2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 743 A Day of Crazy Marketing (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
The annual production of the Yuechi A1 reached 100,000 units a few days earlier than expected.

Sunday, October 9, 2010.

The system showed that the Weilai 4S store, located in Hanyang District of Jiangcheng City, had submitted its 10th order for the Yuechi A1, and Weilai, who was in charge of the order system, cheered.

"Quickly report to the boss, the 10th order has been placed! Hurry up, you're in luck, haha."

"Haha, luck, luck, but the luckiest person should be this car owner."

As mentioned a few days ago, whoever receives the 100,000th order will receive a 5000 yuan bonus from the department, as a way to share in the good fortune.

The sales department's incentive policy is that the owner of the 10th vehicle will not only get a free ride, but they will also be reimbursed for all expenses, including insurance and vehicle registration.

In short, they not only gave away a car for free, but also helped resolve all the follow-up issues.

These are the lucky ones.

Wei Lai's order system could only compile the previous day's data before the next workday, so Li Jun received the sales call on the 20th.

Are you kidding me?

Li Jun seemed a little incredulous. If the phone number hadn't been for a sales call, he would have hung up after saying the first sentence. How could he have gotten such a good deal?

"Yes, Mr. Li, you are our 10th car owner. The company has decided to give you a full refund for the car you ordered. However, you will need to come to our store again to complete the formalities, take a few more photos, and give an interview to cooperate with our publicity. I wonder if you are free right now?"

Today is Monday, a workday, but sales can't do anything about it. The head office's requirement is to get customers to cooperate with the promotion as soon as possible, because news is all about timeliness.

Li Jun was still somewhat skeptical: "Are you sure it's completely free? Can you keep your word?"

The main thing is that it's unbelievable. He chose the mid-range configuration and some services included, which came to 12.99 yuan. With all the discounts, the price was 12.29 yuan.

He was a struggling office worker who had never won more than 5 yuan in the lottery. After finally saving up his salary for two years, he decided to buy a domestic car on installment so that it would be convenient for him to go back to his hometown for blind dates and to make him look somewhat presentable.

Li Jun is 26 years old this year. The month before last, his family introduced him to a blind date. They added each other on QQ and chatted for more than a month. They felt good about each other, so Li Jun decided to go home for the National Day holiday to meet her.

Damn it, 12 yuan, just like that, he gave it to himself?
"Don't worry, how could I lie to you about something like this? Besides, there's no benefit for me in lying to you, right?"

"That's right."

"If you still don't believe it, you can go to our Weilai Auto's official website and official Weibo account. There are news celebrating the sales of Yuechi A1 exceeding 10 units."

Li Jun was starting to believe it. It was a legitimate sales call, and the explanation was so clear. Besides, it was indeed true. What good would it do him to trick him into going to the store?

"Okay, then I'll ask for leave and go to the store this afternoon."

It's 12 yuan, it's never a bad idea to go and take a look. It'll only take half a day, what if it works out?

"Okay, thank you for your trouble. We'll wait for you at the store this afternoon."

As a salesperson, Li Jun was happy to cooperate with the promotion. The head office had said that as long as they could persuade car owners to cooperate with the promotion, both the store and she herself would receive a reward.

Oh, and we also need to prepare the promotional materials; time is of the essence and we can't afford to delay.

At the same time, the Yuechi A1 achieved a total sales volume of over 10 units in less than 12 months, and annual sales of over 10 units, becoming the sixth domestically produced model to break the 10-unit mark and the second SUV model to achieve this milestone. News of this model began to flood the internet.

The press releases launched simultaneously on a large scale on professional automotive community websites such as Weilai Auto's official website, Weibo official account, Kaixin.com official account, Zhujia Auto Channel, Autohome, and Yiche.com attracted huge traffic, even on a Monday workday.

"Sigh, it's only because Brother Ma and Zhou Hongyi are fighting that we could have gotten him to create a QQ pop-up ad. What a pity."

The press releases have all been sent out. We're just waiting for the 4S stores to film their promotional materials and upload them, then we'll coordinate with print media and television news to amplify the buzz. We have to maximize the hype this wave will generate.

The first SUV model from an independent brand to achieve annual sales exceeding 10 units is a prestigious achievement that rivals the unrivaled BYD F3 and the dominant Chery QQ in the microcar segment.

Unlike sedans, the Yuechi A1 is like a lone wolf facing a pack of wolves in the SUV arena. Even so, it can still hold its own against the market king, the CRV, and completely suppress the RAV4.

In July, the Yuechi A1 was the top-selling car of the month, and in August, the CRV took the top spot. With only about 10 days left in September, we have to make a final push and take the championship back.

