2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 252 Responses to the Southwest Market

"Heroes' Ranking? Who came up with such a corny name?"

Although he said that, Tan Jincheng still took it very seriously. This was a direct attack from a competitor, and the competitor had chosen the Southwest region where FlashDrive's foundation was weakest.

It was Ya Di that made the move.

Although Chiprise was in the limelight last year and became a new leader in the electric vehicle industry, Tan Jincheng's most important competitor is undoubtedly Yadi. This company and Aima, which was not yet established, have been doing better and better in the later stages, and Yadi has even become the number one in the entire industry.

Compared to the high-profile approach of Aima and Xinri, Yadi was the most low-key of the three giants in the electric vehicle industry in the past. Xinri chose the very famous Long Ge as its spokesperson, while Aima chose Jay Chou, who was at the height of his popularity at the time.

Yadi is rather puzzling in this regard. Their spokespeople change frequently, almost every few years since S.H.E. They don't rely on celebrities and their marketing capabilities aren't outstanding. So why has Yadi become the number one in the industry? Of course, they have their own unique methods.

A focus on technology may be one of the reasons for Yadi's success. Compared with the other two giants, Yadi places more emphasis on technology, and their brand marketing is more focused on quality.

"What did the marketing department say? What kind of solution did they offer?"

The news has been back for a few days now. I haven't had time to pay attention to this aspect these past few days, but if the marketing department doesn't react at all, then it would be a dereliction of duty.

No matter how corny the name of this Heroes List is, people recognize it. The opponent's blocking methods are indeed effective, and Flash's promotion in the CD region is not going so smoothly.

"The marketing department has submitted a proposal, boss, please take a look." Zhao Xinyi quickly found the response proposal submitted by the marketing department among a pile of documents.

After spending the entire morning with her boss for the first time, Zhao Xinyi felt that this young boss was simply a workaholic. He seamlessly transitioned from leaving the district government office to working at FlashTech, showing no interest in the plans that had been finalized that morning.

The scene that morning still shocked Zhao Xinyi. The people she met today were people she had only ever seen on TV and in newspapers before. The boss was clearly a few years younger than her, yet he was able to talk and laugh freely in front of them.

Even the final decision on the plan was made by the boss.

It was a strange feeling. The youngest person in the meeting, standing in front of a group of powerful and influential people, was not overwhelmed by their aura and ultimately led the meeting. It felt like watching an idol drama.

Especially since the boss is quite handsome, the sense of immersion is even stronger.

At the meeting, he won over the big boss with a few jokes, but back at the company, the boss transformed into a cold-faced CEO, single-mindedly immersing himself in his work, creating a striking contrast.

Tan Jincheng was currently reviewing the response plan submitted by the marketing department, unaware that his new assistant had so much on his mind.

The marketing department's proposed solution was actually quite simple: the other party had already taken the lead, and you couldn't very well collaborate with other newspapers to create some kind of "heroic list"—that would just seem a bit low-class.

We will offer certain preferential policies to CD and related retail stores, and in terms of advertising, we will follow FlashTech's consistent marketing strategy, placing advertisements on the Internet, television media, elevators, bus stops, and other locations.

Meanwhile, other regions must also learn from this lesson, especially the areas where the promotion is about to begin, and must prevent such incidents from happening again.

"Let's proceed according to their plan. In addition, let's add one more clause: open directly operated stores in CD and Chang'an. Let them assess the specific number of directly operated stores, coordinate with the general distributor, and then report back to me."

Since the merchants there are hesitant, why not just go for it ourselves and open directly operated stores? If the products sell well, the merchants' hesitancy will naturally decrease. If Flash can sell well in the southeast coastal areas and central provinces, it will naturally do well in the southwest region as well.

"In addition, the frequency of TV commercials should be higher, especially during the time slots when TV stations are less busy and advertising rates are cheaper. They should use the name of Flash to run long commercials for me frequently."

Outside of prime time, TV commercials are relatively cheap; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many ads like "Don't pay 998, just 98!" These ads may not be very effective, but over time they can always make some people remember them.

The reason for using FlashSpeed ​​instead of WindSpeed ​​is that the two are positioned differently. FlashSpeed ​​is positioned as a low-end brand, focusing on cost-effectiveness. Being a bit low-end is fine, and its spokesperson, Chris Lee, came from CD, giving it a natural home-field advantage.

Speaking of which, Chun Ge's endorsement contract started last July, and it will be a year from now until this July. The two-year contract will expire before next July. I wonder what her thoughts are on renewing the endorsement contract.

Should we talk now?

Forget it, it's only March, only nine months. Talking about the contract with them so early would make us seem a bit impatient.

Sigh, being too famous is also a problem. Tianyu's reputation isn't very good, and who knows when they'll have a falling out. If they really want to renew the contract, they'll have to sign it with Chris Lee himself.

