While offline briefing sessions were in full swing, Renren.com also launched a splash screen promotion targeting IP addresses in the Dongjiang area, with equally significant results.
In contrast, Dongjiang university students had the highest acceptance of this new group-buying model, as they had already been using Renren Waimai for a year.
Renren TuanGou and Renren Waimai were integrated into one website and could also be accessed via WAP login.
"Wife, Renren Waimai actually has group buying for hotels around the school today. I checked the prices, and the one we usually go to is half off, only 40 yuan a night. Hmm, you just need to place the order and pay according to the instructions."
"Holy cow, Renren is so heartwarming, I'm gonna cry. It's a godsend for internet cafe regulars, there are even discounts for surfing the internet."
"The hotpot restaurant I often go to in the city is even 50% off!"
"..."
The emergence of group buying, combined with the food delivery service, perfectly covered the necessities of university students' daily lives.
If they were too lazy to go out during class, they ordered takeout.
On weekends, if they wanted to go online, sing K, watch a movie, or take a short trip, they used group buying.
This even led some students who didn't order takeout to start using group buying.
No other reason, just cheap.
Vouchers with 20-30% off, packages with 40-50% off, and occasional daily specials saved students a lot of money.
As the birthplace of Renren.com, shops around the university town welcomed group buying with open arms.
Originally, some merchants running hotels and KTVs were particularly envious of the takeout model, and now they could also enjoy a wave of benefits, which was delightful.
A company in Dongjiang.
It was time for the monthly department dinner again, and the department's QQ group was flooded with messages.
"What are we eating today?"
"Where else can we go? Just eat barbecue at the old place."
"Eating it every month, I'm sick of it. I found a buffet on Renren TuanGou nearby that seems pretty good and is especially cheap. If we get a 90% off coupon, it's like eating for free, and then we can save the money for KTV."
"Aren't you afraid of hidden traps if it's that cheap?"
"I saw the ratings are quite high, and the reviews all say the dishes are abundant and taste good. Most importantly, I saw Arctic surf clams, salmon, and blue crabs, which I want to eat the most, in the picture description."
"Alright, share the store with me."
Zhang Qingsong rarely used the internet, and watching the conversations between his colleagues made him feel a bit unfamiliar with the world.
Renren TuanGou?
Reviews?
What the hell are those!
He tilted his head and asked a colleague at the next table,
"What are you guys talking about in your group? Can you buy coupons online?"
The colleague next to him looked at Zhang Qingsong as if he were an alien.
"You don't know about Renren TuanGou, which has become popular recently? I remember someone came to our company to hand out flyers a while ago, and there were people promoting it at subway stations during rush hour."
Zhang Qingsong was stunned for a moment:
"I take the bus home, not the subway."
"I strongly recommend you try it, it's a blessing for us freeloaders. Recently there have been freebie and half-price events. Even if you can't get those, the discounts are still incredibly good. Renren.com has navigation that goes directly to Renren TuanGou, which also has food delivery, but it's not yet available in the city center, only in the university town.
After going there, you can directly log in with your Renren.com account and bind it, then select a store, buy a package or coupon, and just show the redemption code to the merchant upon arrival."
Zhang Qingsong's eyes lit up:
"There's such a good thing? Then I can save a lot on food every month."
Similar scenes were playing out across Dongjiang.
It all boiled down to Renren TuanGou's promotion being too powerful!
The advertising chain fully covered, attracting all merchants and users to the platform, facilitating transactions.
Merchant discounts coupled with platform subsidies made anyone who came obediently exclaim "so good!"
In addition, Renren TuanGou was also essentially a recommendation platform.
After a tiring day at work, searching for nearby massage parlors and walking a few steps to get there was truly convenient.
Of course, besides Renren TuanGou's novel model and strong discounts, a major key factor was the absence of competitors.
Meituan and Lashou were not set to launch until March 2010, and Renren TuanGou was two years ahead of them.
Being an early entrant had both advantages and disadvantages.
The disadvantage was the need to first spend money cultivating the market and consumer spending habits.
For example, Renren TuanGou currently still faced significant settlement issues.
In an era where mobile payments were not yet widespread, settlements still required logging into online banking, which led to a reduction in audience.
But the advantage was that Chen Pingjiang could slowly develop his strength, gradually expanding city by city, and steadily facing the challenges of latecomers.
However, it was foreseeable that with the butterfly effect, Lashou and Meituan would also emerge earlier than originally planned.
***
Renren TuanGou's promotion strategy was to expand from points to areas.
It focused on a few core business districts and radiated outwards.
This involved issues of effective promotion and cost-effectiveness.
Right after launch, wanting to cover the suburbs was clearly a pipe dream.
For every merchant who embraced group buying with open arms, there was one who shook their head and said no.
And most of these merchants held two views.
First, "I run a small business, I don't make much money, and I have to give you a cut. Why should I?"
Second, "Business is already good, there's no need for this whole scheme."
For such merchants, the ground promotion department would generally visit once and never go a second time.
You can never wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.
The market is dynamic, and customer traffic is limited; there are only so many people within a business district.
Excellent stores, relying on superb product quality and personalized service, would not be affected in the short term.
As for stores with poor business, since they were already doing badly, they wouldn't feel the impact deeply.
