2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 906 "Boss Tan's Live Stream Show, Which Has Been Criticized for a Year!"

"Goodness, so that's what you're planning? But you'll have to ask President Zhao about that. I'm not sure if I have the time, but I can say for sure that I don't have time to go to Zhushi."

In 2017, the live streaming industry was no longer considered niche. According to a market report by Qianyuan Capital, the overall revenue of the live streaming industry this year will exceed 300 billion yuan, representing a 40% increase compared to last year.

After last year's "thousand-platform war" and the burning of funds for financing, the infrastructure and video technology are becoming more and more mature, and the live streaming industry is becoming more and more popular, but overall it is still in the early stages of the market.

In 2017, there were more than 200 live streaming platforms. Leading companies such as Orange Live, Huya, and Panda had high brand recognition, but they could not dominate the market, and the market share was very fragmented.

"Hehe, I've already asked Mr. Zhao. You don't have any events on the evening of the 12th, and you don't need to go to Zhushi. We'll set up a live broadcast studio here in Ningbo and broadcast it on the Orange Live platform. We've also made arrangements with Mr. He."

Tan Jincheng was taken aback: "Good heavens, you guys are acting first and informing me later; fine, as long as it doesn't delay me."

It's true that he hasn't done a live stream in a long time, but he seems to have never done a professional live stream to sell goods before, and he has no experience in this area.

"Okay, I'm really not good at live-streaming sales. I'll mainly be responsible for chatting with the audience. We'll promote products in an unconventional way, without being bound by any formalities. Just treat it as brand promotion."

"No problem, you can play however you want, as long as you agree."

Tan Jincheng wanted to downplay his influence at Meizu, but Meizu's management, especially Li Nan, who was obsessed with marketing, didn't think so. He saw him as a living billboard, and a free one at that, so why not use it?
In Li Nan's words, Meizu is facing numerous difficulties and must find a way to get the boss involved to help with promotion.

Besides bringing Tan Jincheng along for live-streaming sales, Chen Mingyong's report was quite detailed, covering what Meizu had accomplished that year, the current status of the Meizu and Meilan brands, and the approximate revenue and profit figures for the year.

"The revenue is not bad, that's fine. It's okay to lose a little money, I can afford to lose this little bit."

After listening to the report, Tan Jincheng was quite satisfied. He believed that Meizu's mobile phone business should focus on reducing the number of models, increasing sales volume for Meilan, and maintaining a strong brand image.

Meizu's overall revenue in 2017 should be between 180 billion and 200 billion yuan, which is not much different from the previous year. Although the losses have widened, Tan Jincheng can understand it.

The redesign of the Pro7 series, the replacement of numerous suppliers, management changes, product line adjustments, and rising component prices are all factors that combined to make it quite remarkable that Meizu was able to maintain a similar revenue level to the previous year throughout 2017.

Chen Mingyong smiled and said, "Actually, boss, you have greatly boosted Meizu's revenue. Your series of actions have generated a lot of buzz for Meizu, especially after the design of the Pro 7 was changed."

The news that Tan Jincheng completely overturned Huang Zhang's design plan was leaked from the beginning, but there was nothing that could be done about it. At that time, Meizu was like a sieve, with no secrets at all.

On the Meizu forum, Huang Zhang's longtime fans ridiculed Tan Jincheng relentlessly, complaining that Tan Jincheng, who knew nothing about mobile phone design, was interfering with the design process. However, this kind of criticism wasn't entirely without merit.

With so much criticism, the Pro7 series was able to maintain its popularity. Tan Jincheng didn't let Meizu interfere too much, and even let them promote it.

Make money, don't be embarrassed.

“They’re not wrong. I really don’t understand design. The design style of the Pro 7 is still Mr. Huang’s, and it has little to do with me.”

"Boss is too modest. I've heard from Mr. Lei that you were in charge of designing the Weilai brand phone."