"Ha, I didn't expect it to be in Jiangcheng. That's a bit of a surprise."

Among the senior executives of Weilai Auto, everyone was in a good mood and spoke more casually.

"It was both an accident and an accident. Jiangcheng market has always been one of the top sellers of Yuechi A1, and yesterday was Sunday, so it's normal for people to be able to pick up their cars."

Although the Yuechi A1 can be sold for as high as 150,000 to 160,000 yuan with optional extras, it is still positioned more towards the low end. The main reason is that the brand influence is much weaker than that of the joint venture brands.

With the same configuration, if you put a Honda, Toyota, or Volkswagen badge on it, you can easily sell it for tens of thousands more.

There's nothing we can do about this. Due to its positioning, the Yuechi A1's sales are mainly concentrated in second-tier, third-tier, and major cities in the central and western regions. Compared to high-income cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, cost-effectiveness is the first choice for consumers in these cities.

The key sales regions for Yuechi A1 are Wuhan, Chengdu, Chongqing, the capitals of the four provinces of Hebei and Shanxi, and Luzhou. In addition, there are some third-tier cities with relatively good economic conditions.

In addition, unlike the new energy vehicle industry chain which is mainly located in the Yangtze River Delta region, Hubei Province was a key area for the automobile industry in the first decade of the 21st century.

Dongfeng Motors is located here, and Weilai Motors also has a cooperative relationship with Dongfeng Motors.

In addition, the survey also found that the Yuechi A1 is also very popular in rural areas, but most of them are registered in major cities with license plates. For example, Yuechi A1s with Zhejiang B license plates are often seen in Anhui and Henan provinces.

"Haha, sales have exceeded 10 units in less than nine months of the year. Our Yuechi A1 is performing really well."

"Is the boss going to give the sales department a bonus? Haha."

Seeing this, it would be unreasonable for Tan Jincheng not to show up: "The award is not just for the sales department, but for everyone. The Yuechi A1 is selling so well because of everyone's hard work. How about this, the HR department should come up with a reward plan and submit it to me for approval."

"Haha, thank you so much, boss! You're very generous!"

The Yuechi A1, the fifth domestic brand to enter the 10-unit club, has not only gained market recognition but also sold very well. This achievement is indeed worth celebrating.

In addition, the enthusiasm generated by such celebrations can also increase car sales.

September and October are traditionally peak sales months, and November is further boosted by the Guangzhou Auto Show. In addition, the last four months of the year are typically the best months for car sales.

"No need to thank me, everyone just need to keep up the good work. Also, we can't be arrogant. The market conditions like those in 2009 and 2010 won't last long. We can't be too aggressive with our sales expectations for the future. BYD is a cautionary tale. We don't have the scale of BYD. If they had made such a big move, we would all be starving."

Zhang Yong, holding his phone, was truly at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

The boss often uses BYD as a reminder to them and frequently teases them with "Di Zi Di Zi". It's fine to say it in private, but it's not good to leave it in the group chat. If it gets out, it will affect the company's image.

It seems I'll have to talk to the executives in the group later and make sure they don't leak today's chat logs.

After taking leave, Li Jun arrived at the Weilai 4S store in Hanyang District before lunch. The food at the 4S store was much better than that in their company cafeteria.

The salesperson in charge of him, Xiao Xu, had been waiting in the store and rushed to greet him as soon as he entered.

"Mr. Li, you've arrived. It's lunchtime now, shall we eat first?"

"Haha, I came here to eat."

Li Jun readily admitted with a smile, while looking around. In just one morning, the 4S store had already displayed the commemorative materials for the 10 units sold.

The upright billboards, balloons, and other decorations made the whole shop look very festive, as if it had just opened.

"Wow, this is so festive! To be honest, I couldn't believe it before I came in. I was thinking that if it was fake, I could just get a free meal and go home. But now it seems like it couldn't be more real."

"Haha, Mr. Li, you're joking. How could I joke about such a serious matter? If you expose it online, I'll lose my job."

"That's right."

"Let's go eat first, and then I'll discuss the interview topic with you later, okay?"

"Sure, no problem."

This time, Weilai Auto has really gone all out, using its connections to invite a reporter from Hubei Provincial TV to interview the car owner. The interview video will then be released on provincial TV and internet media.

Li Jun became a little nervous upon hearing this. He was just an ordinary working man, and now he was being interviewed by the provincial television station.

Xiao Xu could sense Li Jun's emotions: "Don't be nervous, it's just a few simple questions, and then we'll take a few photos together."

Actually, it was her first time too, so it would be impossible for her not to be nervous at all, but she just couldn't show it.

