Reborn in 08, Public Enemy of Competitors

Early morning, Ali Baba.

Jack Ma looked at the data report since YiTao's launch, then looked up at Wu Yongming.

"Since its launch, YiTao has had 200 million registered users, but less than 10 daily active users."

"Are you sure you can surpass YiTaoGO within a year?"

"Mr. Ma, please rest assured."

Wu Yongming said confidently, "I said I would take down YiTaoGO within a year, and I will definitely do it."

"Where does your confidence come from?"

Jack Ma put down the report and interlaced his fingers.

"Users on shopping guide platforms have never been loyal. They will flock to whoever offers higher rebates or more discounts."

"You gave YiTao a budget of 10 billion yuan over 3 years, which was used for commission rebates and subsidies. YiTaoGO simply cannot compete with us."

Wu Yongming's face showed a hint of disdain.

Users are just cheapskates; give them a little something, and they'll come running like dogs.

"If we rely solely on subsidies and rebates, wouldn't YiTao be able to defeat YiTao GO even if we just leash a dog?"

Cai Chongxin frowned and said, "Then what use are you?"

"In addition to rebates, Etao has also planned various promotional activities."

Wu Yongming, sweating profusely, said, "We have already reached agreements with more than 10 brands at the online goods trade fair and plan to launch a series of brand group buying and May Day special sales activities to directly compete with YiTaoGO."

"Anything else?"

Cai Chongxin asked another question.

"We are preparing to launch the 'One Account' system soon."

Wu Yongming said, "Users can log in to Etao directly with their Taobao account or Zhifubao account without having to register again. They can also place orders without having to log in again after being redirected, thus avoiding losing users due to registration barriers."

"That's more like it!"

Jack Ma's eyes showed a hint of approval: "Remember, you have Ali behind you. You don't need to fight alone; you need to make good use of the resources and advantages of the entire Ali system to deliver a crushing blow to YiTao GO!"

"Yes, Mr. Ma!"

Wu Yongming breathed a sigh of relief, a hint of disdain in his eyes.

YiTaoGO is just a makeshift operation formed by college students. Its previous success was simply because no major companies were interested in the sales guide market.

Things are different now, Ahri is here!

………………

Shen Mo received the news that YiTao had launched the "One Account" feature immediately.

The atmosphere throughout the entire YiTaoGO store visibly became more serious.

"Depend on!"

Lu Wenbin slammed his fist on the table. "Some of the users we painstakingly acquired become impatient just because they are redirected to multiple pages. But with Taobao, they can log in directly with their Taobao account without even having to register."

Yuan Hua said helplessly, "Only Ahri can use this move! We can't even copy it if we want to."

"That's not all. The key point is that Taobao's cashback rate is now higher than ours."

Lu Wenbin gritted his teeth: "It's all about burning money to gain market share."

"Slap slap."

Shen Mo clapped his hands lightly. "What's the panic?"

Then, I picked up a marker and quickly wrote "Bargain for 0 Yuan" on the whiteboard.

"Xu Kun, Bi Fan, you lead the technical team to develop this functional module for me."

"Brother Mo, is it like a one-yuan flash sale?"

Xu Kun cast an inquiring glance.

"One-yuan flash sales are to ensure user activity, while zero-yuan price slashing is a social fission gameplay that is even stronger than group buying."

Shen Mo shook his head and began to explain.

In fact, even without YiTao's relentless pressure, I planned to have YiTaoGO cut prices to accelerate its growth.

In this way, during Pinduoduo's cold start phase, the massive user base and traffic of YiTaoGO can be channeled into Pinduoduo.

Just like importing users from QQ to WeChat, it helped Pinduoduo quickly accumulate its initial user base.

"We'll differentiate the 'zero-yuan discount' based on the user's value and background."

He was writing on the whiteboard while talking non-stop.

"These are price reductions for existing customers, new customers, and customers who haven't placed their first order."

"New users and long-inactive accounts can get a discount of several dollars per cut, while active accounts that frequently participate in price-cutting can only get a discount of a few cents per cut. Black market accounts and mutual aid accounts are directly judged as invalid assistance..."

"When setting up a price-cutting progress bar, the initial cuts should be extremely fast to create a strong visual impact, making users feel that 'it's about to be done.' Once users keep inviting others to cut the price, and it reaches 99.99%, the remaining 0.01% can only be cut by inviting new users or users who haven't placed their first order."

"Brother Mo, at this rate, how many people would it take to cut this down?"

Qin Feng's eyes widened in disbelief.

