2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 459 The Plan to Hang Up the Pen

"Why aren't we doing large-scale promotions anymore? It's actually quite simple; it's based on market analysis," Tan Jincheng frankly told the camera.

This year's market growth rate differs somewhat from experts' predictions, largely due to differing industry policies. There are rumors that a new national standard for electric vehicles will be introduced, but most business owners do not know what the specific standard will be or when it will be released.

Policy uncertainty means instability, and instability discourages large-scale investment. In addition, standards for electric vehicles on the road are gradually being standardized in various regions. Even Changzhou, which has the most lenient regulations, has been unable to withstand the pressure and has introduced new traffic regulations for electric vehicles.

As in previous years, the market trajectory remains largely unchanged this year. The performance of the hump market is very distinct, with a clear distinction between peak and off-peak seasons. Although the National Day holiday has arrived, the overall peak season for the market this year has already passed.

The National Day promotional period only lasts a few days, and overall it can only be considered as the aftermath of this peak season. In addition, the weather in the north has begun to cool down at this time, and it has actually entered the off-season.

There's not much need to do promotions during the off-season. As for the National Day holiday, the promotional efforts may lag behind the two competitors, but we can still hold on for a few days thanks to the momentum from the previous promotions.

In addition, after two years of marketing influence from Flashpoint, Flashpoint's retail stores are much more adept at handling things than other store owners. For example, those first-tier stores have certain privileges and a certain degree of autonomy in marketing and promotion, and they are very good at handling things.

Take shop owner Zhao Chuanbing as an example. He even taught most of his regular customers how to use QQ and had them join his shop's QQ group, which is quite an innovation for shop owners these days.

Don't underestimate this small action. If your bike breaks down on the road, most people who ride electric bikes know what's wrong. He just has his apprentice take the tools and spare parts and ride over, which doesn't increase any costs.

While increasing his business sources, he also gained the favor of old customers. Electric vehicle shops have a limited sales radius, which is basically limited to nearby residents or office workers. However, having a QQ group has expanded his sales radius.

Users in QQ groups tend to be very engaged. If you provide good service, in addition to being loyal users yourself, they will also recommend new users to you.

Using QQ groups and WeChat groups to attract users and increase store sales is nothing new in later generations, but it was definitely an innovative idea among small shop owners at that time.

Zhao Chuanbing was inspired by Flash's penchant for online marketing. After trying it, he found the results to be quite good, with orders for vehicle parts repairs increasing significantly.

Accumulating small amounts, like a hundred or two hundred, is how business grows. Over a year, it adds up to a considerable amount of profit.

"I think you're either broke or just can't afford it, considering how much you spent last time," Zhang Congxun said sourly from the side.

These words would certainly not be shown on camera, since it would be offensive if they were picked up by certain media outlets. The impact on Flash might not be that great, but it would have some effect on his reputation.

It's true that they feel a bit sour, and it's also true that they want to say it. Yadi is currently focused on building factories and conducting research and development, and their goal is to maintain their top three position. On the contrary, Xinri is still very obsessed with the title of number one, and their concept of maintaining the number one position this year is very low.

To capitalize on the upcoming National Day holiday sales season and boost their sales rankings, Xinri is offering the biggest promotions among the three companies, and is also the one that places the most importance on this National Day holiday, as it is the last golden period of the year.

ChipSun, which was preparing to compete with FlashRace during the National Day holiday, took it very seriously. But what did FlashRace do at this time?
did nothing.

Just like playing Dou Dizhu (a card game), Xin Ri threw out four twos, and Shan Chi, who had two kings in his hand, didn't follow up, but instead casually said "No".

This was really upsetting; they were clearly not taking him seriously. Zhang Congxun couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy after finally confirming that Shan Chi hadn't made any moves.

"Haha, it's not that we don't have money, nor is it that we're reluctant to spend it. However, our workers have worked very hard these past two years, often working overtime. We can't just pursue sales without considering the workers' mental state. Sometimes we need to slow down a bit."

When it comes to being sarcastic and unsettling, Tan Jincheng is also a master; everyone knows how well his workers are treated.

Overtime? The net monthly income is several times higher than that of other factories, not to mention that social security and benefits are all provided. If you're paid, what kind of overtime can't you do?
Zhang Congxun pursed his lips. He had just misspoke, and now that Tan Jincheng was using the employees' mental state as a point of contention, he was speechless.

Besides, there's no way to say anything about this. How entrepreneurs treat their employees in private is a matter of public opinion. If the treatment is really too bad, it's a matter of mutual consent. There's not much that can be done except to complain a bit.