Tan Jincheng couldn't explain this either. He really didn't understand, but he had seen a lot, and having started in the clothing trade and participated in the design of electric vehicles, he had some basic knowledge.

Just misunderstand.

After the Pro 7 series was launched, there were still some extreme fans who strongly resisted it. These people basically shared Huang Zhang's views, which was to strongly oppose the full-screen design and believe that the removal of the small screen on the back made the design less stunning.

In their view, the Meizu Pro 7 series launched to the market seemed much more mediocre, but the actual market feedback was not so. The Snapdragon 835 had good performance, and with its first launch and all the necessary features, the Pro 7 was quite popular in the market.

It's difficult to change the minds of extreme fans in the short term, but as long as the mainstream consumer group still recognizes the brand, Meizu can breathe a sigh of relief.

"I'm not being modest. At most, I can only be considered a flash of inspiration. I can appear as a target for you to use for publicity, but the subsequent development still depends on you yourselves. This year has been stabilized, but the danger has not been eliminated."

The main brand was saved, and Mr. Tan didn't care about losing money. He recalled that the power battery project had lost money for almost ten years, but they still survived.

However, losing money is losing money. A company cannot rely on major shareholders to inject capital forever. Moreover, the current mobile phone market is extremely competitive, and the overall mobile phone shipments this year are still significantly lower than last year's 5.6 million units.

From January to November, despite the surge in sales during the Double Eleven shopping festival, the total number of mobile phones shipped nationwide was 4.48 million units, only 12% of last year's total. No matter how much sales are made in December, it is impossible to exceed 5000 million units, and this year's total will definitely fall below 5 million units.

Besides the factor of manufacturers reducing the number of new models released, the most crucial issue is that the mobile phone market has entered a phase of competition in a saturated market, which will inevitably accelerate the industry's reshuffling.

The smartphone market has transformed from a blue ocean to a red ocean, and the competition among manufacturers will only intensify. Smartphone manufacturers like Meizu, with a market share of less than 5%, are at risk of falling in the fierce battle at any time.

"If there are any companies that can survive in this competitive environment, Meizu will definitely not be among them. So your task is still very important."

I don't know what car manufacturing capabilities Dazui has, but he's definitely a master at making phones. Huawei's mobile phone business went from being on the verge of being sold to getting better year after year after he took over, and now it can be described as invincible.

In the domestic mobile phone market, Huawei alone holds a quarter of the market share, even beating Apple, a company with an ecosystem advantage, to a pulp.

It's no exaggeration to say that between 2017 and 2019, Trump could have pointed at his competitors and shouted, "You're all trash."

If it weren't for that old man across the sea having a fit of madness, it's hard to say how far Huawei's mobile phone business would have developed.

"Yes, we've only managed to stay afloat; survival is still a huge challenge."

The stark contrast between public criticism and widespread praise did not cause the boss to lose his way, which is fortunate for subordinates like Chen Mingyong, but it is also a source of pressure for them.

To put it bluntly, if Meizu goes bankrupt, only Tan Jincheng will lose money. The other executives will just move to another company and continue working, so it won't have much of an impact.

Now that the boss is keenly aware of the survival pressure Meizu faces, it's difficult for these executives to relax.

"To be honest, if it weren't for the sake of Wei Lai's ecosystem, I wouldn't even bother taking a phone manufacturer at this point, even if they were given to me for free. Your industry is just too dirty."

These words left Chen Mingyong speechless, unsure how to respond. Having worked in the industry for many years and come from a background in OPPO and Vivo, he knew all too well how dirty it was, both to his peers and to consumers.

"I've been in the electric vehicle business for so many years, and I've never been cursed at as much as I have in the past year. I'm really fed up with these old bastards."

Logically speaking, given Meizu's size, Tan Jincheng shouldn't have been able to enjoy such treatment. However, after taking over Meizu, he made some very big moves. He directly eliminated both the Huang family and MediaTek, the two main players. What will be the consequences?
Let's not even talk about Huang's company. Meizu's total shipments this year should be around 1600 million units. In the past, this was MediaTek's own territory, but this year they didn't make a penny.