Of course, Tan Jincheng had another option: to sign Jay Chou before Aima could. Aima signed Jay Chou in 2009, while Chun Ge's contract expires next July, by which time the popularity of Super Girl will have faded.

Jay Chou's endorsement of FlashCheer is actually in line with his image. Looking back at the domestic brands he has endorsed in the past, such as Hermes, Metersbonwe, Jeanswest, U-Love-Me, and M-Zone, they are almost all "affordable" brands. Endorsing a particular affordable brand might be accidental, but the fact that he endorses these brands consistently indicates that his fans or consumer base are concentrated in this area, which explains his choice.

From a competitive standpoint, signing Jay Chou in advance and denying Aima a chance is perfectly reasonable. Aima's success is mainly due to its marketing, which is similar to the initial development strategy of Flash Motors, with Jay Chou serving as its spokesperson playing a significant role.

FlashTech, which started with marketing, mainly learned from the experiences of its predecessors, Aima and Xiaomi. Now, FlashTech wants to take the technology route, developing its own batteries, motors, etc., and is learning from Yadi's approach.

However, he couldn't let others steal his business from him, so with that in mind, Tan Jincheng was even less in a hurry to renew his contract as the spokesperson for Flash.

Aside from being too expensive, Jay Chou doesn't seem to have any other downsides. It seems that in 2009, Aima signed Jay Chou for 3000 million yuan? And it was only for two years, 1500 million yuan a year is just too damn expensive.

I wonder how much Jay Chou asked for in 2007?

"If you're free this afternoon, could you buy me a few Barbie dolls, and some other girls' toys that you think are nice too?" After finishing up matters in the Southwest region, Tan Jincheng remembered the promise he had made to Jinyue that morning.

"Barbie doll?" Zhao Xinyi asked uncertainly.

"Yes, it's for my sister." He nodded and took out 2000 yuan from his wallet and handed it to Zhao Xinyi.

"2000 yuan is too much. We don't need that much."

"Take this first. You'll need it often in the future. Just let me know if you run out of money, and I won't have to pay for it yourself."

In his previous life, Tan Jincheng had heard employees mention that what they hated most was that the company would arrange business trips or purchases without advance payment. Some employees who were financially strapped but were too embarrassed to say so were even forced to use credit cards, Alipay, and other advance payment tools.

The subsequent reimbursement process is very complicated, and if the reimbursement is not processed in time, they will face repayment pressure, which is very distressing.

Upon closer reflection, isn't this just the company shifting a small portion of its operating costs onto its employees? Tan Jincheng has never actually done this. Firstly, when he initially partnered with Zhang Xupeng, procurement was handled either by him or Zhang Xupeng. Since they were both bosses, there was no issue with shifting the risk.

After the two separated, Tan Jincheng got married and ran a business like a husband-and-wife shop, basically not needing employees to contribute their own money.

Tan Jincheng finds this practice of shifting a small portion of operational risk to employees somewhat distasteful. It doesn't matter to senior executives who have high incomes, but salespeople rely on commissions for their income, with only a small basic salary.

When it's the off-season or a bad year, the pressure of life is already immense. On top of that, you have to pay for business trips yourself. It's one thing for single people, but for those who have families to support, it's a real headache.

From the early days of Jinpeng Trading to the founding of Flash Technology, Tan Jincheng was always short of funds, but he never even considered it. On the one hand, he didn't have the concept, and on the other hand, he knew that those who followed him were young people like Li Yanning and Sun Yuming.

Young people are often the group that suffers the most, especially those who go out to work. Apart from motivational quotes, they have nothing. They are plagued by various pressures such as rent, living expenses, and low income.

Tan Jincheng was young once too, someone who's been through the rain. He doesn't expect you to hold an umbrella for others, but he also shouldn't take away someone else's umbrella.

Tan Jincheng's method of paying in cash in advance indeed won Zhao Xinyi a lot of goodwill. When the boss asked her to buy toys, apart from being a little confused, the first thing she thought of was that she would have to pay for them herself again.

Although she was from the local area, having only graduated a few years ago, her monthly salary was barely enough for her own expenses, and she couldn't save any money at all.

"How old is your sister, boss? I need to buy toys based on her age," Zhao Xinyi asked with a grin as she took the money.

"One and a half years old."

"One and a half years old?" Zhao Xinyi looked Tan Jincheng up and down, and asked suspiciously.

How old is the boss again? The information says he was born in 1985, which means he was born in 2004, when he was 19 years old. Could it be that he was born in 2004?

"What are you thinking? She really is my sister. My parents had a daughter late in life, and they couldn't accept it." Tan Jincheng knew she was thinking the wrong thing as soon as he saw her eyes.

In fact, more than once people have teased him like this, asking if she is his daughter, given the significant age difference.

But that's really not true. I'm not a celebrity, so there's no need for me to hide whether I've had children or not.

(End of this chapter)