2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 869 "Given President Tan's attitude, he deserves a car!"

At nine o'clock in the morning, Wangfujing Weilai Experience Store.

"Wow, this is the first time our store has had so many customers. We're going to be very busy today."

The first floor of the experience store was already packed with people. The eager prospective car owners who had been waiting on the second floor that morning could no longer sit still and came downstairs to wait for the car delivery ceremony to begin.

Among these eager car owners, there were indeed a group who rushed over without having breakfast, and were quite satisfied after having breakfast upstairs.

"When will Boss Tan arrive? The later it gets, the more people there will be."

"Soon, soon! You're absolutely right. This is the first time our store has had so many people. It's really lively today."

Since it does not directly participate in offline sales, most of the customers who come to Wangfujing, located in the bustling downtown area of ​​Beijing, are existing car owners who come to solve problems, and many others come for consultation.

If customers need to buy a car, the store staff will guide them to place an order through the APP. Over time, word-of-mouth will be formed among customers and potential customers, and the store's customer traffic will become relatively stable.

Besides people looking at cars, the experience store is usually frequented by customers who come to redeem or buy merchandise. Most of the items that can be redeemed with points on the app can be picked up at the experience store.

At this moment, about 20 car owners and their relatives and friends have gathered in the store, all of them excitedly waiting for the delivery of their new cars.

The official delivery time for the new car is 9:30 a.m.

Thanks to the reassurance from the store staff, everyone's emotions were relatively stable at this point.

The staff at Weilai's brand flagship store are naturally different from those at ordinary retail stores. In addition to requirements on appearance, they also have high levels of education and have received training, so their professional qualities are top-notch.

"Speaking of which, your handover ceremony was rather simple. It doesn't seem like your boss is coming. Are you trying to fool us?"

Some single prospective car owners gathered around the service counter, chatting with the pretty staff at the front desk.

Weilai's customer base is mainly composed of young, highly educated, and high-income urban white-collar workers, with very distinct user profile characteristics. Simply put, they are a wealthy and young group.

This group of people are very accepting of electric vehicles and can also accept the corporate culture of Weilai.

Besides, where is this? This is the capital city, a place where hidden talents abound. Who knows what kind of background these prospective car owners have?

"No, we've already been notified. Our boss will be here at 9:30 sharp. Please wait a moment, it will be almost time."

"Your setup doesn't look like it at all. It doesn't even look like the boss is coming."

Although the setup at the scene looked grand, it was actually quite simple. A temporary backdrop was erected, huge but simple, with only the WILAI logo and the words "WILAI ES8 First Batch of New Car Delivery Ceremony" on it.

Apart from that, there was another temporary passage that looked very simple.

"No, we at Weilai have always maintained this simple style. Our decorations are still very grand."

"To paraphrase what our boss said in a Weibo comment replying to netizens, it's like riding a bicycle to a bar – saving money where you can and spending money where you can."

Time flew by, and less than half an hour passed quickly amidst laughter and conversation. During this time, dozens more prospective car owners arrived at the store, along with some security personnel.

"I understand the smiling service."

At 9:15 a.m., Tan Jincheng had already arrived at the backstage of the experience store and was making final preparations. He had already rehearsed countless times with all the senior executives when he was in Beicang for today's event.

Zhao Xinyi, the personal secretary, was speechless. Two weeks had passed since the boss made that casual comment, and she still couldn't understand how the boss came up with such a marketing plan.

However, it must be said that the effect of this publicity campaign will be ridiculously good. Zhao Xinyi can already imagine how high the level of discussion on social media will be.

"It's actually very simple. Look at those high-ranking executives who bow and kneel down all the time. What we do, like opening car doors for car owners, is really child's play compared to them."

Tan Jincheng didn't come up with this plan out of nowhere. In fact, he has to thank Mitsubishi. Just this month, Mitsubishi Motors admitted that it had used some improper methods in fuel consumption tests, resulting in fuel economy test results that were better than the actual situation.

This practice involved 62.5 minicars, and Suzuki subsequently admitted to falsifying fuel consumption tests.

It's not surprising that the Xiao Rizi car brand has engaged in counterfeiting, nor is it surprising that they've admitted it. What follows is their old routine of bowing and kneeling to apologize, which is nothing new.

When Tan Jincheng first noticed the news, he didn't pay much attention to it. However, after replying to Liu Ming's post, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration. If the little bastards can kneel down, why can't we do a car delivery marketing campaign in the same way?
Make money, not shabby.