There are other suppliers, and the two main models are both competing with the Xiaomi series. In addition, there is Li Nan's marketing style of trying to piggyback on everything. Lei Jun and Xiaomi's senior management do not think there is anything wrong with it, but Xiaomi's fans do not think so.

Marketing competition among traditional two-wheeled electric vehicles is relatively mild, since they are targeting offline sales groups. Not many people will deliberately discuss the merits of an electric vehicle online, so maintaining offline competitiveness is sufficient.

With the entry of new internet forces into the automotive industry, marketing methods are gradually shifting from offline to online. However, these new forces have not yet gained significant traction. If we were to name a new force, Tan Jincheng himself would be one.

Wei Lai's internet marketing capabilities can easily surpass those of traditional car companies, and his product strength is also quite good. Therefore, although there is competition, it is currently still at the technical level. In addition, he has good relationships with the heads of various leading domestic brands. In car companies that still value status, it is not easy for them to attack Tan Jincheng too much.

But the mobile phone industry doesn't care about any of that. No matter who you are, they won't hold back when they start criticizing you. Wang Teng, who joined Xiaomi last year, was previously known as the "number one Xiaomi hater".

Moreover, entrepreneurs like Tan Jincheng, who have the makings of internet celebrities, are naturally able to attract attention.

The same article attacking Meizu is viewed on completely different levels depending on whether Tan Jincheng is mentioned or not.

"I won't say more, let's all work together."

Tan Jincheng chose Chen Mingyong for two reasons: firstly, his industry experience, and secondly, his experience at Oppo and Vivo.

From the initial BBK (Vivo and Oppo) to the current OPPO and Vivo, Duan Qirui's mobile phone brands have almost all been considered rather disappointing, with high prices and low specifications being the norm. However, they still sold well, and only later did some changes occur.

From a consumer's perspective, these three companies in 2017 were no different from rip-offs, but from the perspective of business owners, it is still very necessary to learn from their experience.

Of course, what Tan Jincheng wants to learn here is not the tricks of deceiving people, but the advanced experience of OPPO and Vivo in offline channels. When it comes to offline channels, OPPO and Vivo are very capable.

"Okay, if there's nothing else, I'll head out now?"

"Okay, go and do your work."

Chen Mingyong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Before joining the company, he had heard that this young boss was like a contradiction. In private, he could get along with people like friends, without putting on airs, and sometimes even seemed a bit childish. It was fine to joke around with the boss during breaks at work, but when it came to serious matters, he had a very strong presence, especially with the series of actions he took with Meizu, which were really quite intimidating for Meizu's senior executives.

The forceful purge left a deep impression on Tan Jincheng at Meizu and in Zhuhai. Every time he went to Zhuhai, everyone from senior executives to ordinary employees was trembling with fear.

The opinions of Tan Jincheng varied among executives and ordinary employees in the companies he actually controlled.

The two companies that founded Flash and Orange believe that Boss Tan is approachable, easy to get along with, and willing to listen to employees' opinions. Most importantly, he is generous. In an era when many people did not even know what social security was, he insisted on paying social security for his employees.

It wasn't until recent years that they realized how good this thing was, and they also understood the boss's good intentions in forcing them to pay social security back then.

FlashTech's predecessor was FlashAuto, which was established in May 2005. Jinpeng Industrial's early history was even earlier. The first batch of employees are now the only ones left, but there are still some.

These people are often quite young when they first join the company. Take Li Jinglan, the group's fourth employee (including the two bosses) and now the president of Jinpeng Industrial's e-commerce division, for example. She was just 18 years old when she joined the company.

Even disregarding actual income, from the perspective of an ordinary employee, 30-year-old Li Jinglan has already paid social security for 12 years!
According to the current social security policy, Li Jinglan only needs to pay for three more years, and after the age of 33, she will no longer have to worry about retirement. How carefree that would be!