However, when Tan Jincheng uses this morally superior way of speaking in public, they are completely helpless. Who is better at moral blackmail than the idiots who have experienced more than 10 years of internet information explosion?
However, this self-proclaimed "expert" wasn't entirely spouting nonsense or engaging in moral blackmail. In reality, FlashTech's marketing efforts did slow down significantly in the last quarter, primarily to support production and inventory. For the entire year of 2007, FlashTech's Beicang plant, along with trial production at some of its Tianjin plants, had a total capacity of less than 150 million vehicles. Based on the maximum production target of 150 million vehicles, after deducting the nearly 91 vehicles already sold, only less than 60 vehicles remained to be produced.

This is under the premise of ensuring full power. In reality, it is impossible to achieve this production capacity without it, because the upcoming Spring Festival travel rush in 2008 is a truly terrifying prospect.

As I recall, the 2008 snow disaster affected about 20 provinces. Even the Guangdong and Guangxi regions were severely disrupted by the snow. That year, Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng were unable to return to their hometown of Yicheng for the Spring Festival due to the snow disaster.

I remember those friends who took the minibus back then, they were delayed on the road for several days, and they ate all the local specialties they brought home. It was a terrible experience.

Tan Jincheng couldn't remember exactly when the snowstorm started, but he recalled that the worst period was after the Spring Festival travel rush began, around the end of January.

The Spring Festival in 2008 was on February 6th, not many days before the worst of the snow disaster. In order to make it easier for employees to go home before the worst of the snow disaster, the holiday plans of Flash Group and Orange Technology were brought forward this year.

Most of the employees at Flash Motors' Beicang factory are from Anhui and Henan provinces, while the employees at the Tianjin factory are mostly from Hebei province, in addition to farmers from the surrounding area who lost their livelihoods due to land expropriation. This was all intentional on Tan Jincheng's part.

This is to better centralize the scheduling of train carriages and minibus charter services, making it easier to send employees home.

The origins of the employees at Dexian Electronics in Shenzhen are quite diverse, including those from Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces. This is the environment we took over, and there's no need to replace all the employees; that would cause too much of a stir.

Tan Jincheng's biggest headache was actually getting the employees of the electronics company to go home; there was no way around it, the employees' hometowns were just too varied, organizing chartered buses was extremely difficult, and in addition, the terrain of these provinces was much more complicated than that of Anhui, Henan and Hebei.

If something happens on the chartered bus, the responsibility is heavy. If a good deed turns into a bad one, Tan Jincheng will be in big trouble.

Therefore, Tan Jincheng from the electronics department did not plan to organize chartered buses or give people an early holiday. After all, it rarely snows in Guangdong and Guangxi, so it's easy to find an excuse. However, it's not like they were completely unprepared.

If employees are unable to return home due to heavy snow, they will be stranded in Shenzhen. DeXian Electronics plans to reassure stranded employees about their feelings and living conditions, and will also try to persuade Shenzhen employees not to go home.

Rather than suffering on the road, it's better to stay in Shenzhen and work overtime to earn money.

However, this is quite difficult. Some employees are easy to talk to when you ask them to work overtime, but if you tell them not to go home for the Chinese New Year, they can quit instantly.

Dexian Electronics has no plans to take an early holiday, so its production schedule will not be greatly affected. However, for Flash Technology and Jinpeng Industry, the impact will be significant.

The snow disaster not only affected the period before the Spring Festival, but also a long time after the Spring Festival. Everyone was still shaken. We also had to consider the return of employees. The entire impact would last for at least the second half of January 2008 and almost a month in February.

The impact period is approximately 40 days or more. These 40 days will have a significant impact on the production capacity of electric vehicles and clothing. Companies that are not prepared may not be able to recover for the entire first half of 2008.

If you were to tell people now that there would be heavy snow in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions this year, they would definitely think you're crazy. Even if Tan Jincheng were to tell Zhang Congxun and Dong Jinggui such very favorable news, he would slow down the marketing plan to prepare for next year's inventory.

They'll just think he's up to some dirty trick to fool them again.

However, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the snowstorm of 2008 would still arrive as scheduled. For Tan Jincheng, who was known for his shady business practices, why not prepare for next year's inventory three months in advance, and incidentally gain a reputation for caring for his employees?

Even if some butterfly effect occurs, it would be better for society if the snow disaster didn't happen, and it wouldn't have a big impact on FlashCheer. First, we should strive to be number one, but for FlashCheer Group, which has only been established for two years, being number one or not is not that important.

The only problem to solve is that, apart from Dexian Electronics, the entire Flash Group has plans to give employees an early holiday this year.

What reason to give for this explanation is what will be the biggest headache for Tan Jincheng and Shan Chi at that time.

(End of this chapter)