"So we have to thank Mitsubishi and Suzuki, huh? If it weren't for their apology, Mr. Zhang and the others wouldn't have been dragged out here as saviors by you."

"Haha, don't you think this will greatly increase our exposure? It might even boost sales."

Thinking of the shocked looks on Zhang Yong's and the others' faces, Tan Jincheng couldn't help but laugh. But after figuring it out, they were truly impressed. Their boss was a marketing genius; he could come up with such a shameless approach.

As it's not a sales driver, the Weilai ES8 is destined not to receive much investment in advertising. However, for a model priced above 40 yuan, selling even one more unit would be a good supplement to revenue.

Take the Founder Edition as an example. If all 5000 units are sold, that would generate 20 billion yuan in revenue. The profit margin for high-end models is very considerable, not to mention Ferrari, which generates hundreds of thousands of yuan in net profit per unit.

Even BBA models, which sell in large quantities, can generate a net profit of 40,000 to 50,000 yuan per unit. Although the Weilai ES8 is not making money now due to various investments such as R&D and equipment, as long as it maintains its high-end image and establishes its brand image, making money is only a matter of time.

Why is Tesla able to achieve the highest net profit per vehicle among new energy vehicles? Besides its excellent cost control, it's the brand image they built from the very beginning that has earned consumer trust.

At 9:30 a.m., the first batch of Founder Edition ES8s from Weilai officially began delivery nationwide.

Wearing a dark blue suit and sporting the Wei Lai logo, Tan Jincheng sat in the passenger seat as Lai Yiu-fai drove the vehicle slowly through a temporary white passageway toward the backdrop.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Mr. Tan rolled down the window and waved to the prospective car owners and media present.

When the vehicle arrived at the designated location, Tan Jincheng got out of the car and took the microphone handed to him by the host.

Looking around, there were at least seventy or eighty people gathered in the lobby of the experience store. The scene was somewhat chaotic and crowded. As soon as Tan Jincheng got out of the car, a large number of cameramen rushed in front of him to take pictures.

The host's voice was drowned out by the cheers from the audience. Tan Jincheng, who took the microphone, laughed loudly and said, "Hello everyone, welcome to the delivery ceremony of the first batch of Weilai ES8 cars."

“At last year’s launch event, we claimed that we wanted to make the best-looking, most luxurious, and most intelligent high-tech luxury SUV under 100 million yuan. To be honest, that goal was very difficult.”

"First of all, everyone has their own standards when it comes to good looks, but I really didn't expect that in less than five months, our ES8 Founder Edition would have more than 3000 orders."

"Today is the day of delivery, and I am very excited. First of all, I would like to thank my colleagues and the people of Weilai Automotive for their hard work over the past countless days and nights. It is thanks to their efforts that we have such an excellent product."

"Today we met the first batch of car owners. We are very grateful for your support of Weilai and the Weilai ES8. Overall, the ES8 is a very popular car. It is a win-win situation between us and the car owners."

"Another piece of good news to share is that ES8 orders have been steadily increasing this month. Many customers have placed orders without even seeing the car or taking a test drive."

"This is something neither I nor my colleagues could have imagined. I feel that this is a heavy trust for us. We must make good products, ensure high quality, provide excellent service, and at the same time speed up delivery. We absolutely cannot let down every car owner who trusts us."

"Thank you to all the car owners for your trust. Without further ado, let's begin our delivery ceremony."

Tan Jincheng spoke slowly, exchanging pleasantries for about three minutes. Despite the car owners' current enthusiasm, their biggest expectation was to get their new cars as soon as possible.

If you talk for too long, it will definitely get annoying.

As Tan Jincheng put down the microphone, the car handover ceremony officially began, and the prospective car owners and reporters witnessed a scene they had never seen before.

"Holy crap, you can do that?"

"Damn, he's a genius."

As journalists, reporters are well aware of the topic's potential, and cameramen are snapping photos like madmen—this is a marketing approach never before seen in the automotive industry.

The host introduced each car owner, and the ES8s drove out one by one from the white archway. Tan Jincheng personally arranged group photos, hugs, and handshakes for the first batch of ES8 owners. He personally opened the car door for them, closed the door, and waved goodbye with a slight bow and a smile, showing his sincerity.

"Damn, Mr. Tan is so good at this! This whole process is so ceremonial, even the first car owner was a little confused." "Damn, what a bootlicker! A billionaire doing this is shameless!"

The "licking dog economy" emerged around 2014, when the mobile internet officially became popular. It was a form of advance consumption advocated by companies like Jack Ma, and it is currently at its peak.