With Tan Jincheng's promotion, social security was just a bonus for Li Jinglan. However, not all employees in the Flash Motors workshop had such good opportunities; many people spent their entire lives working in the workshop.

For these people, social security is especially important. And in the Flash Group, which has only been established for 12 years, there are quite a few people who have paid social security for more than ten years, and these people are only around 30 years old.

Once people have no worries about the future, they can work much more easily. The increasing awareness of social security has made them realize that their bosses were genuinely looking out for them.

The grassroots employees, led by Shanchi and Chengzi, felt that Boss Tan was an approachable boss, while Meizu employees felt that Boss Tan was rather domineering. Wei Lai then intervened between the two.

In fact, these three different feelings reflect the changes in Tan Jincheng's entrepreneurial career over the past ten years.

In the early stages, when a company lacks strength and status, taking an approachable approach can win the favor of employees, making the company more dynamic and easier to recruit.

However, given his current wealth and status, any attempt to cultivate an approachable persona would only make his subordinates uncomfortable. He would occasionally invite some employees to his home, but only senior executives.

Inviting ordinary employees to eat with you is just making them uncomfortable.

Of course, it's a different story when facing the media; a good entrepreneur's acting skills are definitely on par with some celebrities.

The story is quite amusing. Tan, the boss who was newly entering the mobile phone industry, was criticized for a whole year. Because his image in the minds of employees of different companies was different, some of the employees who were fired from Meizu would secretly badmouth him, while at the same time, there were employees who supported him and stood up for him.

The debate between these two groups has generated even more buzz, which in turn attracts more traffic. This is probably one of the reasons why some self-media outlets are envious of this traffic.

However, in the minds of people like Chen Mingyong, Boss Tan is still very domineering at work. If he says he doesn't care if you lose money, then he really won't ask how much you lose. If he says he'll give you time, he will deliver.

However, this boss, who never likes to waste words, will assign you a task if he does, and you must carry it out. This is not a consultation, but a notification; you just need to do it well.

The boss said that we won't use MediaTek chips this year; we need to secure the first launch rights for Qualcomm's flagship chips. You have to carry out the work and negotiate.

It's okay if we can't reach an agreement; he can do it himself. But if this situation really arises, how can a senior executive save face?

Although there are objective factors, they have not performed well in the supply chain this year. Taking the flagship products of the two major brands, the Pro7 series and the Meizu Note6, as examples, the BOM cost of the Pro7 is close to 2000 yuan, accounting for more than 55% of the cost. After adding R&D, marketing and other expenses, the profit margin is very limited.

Zhao Liying's endorsement fee alone is as high as 1500 million yuan per year. How many mobile phones would she have to sell to earn that back?

The competition in the budget phone market is even fiercer. These phones are priced so high that to achieve high sales volume, the key is to prioritize hardware and software capabilities. The Meizu Note 6 is one of the top-selling products this year, but its starting price is only 998 yuan, and its BOM cost is between 680 and 950 yuan.

With nearly 70% of the bill of materials (BOM) cost, there's practically no way to make a profit. But none of the bosses have said anything; they're giving management time to optimize.

The boss has now given specific work goals: to keep Meizu alive. With the top five companies occupying 80% of the market, Meizu's survival depends on doing everything possible to maintain its current market share of nearly 5%.

Only in this way can we survive.

If we can't compete with the leading brands for the time being, then we can only focus on the market of Gionee, Lenovo, and niche brands like OnePlus, and do everything we can to squeeze them out in order to have our own space to survive.

As for Samsung, it's almost only a matter of time before they withdraw from the Chinese market. Last year's ZZ incident and their own battery scandal caused their public relations to suffer in China, leading to a rapid decline in the market share of this top Android player in the country.

From nearly 20% market share in 2013, just five years later, Samsung's market share in China has fallen to around 2.4%. If it weren't for the legendary S8 this year, it's estimated that it wouldn't have been able to maintain even that small market share.

