencent thinks that Line's ambition is only in the United States, then Tencent is wrong. Line's real ambition is actually in China.

就在2012年12月底,Line以中文名“连我”进入中国,并和奇虎360签订了代理协议,授权这家中国公司推广和运营“连我”产品。Line与奇虎360达成的合作协议可能包含:1.对“连我”产生的收入进行分成;2.Line的母公司NHN Japan未来可能与360结成游戏合作伙伴;3.将Line的API接口提供给360,可能接入360系列产品。

Zhou Hongyi, who once complimented Ma Huateng for getting the first mobile Internet "ship ticket", has never been a person who gives up easily.Through the hands of foreign aid, he got a mobile terminal product comparable to WeChat, and is about to compete with Tencent again.

What Tencent can do now is: expect and defend.The so-called expectation is to hope that Chinese mobile users will not download "Lian Me".Because using any mobile instant messaging product, the address book must first be captured by the software, and the cooperation between anti-drug expert Qihoo 360 and foreign capital inevitably makes people worry about personal privacy.

In addition, every action of Qihoo 360 should be tracked.If Qihoo 360 thinks that the cooperation with Line is indeed beneficial, it will definitely provide more marketing support, for example, inserting Line's promotional information into a series of products including 360 anti-virus software and search engines.In this way, the old desktop battle between Tencent and Qihoo 360 will be changed to mobile IM, which in turn will affect Ma Huateng's US strategy.

(Section [-]) Barriers to WeChat’s external expansion

WeChat is very successful in China, but it will be very difficult to develop WeChat in the European and American markets because users have different habits.Users in the United States and Mexico send text messages very differently from users in China and Europe. Americans 10, 15 years ago loved texting, but not anymore.

Some new development models will emerge in developing countries such as China and India, because of their large populations, everyone needs new products, and labor is relatively cheap.At present, China has innovated some successful business models one after another, such as Taobao’s e-commerce model. Now, Taobao accounts for 30% of China’s e-commerce traffic.This would never happen in the US.

Developing countries such as China and India will lead the development of new business models.For example, after the emergence of the same-day supply model in the same city in Beijing, it can continue to develop smoothly.And this model appeared in New York ten years ago, but there is no way to sustain it, because the labor cost and insurance cost in New York are too high.

The successful model cannot be replicated in different markets

Why can't eBay (eBay) adopt a strategy like Taobao to generate revenue in the United States?This is because eBay is very different from Taobao.

EBay is actually a channel for collecting and disseminating information.In Yiwang, the price of the product is uncertain before it is traded, and the price needs to be determined by auction.Especially those rare and precious items are not easy to price.so.Buyers come together and don't trade right away, but decide on a price before they trade.Therefore, the premise of eBay’s business model is to create a large number of hits and traffic. Users are willing to buy and sell things on this website, and are willing to pay transaction fees and handling fees—Ebay is a bridge built between buyers and sellers. , Both buyers and sellers must pay eBay a certain fee.

(End of this chapter)

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