Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 680 If you leave, I'll leave too.

Waters fell silent. He had to admit that Lee Jae-yong's analysis of how fees create value and provide direct incentives did indeed have its own inherent logic.

But he was still worried about the speed of promotion.

To be honest, he doesn't know much about the consumer markets in Asian countries.

At the very least, in the realm of the personal consumer market, he is indeed inferior to Lee Jae-young, the president of Samsung, who is deeply rooted in Asia.

Li Zairong seemed to see through his thoughts and smiled, "As for your concern about the speed of promotion, Mr. Waters, this involves the reallocation of resources. We originally planned to invest tens of billions of dollars in potential channel subsidies and huge human resource costs, but now we can invest this huge sum of money in marketing and advertising."

"Think about it, the same 100 billion yuan, if we use it for subsidies, it might be quietly swallowed up by the distribution channels, but if we use it for advertising? We can cover all the mainstream TV stations, portal websites, local newspapers and outdoor billboards in China, we can hire the most influential celebrities to endorse us, we can create a phenomenal marketing event, and we can tell all users, say goodbye to lag, only 20 yuan!"

"What we need to do is not to compete with Momo's system in terms of free services, but to use powerful marketing to reshape the professional image of XP Lite. As long as users feel that the 20 yuan is worth it, we will have succeeded."

Waters was eventually persuaded by Lee Jae-young.

Soon after, Microsoft and Samsung held a press conference in Beijing, where each sent a vice president to read out an apology statement in a clearly rehearsed tone.

The gist of the statement is that they deeply regret the recent misconduct of some service center employees, have taken serious action against those responsible, and announced that in order to ensure a more professional and stable system upgrade service experience, a technical service fee of 20 yuan will be charged for the installation of XP Speed ​​Edition system seven days later.

The statement was sincere, but it made no mention of Luo Yonghao, the core victim of the incident.

This feeling of being forced to distort public opinion by capital made Luo Yonghao, the person at the center of the incident, feel so frustrated that he almost exploded.

He wasn't upset about the money, but rather outraged by the arrogant attitude of Microsoft and Samsung, who seemed to think, "We're rich, we won't admit our mistakes." In his anger, he immediately published several articles on his personal blog, denouncing Samsung's false apology and commercial hegemony.

He was unaware that, in the eyes of Microsoft and Samsung, not suing him was already an act of leniency.

Apologize to him?

There is no precedent in the history of Microsoft and Samsung for apologizing to an individual.

It never happened before, it doesn't happen now, and it will never happen in the future.

Meanwhile, in the president's office at Microsoft's Asia headquarters in Beijing, his chief public relations consultant stood aside, cautiously reporting the initial reactions online.

"Mr. Waters, after our public apology, public opinion monitoring on major platforms shows that negative sentiment remains very high, mainly focusing on the lack of sincerity in the apology and the avoidance of the core issues..."

Waters waved his hand, interrupting the report.

He turned around, a calm light gleaming in his deep-set eyes.

“I don’t need to know those details,” he said slowly. “In China, the volume of a voice is always more important than its content. Li Zairong is right. What we need is to conquer the Chinese market, not to win a debate.”

“Listen up, everyone.” Waters looked at the executives in front of him and said, “I want every Chinese person, no matter which city they live in, whether they turn on the TV, use their computer, or go out of their home, to see and hear the term XP Speed ​​Edition within a month.”

A hint of surprise flashed in the CFO's eyes as he said, "President, to achieve this level of coverage, we need at least..."

“You don’t need to tell me the numbers now,” Waters interrupted him again, saying, “You should first produce a detailed proposal. My requirements are to buy out the prime time slots on CCTV-1, CCTV-2, and CCTV-5, book advertising space on all subway lines in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, and have our ads frequently played on the homepages of major websites such as Sohu, Sina, and NetEase.”

The marketing director hesitated for a moment and said, "Is such an investment too much... and the pricing policy was just announced, which may affect user acceptance."

Waters sneered, "When everyone knows our product, when all channels are discussing our brand, then 20 yuan will transform from a fee into a barrier, from an obstacle into a guarantee of quality. LV can sell bags that cost tens of yuan to produce for hundreds of thousands in China. Is charging 20 yuan too much?"