"To be honest, I was pretty unlucky. In my first year in the mobile phone industry, I ran into a few amazing phones and was criticized by everyone for a whole year."

Huawei is invincible. The iPhone 10 is equipped with the first artificial intelligence chip. Honor is also dominating the low-end market. There are also legendary phones like the Xiaomi 6 and S8. Even Luo Yonghao has brought out a gimmicky model like the Smartisan.

Furthermore, 2017 was an exceptionally difficult year for mobile phone manufacturers, facing fierce competition and significant industry changes; to say they were unlucky is no exaggeration.

It's like buying leeks at the absolute peak.

On December 12th, Tan's Meizu-themed live stream debut started promptly at 12 PM.

This marks Tan Jincheng's return to the live broadcast stage after several years; the last time he appeared on a personal live broadcast was back in February 2009.

In order to promote the newly established Orange Live during the Spring Festival that year, He Jia organized a show featuring Tan Jincheng returning to his hometown for the New Year.

"You didn't criticize me? Haha, I don't believe it, but so be it. I did act recklessly with Meizu, and the criticism from Meizu fans can be seen as a form of encouragement for me."

This live stream was different from traditional product sales. There were no product links or hosts shouting "three, two, one!" Instead, it started in a group chat format.

In the video, Tan Jincheng is sitting with the host and the chubby Li Nan. Li Nan was the Meizu executive who appeared on camera the most throughout 2017. It is no exaggeration to say that the Meilan brand he was in charge of saved Meizu to some extent.

From engineer to vice president of Meizu, Huang Zhang, an executive whom he "picked up" from a forum, has frequently spoken out for Meizu online since joining the company, and can be said to be Meizu's marketing leader.

Logically speaking, such a senior executive should be considered Huang Zhang's protégé. However, in Meizu, which was operated by a family, Li Nan was indeed given important responsibilities and Huang Zhang did trust him, but the treatment he received was far from what he expected.

To put it bluntly, he was just a worker. After Tan Jincheng took over, he chose to trust the original senior management team, give them the treatment they deserved, and give them time. It was somewhat risky, but there was nothing he could do about it.

He can't just fire everyone and shut Meizu down for a year; that would really kill the company.

Li Nan did a good job. Regardless of whether he made money or not, he stabilized Meizu's sales, and that's enough.

As Tan Laoban's return to live streaming after seven years, Chen Mingyong, Li Nan, and others began to prepare meticulously after the Double Eleven sales report was released, and even went on a buying spree of trending topics in the two days leading up to the live stream.

What's even more ruthless is that they invited Meizu's very popular spokesperson!

The host at this moment is Zhao Liying!

The live stream had just started when Orange Live CEO He Jia, who was personally directing the operation from behind the scenes, was so happy that she stomped her feet!
"Haha, the number of online users exceeded 200 million instantly! The boss is still as amazing as ever!"

"Pay attention to server stability. The number of players might break through, and if it fails at this point, it will be a huge embarrassment."

This is an opportunity that we fought so hard for.

According to the data, excluding major events, the highest number of online viewers for a single individual live stream was 208 million during the Double Eleven shopping festival. The boss just started his live stream and broke that record.

The man who once guided countless entrepreneurs to achieve top rankings is back!
"What a pity, the gift channel is closed. If it were open, we would have made a fortune."

An employee who was staring intently at the screen suddenly made this remark, and He Jia glanced at him speechlessly.

Damn it, it would be too beneath the boss's status to accept gifts from fans. The core of this live stream is chatting, giving gifts, and giving out benefits to fans. Every 15 minutes, a Meizu gift will be given away, along with red envelopes and autographed photos of the brand ambassador.

In the boss's words, it's about providing fans and onlookers with a channel to vent their frustrations—to vent their anger, to take advantage of any loopholes, and to try and eliminate the negative emotions accumulated over the past year.

As for promoting Meizu? The things on the table, the things the boss is holding, and the gift packages given out—that's enough.

(End of this chapter)