The concept of "ritual" has become very popular this year, and Tan Jincheng's series of clever tactics have perfectly captured the consumer's mindset.

For journalists with a keen sense of news, just by looking at the expressions of the car owners at the scene, they could tell how clever Tan Jincheng's move was. At the same time, similar small moves by Tan Jincheng were being played out simultaneously in 19 delivery cities.

Although car owners in other cities did not receive a personal opening from Boss Tan, all of these executives in Weilai are celebrities and tycoons with assets of over 100 million or tens of millions.

The super-rich, the corporate executives are like sycophants, opening the car door for you and serving you as you get in. This is the ultimate display of status!
The same was true in the other 18 cities. At the Wangfujing experience store, which was at the center of the storm, the emotions had reached their peak. Reporters were swearing and marveling at Tan Jincheng and Wei Lai's marketing skills, while car owners were extremely excited.

At this moment, the public relations team of Weilai also took action based on the on-site photos and videos.

"A blockbuster documentary: A billionaire CEO opens the car door for me!"

This topic quickly rose to the top of Weibo's trending searches around 10:30 a.m., along with photos and videos from the scene, as well as Weibo posts uploaded by car owners themselves. At the same time, photos of various executives, including Zhang Yong and Yu Liguo, were also posted at the scene.

"CEO Wei Lai and all senior executives appeared at the delivery site to open the doors for the car owners!"

The second topic quickly appeared on Weibo's trending topics, and Weibo posts with pictures, text, and videos were uploaded to the internet by car owners at the scene, continuously increasing the popularity of the delivery day.

"Holy crap, is this for real? Let's go check it out."

"Holy crap, you can get a billionaire CEO to open the car door for you when you buy a car? Is Wei Lai really that slick?"

"Just opening this door is worth 5 yuan, right?"

"5? He wouldn't even bother picking up 5 if it were thrown at Boss Tan's feet, and you expect him to open the car door for you (doge)."

"This guy can brag to others that Boss Tan personally opened the car door for me, and there are pictures to prove it!"

"It's a real pity that Boss Tan isn't an actor, but I have to say this marketing method is quite suitable, at least it doesn't make people feel disgusted."

"Damn it, you should have told me in advance! If you had told me this project was available, I definitely would have booked it. Is it too late to book now?"

Today is a weekend, and some car owners who weren't in a hurry got excited after seeing the trending topic on Weibo, especially those in Beijing. Meanwhile, onlookers near the delivery stores also wanted to go and see what was going on.

The Wangfujing Experience Store, located at the center of the incident, was no exception. A large number of onlookers rushed to the store, and the flow of people at the nearby subway station changed. It was already 11:00 a.m.

With one hour left before the event ended, Mr. Tan's time was also very tight, as he couldn't be a store salesperson all day. At this time, more and more people were arriving at the scene.

"Maintain order at the scene and don't cause any chaos."

Seeing the growing crowd, some car owners even parked their cars and then ran back to watch the excitement. Zhao Xinyi was happy but also a little helpless. The experience store was very large, but it couldn't handle the large number of people.

With this level of buzz, must the PR department be on a serious steroid?
An hour and a half had passed, and it was still morning; most people hadn't even gotten out of bed yet. Zhao Xinyi didn't believe that the car owners and media present could generate such a high level of attention; it must have been these people who pushed it up.

However, given the situation on the ground, Zhao Xinyi knew that the marketing campaign meticulously planned by her boss was not just a success, but a resounding success.

Let alone someone like a boss, even a millionaire would be somewhat reluctant to bend down and open a car door for an ordinary person, right?
Sure enough, if you're shameless, you'll find many more ways to make money.

Lei Jun, who had been closely following the delivery event of Weilai, received a report from his assistant and immediately picked up his phone to browse Weibo.

"Good lad, this move is really ruthless, it has directly increased the difficulty of marketing for major car companies by a whole new level."

In terms of marketing ability and experience, Lei Jun is equally adept. Besides the 1999 yuan pricing strategy, Xiaomi's biggest advantage in recent years has been its marketing methods, especially its ability to create scarcity, which is no less than that of Apple.

Tan Jincheng's tactic of seeing through the essence is nothing new. Small businesses are very adept at using this method, but the key is that they have to be willing to swallow their pride. Small businesses don't think there's anything wrong with it because of their culture.

However, in China, there are very few entrepreneurs like Tan Jincheng who are willing to personally take the lead in marketing, especially in the automotive industry. In fact, apart from him, no other company would dare to do so or be willing to play this game.