At 2 PM, a reporter from Hubei Provincial Television arrived at the store. After reviewing the script, the interview began. Li Jun answered the questions haltingly, revealing the fear that most people experience when facing a camera for the first time. The interview lasted an hour, finally achieving the reporter's desired effect; having been paid, he wanted to make the job look good.

"Okay, thank you all. I'll go back and edit it now. I expect it will be on the news or online tonight."

The timeframe is a bit tight, but it's not insurmountable.

The biggest uncertainty in this promotional campaign is the inability to locate the city of the 10th car owner, which prevents this step from being planned in advance.

I only learned about the 100,000th car owner this morning, and the most important video recording was completed by 3 pm this afternoon. This response efficiency is quite high for a traditional company.

Without much formality, the provincial TV reporter hurriedly took the interview footage back to the office, edited it, and handed it over to his superiors. The video was divided into two parts: one 10-second clip and one two-minute clip.

Two minutes of the video is broadcast on internet media, and a 10-second clip will appear in tonight's Hubei Province news; this is considered a news interlude.

Upon learning that the car owner had appeared in Jiangcheng, Boss Tan immediately contacted Boss Lei and acquaintances at Dongfeng Motor, hoping to get today's interview featured on the provincial television news as soon as possible.

Lei Jun's reputation in Hubei Province was no less than it would be more than a decade later, and with the help of people within the system, this matter was not a big deal.

However, I'm now indebted to this person.

The situation is much easier for Hubei TV. After all, Mr. Tan owns so many businesses. Any company can sponsor a program or place more advertisements, and it will be a win-win situation.

"The video has arrived. Upload it to the major official channels."

At 6 p.m., the video materials were delivered to the head of the publicity department of Weilai Auto. Holding a USB drive, he walked out of the office and shouted to the operators responsible for maintaining the official Weibo and other accounts.

They are destined to be busy all day.

In the boss's words, even on weekdays, we must maximize the buzz. It's fortunate that Weibo didn't have the function of buying trending topics at that time, otherwise the advertising costs on Weibo alone would be enormous.

"Okay, I'll upload it right away."

The operations staff perked up upon hearing this. Normally they would be eating in the cafeteria at this time, but today they were getting their food and bringing it back to their workstations.

Since its rise last year, Weibo has seen a surge in user activity due to the influx of celebrities. However, official corporate accounts like Weilai Auto have a limited number of followers.

As of yesterday, 10 cars had been sold, but the official Weibo account of Weilai Auto only had a little over 4000 followers. These 4000 followers were attracted by Weilai Auto's occasional gimmicks and giveaways.

However, that was before today. By 6 p.m., the number of fans of Weilai Auto had increased to more than 6000 due to today's popularity.

"Hehe, let's go for the big one."

The operations guy rubbed his hands excitedly. Usually, the investment prizes are small gifts with the Weilai Auto logo, like cups or umbrellas. Today, we're going to go big. This should really boost our fan base!
The number of followers is also one of the factors he considers in his KPI assessment.

"To celebrate Yuechi A1 sales exceeding 10 units, my dear fans, our lucky draw is back! This time, let's go big!"

"Today, we will randomly select 5 fans to win a three-year usage right of a Yuechi A1 2.0T manual two-wheel drive urban model (list price 12.18 yuan)!"

"In addition, our boss also said that if this account can reach 10,000 followers before 12 o'clock tomorrow, he will draw a lucky winner to give away the same car model, and all expenses will be paid by our boss!"

"Everyone, please remember to follow us. The rules for the giveaway are the same as always, but I'll repeat them again for new friends."

In 2010, Weibo did not have a lottery mechanism. The so-called lottery method was very crude. The blogger would post the lottery information and set the conditions, and then select the winners from the eligible fans and announce the results.

If you ask me if there's any inside story involved, then there definitely is. There's no question of fairness. The main thing is that this thing is new, and there aren't many fans to begin with, so everyone still has a chance. Therefore, although Weilai Auto doesn't have many fans, its activity level is quite good.

Occasionally, the operations officer would take advantage of such opportunities to gain a small advantage, and the company would turn a blind eye.

He certainly wouldn't dare to mess around with a large event like today's, since the boss is directly overseeing it. He wouldn't dare to take advantage of a 10+ yuan discount, because he might actually get in.

After a few Weibo posts were published, they quickly attracted the attention of fans and passersby.

"Holy crap, this guy is so lucky? Giving away a car for free on the 10th one! Boss Tan is as generous as ever. No other car company has ever done this before, right?"

"Damn, is the Yuechi A1 selling that well? Could the data be fabricated? I haven't seen many of them on the road."