He looked around at everyone present and said, "The era of free services should end. It's time to instill a concept in Chinese users: that quality services are worth paying for."

At that very moment, on the other side of the city, Luo Yonghao was furious in his cramped office.

He pointed at the bland statement on the computer screen and angrily said, "Look at this, this is their attitude. I was ripped off for 2100 yuan, insulted, and fined, and in their eyes it's just that a few employees from individual channels didn't meet service standards? Can't they even speak a human language?"

"Fine, since they don't want to resolve the issue properly, then I'll play along to the end. I want to see just how thick-skinned these multinational giants really are!"

Ten days later, Microsoft's promotion began.

On Jingzhou Road, the busiest street in Zhonghai City, a huge outdoor screen plays an advertisement for XP Speed ​​Edition on a loop.

In the video, a well-known movie star smiles as he strokes a laptop and says in a magnetic voice, "Say goodbye to lag and be reborn. Windows XP Speed ​​Edition, a professional and thoughtful choice."

Inside the subway, the entire interior of the carriage was covered with advertisements. XP Speed ​​Edition ads appeared repeatedly in various forms, so that commuters could see them whether they looked up or down. It was as if the name was intended to be engraved in their minds.

In front of television sets in countless homes, prime-time dramas are suddenly interrupted by commercials, featuring the same visuals, the same slogans, and the same XP Lite ads.

At the same time, Samsung's authorized service centers across the country have also been renovated.

The shop window was covered with promotional posters, the counter was decorated with beautiful brochures, and even the employees' uniforms had been changed to a new style with the XP Speed ​​Edition logo.

The overall spirit and energy of the service center are completely different from before.

Inside the service center, their inquiry phone was ringing non-stop.

At Samsung's flagship service center in Yanjing, the phone rang incessantly, and the five operators were extremely busy.

"Yes, sir, we now offer professional installation service for XP Speed ​​Edition."

"The fee is 20 yuan per session; this is a professional technical service fee."

"The results are guaranteed to be much better than free systems..."

Everything was developing in the direction that Waters and Lee Jae-young had anticipated.

While XP Speed ​​Edition was being heavily advertised, Cheng Yi was also thinking about how to deal with it.

This time, their opponent is Microsoft, which is fighting a desperate battle.

Moreover, Microsoft's tactics are completely different from their previous money-burning strategies; this time they are focusing on word-of-mouth and marketing.

They're basically putting on a showdown between products.

This battle is completely different from before. They must face it head-on and engage in a real fight with Microsoft; clever tricks won't solve anything anymore. Last night, Liu Guiwu called and talked with Cheng Yi for over an hour.

In this battle between Momo OS and Microsoft XP, their official stance is inconvenient to take the lead, and they cannot even publicly take sides.

Because the current international situation is too sensitive.

If they step forward, some countries could easily seize the opportunity to make a big fuss about it.

At this stage, they desperately need overseas technology and foreign investment support. At this critical juncture, they can only treat everyone equally and let Momo OS fight this battle based on its own strength.

Cheng Yi understands Liu Guiwu's helplessness.

If you fall behind, you must be prepared to be. It would be good enough if you could avoid being attacked.

Cheng Yi paced back and forth in his office all day, and the ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts.

The night was already deep outside the window, and the thoughts in his mind were gradually becoming clearer.

The fact that Microsoft and Samsung chose this moment to launch their all-out attack makes their intentions all too clear.

They want to cut off Momo Group, or rather, the most important source of cash flow for its backer, Enze Capital.

If the domestic internet cafe and operating system market in China is shaken, Enze Capital's overseas acquisitions and expansion will lose strong financial support. At that time, Microsoft and Intel will join forces to crush it, and it will be easy to reverse the situation.

"We must first find a way to get our hands on Samsung's $30 billion deposit..." Cheng Yi stopped and nodded to himself.

Since Li Zairong dared to so blatantly break with convention and participate in the direct attack against Momo Group, it was practically equivalent to giving up the $30 billion ceasefire guarantee deposited in a Swiss bank.

As long as they are currently only assisting Microsoft in promoting its operating system, and the target is Momo OS System Company, which is not a subsidiary of Momo Group, they have not yet encountered the conditions to withdraw the $30 billion.