This marketing campaign raised consumers' psychological threshold, significantly increasing the difficulty of marketing for automakers. Furthermore, seeing leading domestic automakers employing such tactics has increased consumers' expectations for quality.

Since last year, domestic brands have experienced a full-scale boom. In the first three months of this year, the sales of domestic brands entered a stage of explosive growth. Among the top 20 in total sales in the first quarter, there were six domestic brands: Great Wall, Geely, Weilai, JAC, and BYD.

While Great Wall Motors and Weilai have achieved steady growth with their SUVs, other domestic companies such as Geely have experienced explosive growth. As the influence of domestic brands grows, there are new standards and requirements for both marketing and product quality.

As a brand's influence grows, consumers' expectations of you will only increase. And it is precisely under these circumstances that Tan Jincheng has added a bit more difficulty for everyone through his ingenious marketing.

"In the words of netizens, he's really shameless. He's a CEO with a net worth of hundreds of billions, and he's actually willing to lower himself to do this kind of thing. I'm impressed."

The benefits are obvious. Last year, he showed off a few English phrases to Indians, and now he has become a Bilibili celebrity. Lei Jun, who is well aware of the benefits of traffic, is certainly aware of them.

As expected, this marketing campaign will likely lead to a brief sales boom for the Weilai ES8.

Lei Jun's intuition was correct. While Tan Jincheng and his executives were putting on a show, the Weilai ES8 and even the Weilai ES6 experienced a brief surge in orders, and the staff handling the orders quickly noticed this.

"Hehe, the boss's crazy moves are really speechless, the number of orders has increased rapidly."

"That's right, there are still quite a few rich people, it just depends on how you get them out of their pockets."

Wei Lai's marketing campaign took everyone by surprise, and car companies of all sizes received the news.

The boatman was speechless, as BYD, who had always been a front-line competitor to Wei Lai.

The marketing plan for this wave of Weilai was personally overseen by Tan Jincheng, and all the participants were senior executives. The staff were unaware of the offline store setup at the time.

It wasn't until last night that the store managers of the participating stores were notified. Other car companies only knew that Tan Jincheng would be going to the Wangfujing brand store to participate in the delivery ceremony, and that their executives had been very active recently.

The specific details of the event are completely unknown, and the level of secrecy is so high that major automakers have no way of finding out.

They're all seasoned veterans. As soon as Wei Lai made his move, it appeared on Weibo's trending topics within an hour. Everyone knows why this happened; it's simply because Wei Lai's public relations department went all out.

The boatman sighed, "This is just the first wave of hype; this hype will last at least a week."

With its high price, the ES8 is only comparable to the imported Tesla Model S in the pure electric vehicle market. The models that compete with the ES8 are the mainstay models of BBA (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi), so no one thinks that the ES8's sales will make any waves.

Even Lian Weilai himself thought so. Tan Jincheng's publicly announced ultimate goal was only to sell 1,000 vehicles per month. In fact, most people thought that this was Weilai's long-term goal.

Everyone wants to go high-end, but going high-end is not so easy.

Hongqi has struggled for so many years and still hasn't established a high-end brand image. How could Weilai, which started with a low-end model like the Yuechi A1, have been established for less than ten years?

Right now, the boatman couldn't help but have some doubts about whether Weilai could maintain its image as a high-end brand.

Tan Jincheng's self-deprecating marketing approach is like giving consumers a shot of adrenaline. A car is a means of transportation, but it also has the power to enhance one's image. What could be more prestigious than having a billionaire CEO open the car door for you?
It can be said that the car owners in Beijing and even across the country who had their car doors opened by Tan Jincheng and all the senior executives of Weilai during the two-and-a-half-hour delivery ceremony will definitely become Weilai's most loyal users.

As long as no major quality issues arise during subsequent driving.

With the promotion from these car owners and its own marketing efforts, the exposure of the Weilai ES8 will continue, which will also bring in a considerable amount of sales. Once the sales increase, it will attract a following.

The fact that WILAY dares to price the ES8 so high must be based on something. Moreover, WILAY has always been superior to other domestic brands in terms of quality control and materials, plus some of WILAY's unique cutting-edge technologies.

With the support of multiple factors, if Weilai can achieve monthly sales of over 1,000 ES8 units in a short period of time, their sales will exceed the expected 1,000 units per month.

"Perhaps, it's actually possible for this kid to succeed?"

Thinking this through, the boatman laughed. If Wei Lai really established a high-end brand image, then it wouldn't be him who would have a headache.

Perhaps his initial target was not domestic console manufacturers?
(End of this chapter)