"This should be calculated per capita based on cost."

"The cost of acquiring a new customer on the Internet is currently around 20 to 25 yuan."

"If you want to get an 8GB Meizu M8 for free, you need to get at least 96 kills before you can take it away."

Shen Mo said seriously, "For every product and every withdrawal, the backend calculates the accounts according to this logic, making users think they are taking advantage of the platform, but in fact, it is helping us attract new users."

"So, how do I display the progress bar?"

Xu Kun said, "If we display it at 99.99% or 99.999%, even with sunk costs, users will get impatient."

"So we don't show progress; we have to manipulate it at the unit level."

Shen Mo snapped his fingers: "At first, we directly cut the price, and later we replaced it with virtual units such as gold coins and diamond fragments, like Russian nesting dolls, one after another. When users got to the last layer, they found that they needed to dismantle another layer."

These words caused an uproar in the room.

Zhong Xue couldn't help but exclaim, "Boss, your way of thinking... you really understand human nature perfectly."

Lu Wenbin chimed in, "Brother Mo, your tactics are too sophisticated!"

Yuan Hua said, "Yes, they're treating people like dirt!"

"While this approach may have remarkable effects, it also carries legal risks."

Lin Qingyan had some concerns: "What if someone brings in dozens or even hundreds of people, and still fails to cut it down, then gets angry and sues us?"

"What are you afraid of?"

Shen Mo shrugged. "What users see is '0.01 yuan difference,' but the backend actually calculates '0.019999 yuan.' We just wanted the page to look cleaner and display the price reduction progress to only two decimal places, but the actual calculation precision is to six decimal places."

Then, with a mischievous grin, he said, "Tell me, is this illegal?"

"No...nothing illegal..."

Lin Qingyan secretly cursed in her heart, but it really was a bit shameless.

Yuan Hua said helplessly, "It's fortunate that Mo started his business while studying. If he had done something else, it probably wouldn't have been of any benefit to society."

Shen Mo rolled his eyes at him. Damn it, if we're talking about who's the worst, then Huang Zheng is the worst. He's pulled up all the bamboo shoots in the entire Sichuan province.

Pinduoduo's "cut a price" promotion is never due to users' bad luck; it's entirely a carefully designed rule by the platform.

Showing hidden progress, playing nested games within units, and limiting the number of people based on cost – these three steps will trap 99.9999% of people!

………………

After finalizing the framework for the "zero-yuan price cut" game, the technical team immediately began development.

The keyboard clattered loudly, and the whiteboard was covered with flowcharts and logic nodes.

"Yuan Hua, Liu Yang, come with me for a moment."

Shen Mo led them downstairs to the Palm Joy Games Studio.

"How's the overseas version coming along?"

"The overseas version has completed UI adaptation, multilingual localization, etc., and is named Farm Town."

Liu Yang truthfully replied, "If all goes well, it will be officially launched on Facebook's gaming platform in another month."

Shen Mo then asked, "What about 'Everyday Fishery'?"

"We plan to launch 'Everyday Fishing Ground' simultaneously with its overseas version."

Yuan Hua continued, "When farms are being promoted abroad, fish farms are being updated domestically at the same time. The three-part program of farms, ranches, and fish farms works in tandem, and the domestic and international public opinion is combined to push up the hype."

Shen Mo nodded in satisfaction: "In addition to these two tasks, Zhang Le now has a new mission to complete."

"Brother Mo, what is it?"

Yuan Hua immediately sat up straight.

"A game tailor-made for Pinduoduo."

Shen Mo said, "The name is tentatively set as 'Dodo Farm,' and the gameplay is similar to 'Everyday Farm.'"

"Users can obtain fertilizer and water droplets through daily check-ins and tasks in the game. Once the vegetables and fruits they grow mature, they can be exchanged for real fruits and vegetables... Tasks include, but are not limited to, placing orders on Pinduoduo, inviting friends to register, and browsing product pages..."

"Brother Mo, are you playing the social media viral marketing game on Pinduoduo?"

Yuan Hua's eyes lit up instantly.

Shen Mo stated bluntly, "The more important thing is user habits. We need to cultivate users' shopping habits on Pinduoduo through free fruit and vegetable giveaways."

Yuan Hua asked, "What should we send? Ginger and garlic?"

"And grains like rice and millet."

"Once Pinduoduo has established a smooth connection with fruit farmers and fruit production bases, we will expand to the fruit category."

Shen Mo narrowed his eyes. This combination of punches, the result of 10 years of skill, Ah Li, can you withstand it?