However, if this battle continues, the next target will be the internet cafe industry.

Microsoft's willingness to venture into the internet cafe industry must be due to the support of Samsung.

Without Samsung's support, they probably wouldn't have made this decision, after all, they had tried before and failed miserably.

To enter the internet cafe industry, one needs a strong foundation in various regions and counties across China, and Samsung's service centers in these regions can provide Microsoft with that foundation.

So now, he's setting up a separate legal team to start collecting evidence that Samsung violated the ceasefire agreement. If this deposit ends up in their pockets, it will provide crucial financial support for this war of attrition.

However, money is only the foundation; strategy is the key.

This time, Waters has learned its lesson and is no longer blindly burning money on subsidies. Instead, it is trying to redefine the rules of the market by using a combination of professional image, reasonable fees, and massive advertising.

Now that the other side has set up its strategy, using billions of dollars for comprehensive advertising coverage, if we also invest heavily in an advertising war, it will play right into their hands, and both sides will be caught in an endless war of attrition.

Microsoft is already very wealthy, and although Momo Group's revenue is also enormous, most of its funds are continuously flowing into Enze Capital's acquisition plans.

Therefore, we must use a more cost-effective and precise method to strike.

His focus gradually shifted to the newly renovated Samsung authorized service centers that were ready to welcome paying customers.

These service centers are the final point of contact between XP Speed ​​Edition and users, and also the physical window to showcase XP Speed ​​Edition's professional image. To deal with XP Speed ​​Edition, you must first deal with these physical centers.

His mind kept flashing through business war cases he had seen and heard in his previous life. Eventually, a bold and almost unscrupulous strategy gradually took shape in his mind.

Currently, Mixue Ice Cream's strategy of using extreme cost-effectiveness to surround Luckin Coffee is a very suitable approach to adopt.

He could set up a booth at the entrance of every Samsung service center, offering free installation of the Momo OS system.

Didn't you want to charge 20 yuan to show your professionalism?

Then I'll just install it for free.

Didn't you promote your products extensively to attract customers?

Then I'll try to ride on your good fortune.

Faced with Microsoft's series of major moves, all they can do is use the simplest and most direct free challenge to undermine the sense of value that Microsoft has carefully cultivated.

The core of this strategy is: you go your way, and I'll go mine.

Having figured out the key point, Cheng Yi immediately took action.

The next morning, he summoned Shi Lei, Wu Jun, and Li Xiang, the three people in charge of the business that involved ground promotion.

The three of them sat on the sofa with serious expressions, watching Cheng Yi draw a simple diagram in front of the whiteboard.

After Cheng Yi finished drawing the diagram, he said, "Microsoft and Samsung are launching an offensive that is too aggressive right now. We can't follow their lead, so I've decided to launch a close-quarters confrontation plan."

"The close-up plan?" Shi Lei and the other two were a little confused.

“That’s right.” Cheng Yi drew a Samsung service center on the whiteboard, then drew a few small dots around it, and said, “We want to set up free service points for our Momo OS system at all Samsung authorized service centers and at the entrances of computer malls and digital plazas that are promoting XP Speed ​​Edition nationwide.”

"These service points must be as close as possible to Samsung stores, ideally within their line of sight, so that every potential customer walking into a Samsung store sees our free signage first. The service point design should be simple and eye-catching, highlighting core information such as official genuine products and permanent free access, creating a stark contrast with the professional charging practices of other stores."

"In addition, you need to mobilize all available resources, such as volunteers from various universities and the system installation personnel you often cooperate with, to complete the coverage of the sites in the shortest possible time."

"President Cheng, isn't this too direct? Won't it cause a conflict?" Wu Jun asked with some concern.

Cheng Yi smiled and said, "If we can trigger a conflict, that would be a double blessing. As long as they dare to make a move, I'll let them experience what the strongest legal team is all about."

"Alright, you guys go ahead and calculate the costs and personnel. Give me a list and execution plan as soon as possible. I need to see at least 500 locations set up opposite Samsung service centers in major cities across the country within 72 hours. We must capitalize on this massive influx of traffic as quickly as possible. This time, we not only need to be well-fed, but we need to make the most of it."

(End of this chapter)