But the first to be hit hard were those middle-of-the-road shops, and precisely these types of shops were the most common on the market.
If other businesses gained a little, yours would lose a little.
Running a business also adheres to the law of conservation of energy.
Jidao Foot Bath Shop.
Owner Wang Shaofei looked at the deserted lobby, walked over to the front desk, and asked,
"How many customers came today?"
After checking, the front desk replied,
"For some reason, customers have been decreasing recently. We only had ten altogether today, mostly middle-aged and elderly, almost no young people, and not a single one applied for a membership card."
Wang Shaofei's face instantly turned ugly.
Normally on a Saturday by this time, there would be at least thirty groups of customers.
This current number was absolutely abnormal.
At this moment, the lobby manager also ran over:
"Mr. Wang, a technician is complaining, saying she's only had one shift all day. If this continues, she won't even be able to afford food. She also said that a fellow villager of hers works at the Haojue Foot Spa on the street and hasn't had a moment of rest all day, working eight hours straight until her arms were swollen from pressing."
Wang Shaofei looked utterly disbelieving:
"They're bragging, right? Their business used to be similar to ours. We have no business, but they're doing so well?"
"It's true. I had a technician inquire, and they said their shop joined some group buying platform and ran activities, constantly bringing in customers."
Meanwhile, Li Fan, the owner of Haojue Foot Spa, was incredibly busy, constantly receiving calls from various branches.
"Mr. Li, quickly arrange for more people to come over. Some of our customers have been waiting for an hour, and the technicians simply can't keep up."
Li Fan, with a hoarse voice, said helplessly,
"Reassure the customers, I'll figure something out on my end. Other stores are also very busy."
After hanging up, he was finally convinced by Chen Pingjiang.
As a frequent guest in He Zhiyu's inner circle, Li Fan was also one of Renren TuanGou's many small shareholders, and he had launched a series of activities such as "90% off flash sales" and "30% off packages."
Renren.com's resources were also very well-placed, directly ranking first in the category list, with a rating as high as 5.0.
Li Fan watched his business get better day by day, and by this weekend, he was completely overwhelmed.
Both happy and in pain.
Even with such heavy discounts, each store didn't make much money, but Li Fan was still very satisfied.
Massage services were discounted, but tea, overnight fees, and scrubbing could still be charged at original prices.
In addition, customers could be encouraged to apply for membership cards.
Even if none of that happened, it didn't matter.
Once they came, a portion of them would come a second time.
Existing old customers paid original price as usual, while those from Renren TuanGou received discounts.
Hmm, very reasonable.
No business would refuse to profit from familiar customers.
Anyway, since customers didn't ask, there was no need to proactively introduce it.
While Li Fan continued to answer calls, Wang Shaofei, the owner of Jidao Foot Bath, disguised himself as a customer and walked into the entrance of Haojue Foot Spa.
"Welcome, sir, are you here for a massage or a foot massage?"
The attendant greeted him with a smiling face.
Wang Shaofei mumbled,
"Foot massage."
"Uh, I'm sorry, we currently don't have technicians for foot massages. You might have to wait an hour and a half."
"What about a body massage?"
"For a body massage... it's two hours."
Wang Shaofei's eyes almost popped out then.
Holy cow, is business really this good?
That makes no sense!
Our two businesses used to be similar.
Nodding, Wang Shaofei continued,
"I'm the one who... bought a coupon on the group buying platform?"
"Oh, oh, in that case, please show your redemption code at the front desk. We can arrange a technician for you sooner, about half an hour should be enough."
Wang Shaofei didn't have any redemption code, so he vaguely said,
"Never mind, I'll come another day."
After leaving the store, Wang Shaofei's face was so dark with anger it was unbearable.
Renren TuanGou had also approached their store, and the lobby manager had received them and rejected them on the spot.
He planned to call Renren TuanGou first thing tomorrow morning; they had to join no matter what.
If things continued like this, his own store would be ruined in less than a month.
When Renren TuanGou captured half the merchants in a business district, other merchants would waver and proactively join.
If you don't compete, you can only wait to die!
Sometimes choosing the market is more important than diligence.
***
In the values of Renren TuanGou shaped by Chen Pingjiang, consumers came first, and merchants second.
As an online platform, user satisfaction was crucial for business development.
Renren TuanGou's management of merchants was very strict from the beginning, aiming to ensure user rights were protected.
The market for group buying combined with takeout was simply too massive.
When it covered the entire country, there might be hundreds of millions of users and millions of merchants.
With such a huge market scale, if constraints were not applied during the initial startup phase, problems would erupt during rapid development, ultimately leading to an uncontrollable situation.
Therefore, Chen Pingjiang preferred to go a bit slower from the beginning to ensure a solid foundation.
Lashou.com was a prime example of frantic expansion eventually leading to a bleak end.
Hiring was crude, often poaching people with high salaries, and human resources management was chaotic.
High-salaried recruits displeased veteran employees, and the ground promotion team had a strong "gangster" vibe, constantly engaging in internal strife.
On the merchant side, management of merchant qualifications and other aspects was very poor, with merchants frequently taking money and running away.
How could it possibly compete with the later Meituan?
(End of chapter)