"Which city are you in, upstairs? I have quite a few here, their 4S store is indeed very crowded."

"What does 'three-year usage right' mean? It means you can drive the car as much as you want for three years, but it's not yours, right?"

"Yes, that's what it means."

As the buzz grows, some netizens have guessed the significance of the three-year usage right. The cars that Weilai Auto is giving away in a lottery must be pretty good, and these five fans are essentially mobile advertisements for the Yuechi A1.

If there are no major problems after three years of use, I will definitely buy another new model from Yuechi or Weilai Auto after three years. Weilai will launch many new models in just three years.

If they are satisfied with the driving experience, these five fans will even recommend it to their friends and family. They've really got a good idea of ​​what they're doing.

"It's not surprising that I guessed it. There are many talented people in the internet industry, and those who follow corporate accounts like Weilai Auto are more or less knowledgeable about cars."

Around 8 p.m., Tan Jincheng's family sat in the living room chatting after dinner. Gu Qingqing kept checking her phone, with Weibo being their main area for monitoring trending topics.

Tan Jincheng also saw the comments in the comment section, but didn't say anything.

The five fans' three-year usage rights were not entirely unconditional; they would need to report any issues encountered during the driving process to customer service.

What business would give away benefits without expecting anything in return? This is an openly planned scheme.

"You guys spent a lot of money on this ad today, didn't you? Even I know about it."

Old Tan asked with some curiosity. Beside him was little Tan Jinchuan sleeping in a crib. Little Tan Jinyue was gently rocking the crib. The little aunt was quite responsible.

"It did cost a lot of money."

It's not just about spending money; it's also about incurring a lot of favors. Today's advertising expenses are truly staggering, with the automotive channels of the three major portal websites, the three major automotive communities, and press releases from car reviewers all involved.

In addition, there is television media. If this kind of overwhelming publicity were 10 years or more later, it might not have any effect, but now the effect is still very obvious.

People these days have a strong sense of honor, and the culture of ranking lists is very popular; they love creating all sorts of lists.

The Forbes rich list, scheduled for release on the 28th of next month, has already started its promotion this month.

The biggest honor of the Yuechi A1 is that it was the first domestic SUV to achieve annual sales of over 10 units, and it single-handedly competed against the entire joint venture brand in the SUV market throughout the year, in addition to its questionable handling of the Toyota recall incident.

These few points alone are enough to arouse a sense of honor among many onlookers.

"You're gaining followers pretty quickly, already at 8000. Looks like you'll reach your goal of 1 followers soon."

Gu Qingqing was really just watching the drama unfold. Now that she's out of postpartum confinement, her main focus has been on TiMi Studio. She's poached several security engineers from 360, and their first mobile game, Honor of Kings, is in development.

Although it is a mobile game, the King of Glory system is quite large. The development time is expected to be at least two years, with an estimated investment of 2 million yuan. The earliest it will be released for public testing is the end of 2012 or the beginning of 2013.

Considering that Apple currently has relatively few users in China, the Android system was developed first, which inevitably lengthened the development time.

An expected investment of 2 million yuan is a considerable budget for a mobile game, especially in 2010.

The news hasn't been released yet, otherwise game industry professionals would probably think that Tan Jincheng, this mediocre talent, has gone mad.

The previous version of Honor of Kings was released in 2015, when 4G networks already existed, while now it's still 3G. The first problem that Honor of Kings had to solve was the network issue, which was actually quite difficult.

In 2012, the era of the second-generation Xiaomi and the iPhone 5, the network environment was vastly different, and Tan Jincheng couldn't guarantee whether it would be successful.

Boss Tan only needs to talk, but the actual manager, Gu Qingqing, is under a lot of pressure. If things don't go well, the 2 million yuan will be wasted.

"Haha, there's a lucky draw where you can win a car worth over 10 yuan. Just by paying attention, a lot of people would be willing to participate."

When Weibo was at its peak, there was a huge number of lottery enthusiasts who would forward and participate in lotteries everywhere. This was just the beginning. When Tan Jincheng checked his Weibo followers after get off work, he already had more than 6000.

Increasing your fan base to 10,000 in a single day isn't that difficult.

Speaking of which, many people probably know that the actress with the most Weibo followers in 2010 was that big-mouthed female celebrity, but most people probably wouldn't guess that the second-ranked person was my husband.

One has over 240 million followers, and the other has over 230 million. The Weibo Queen has indeed discovered this propaganda hotspot early on. No wonder she is a woman who has successfully gambled with capital. Her vision is truly sharp.

"With so much money spent on advertising, how much of an impact will it have on your sales?"

(End of this chapter)