booktalesy Chapter 64 Let's give them a good beating!
Chapter 64 Let's give them a good beating!
Lin Mu knew, of course, that this was a provocation, but it was also a good opportunity to show off.
With so many people under your leadership, how can you stand out from the crowd? Now is a great opportunity.
He said, "Really? I don't think so. I actually think that Youa.com won't last more than three years."
"Oh? You can explain in detail." Li Mingyuan looked unconvinced.
Lin Mu spoke eloquently: "Youa.com's strategy follows without innovation, its traffic conversion is inefficient, and your biggest problem is its brand image."
Li Mingyuan frowned. He understood the strategic follower approach with no innovation and the inefficient conversion of traffic, but he really didn't understand brand image.
Lin Mu explained, "You Baidu are pushing any kind of GG in order to make money, but you'll stumble one day."
"And by extension, people's attitude towards Baidu's products will also be negative."
"Most importantly, the search business is so profitable that Baidu always has a way out."
"E-commerce is the foundation of Taobao, but for you it's just a business."
"If its e-commerce business encounters challenges, is Baidu really willing to increase investment to support the e-commerce department? I think it's more likely that it will sell off the entire Youa.com package?"
Li Mingyuan's expression darkened; Lin Mu had really hit the nail on the head.
As far as he knew, someone within the group was in talks with Rakuten Capital in Japan about building a B2C platform. This collaboration further diverted a significant portion of the group's already limited attention.
"Hey, this dinner was definitely the right decision," Li Mingyuan said. "I have to admit, you have a point. So, what's your solution?"
Lin Mu touched his mouth. What a joke! If he had a solution, how could he have been just an ordinary executive in his previous life?
Lin Mu casually made up a story: "The problem isn't with your network, but with something deeper inside." Lin Mu pointed upwards meaningfully.
In later generations, people said that executives who came from Alibaba were a cancer. As soon as they became managers of small and medium-sized companies, they could quickly turn the company's ecosystem into a mess, with particularly serious bureaucracy.
But before the concentrated condemnation of Alibaba, Baidu had already become even more "unrivaled".
It is said that General Manager Li, who likes to make decisions unilaterally and has a tendency for his middle-level managers to flatter superiors and intimidate subordinates, has a serious bureaucratic culture.
The first thing to lose its mystique from the BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) hype is the B at the beginning – Baidu.
Li Mingyuan quickly waved his hand and said, "Hey, let's stick to the facts and not resort to personal attacks."
What followed was another round of negotiations, and the two could be considered to have had a pleasant time together.
Downstairs at the Shangri-La Hotel.
Li Mingyuan hailed a yellow taxi for Lin Mu. Just then, Li Mingyuan smiled and shook Lin Mu's hand, saying politely, "Mr. Lin, I've really had a very fruitful day. Let's meet again sometime."
At the same time, on the other side, with a "click," a photographer who had been waiting for a long time in the small restaurant captured the scene with a professional camera.
Lin Mu looked at the photographer, puzzled.
Li Mingyuan lied, "They're probably tourists."
Lin Mu understood.
You old fox, so you were waiting for me here all along. You're like an old sow wearing a bra, one set after another.
But soon, Lin Mu had a flash of inspiration. This was a trap, but it might also be an opportunity.
He verbally agreed, "Mr. Li, it was a pleasure chatting with you. Let's meet again sometime." He pretended to be fooled, got into the back seat of the car, and the yellow taxi slowly drove away.
After Lin Mu left, Li Mingyuan's expression gradually turned cold.
He rubbed his face, thinking to himself: Although he had successfully tricked Lin Mu, what he said wasn't without merit. Simply following Taobao without making any innovations would make it difficult to surpass Taobao.
Furthermore, Youa.com has been online for half a month, and in this half month, the number of merchants and buyers has indeed increased day by day. However, due to the lack of brand awareness, Youa.com's conversion rate is not good.
Finally, and most importantly, that CEO Li really has no strategic resolve whatsoever. If Youa.com shows even the slightest sign of weakness and he judges that the business has no value to Baidu, he will actually sell Youa.com off as a package deal, even at a bargain price.
He's a top executive at Baidu, after all. All this fuss about generating traffic is just for the sake of his department, to prevent it from becoming a pawn.
Li Mingyuan remarked, "Young people these days are truly remarkable. Although they are still a bit naive in their interpersonal skills, they have an exceptionally keen business sense and an ability to see through the essence of things."
However, to Li Mingyuan's utter surprise, Lin Mu made a surprise return after he left.
He found the chubby reporter and said, "Wasn't it Mr. Li who instructed you to take these photos?"
The chubby reporter feigned ignorance, saying, "Huh? What, Mr. Li? I don't understand what you're talking about."
Lin Mu pulled a wad of red bills from his wallet and said, "Alright, stop pretending in front of me. Here's the money. I won't stop you from publishing the report. The content will remain the same, and I'll give you a headline."
Lin Mu paused, then said, word by word, "Ants predict the death of elephants, and e-commerce expert Dayan predicts that Baidu Youa will not survive past 2012."
The reporter's eyes lit up; the headline was incredibly catchy and could be used directly. He pondered for a moment, then forced a smile and said, "Dude, you really don't need to change the content?"
Lin Mu waved his hand and said no need. He roughly understood Li Mingyuan's tactics; he was simply going to use this photo to create some hype and try to sow discord.
But he can create hype, and he can create hype himself. When Youa.com completely disappears in three years, his prediction will be brought up again, proving his foresight and boosting his fame even further.
Some people might ask here, what if no one can find it? That's simple, just pay someone to find it.
……
On the third floor of Alibaba's headquarters, in the Taobao Mall department, is Zhang Yong's office.
Lin Mu handed over the recorder and said, "Xiaoyaozi (Zhang Yong's nickname), I've found out some very interesting information."
"The level of support Baidu provides to Youa.com may not be as strong as we imagined. They may be somewhat hesitant about the e-commerce department."
"If we put enough pressure on them to prevent them from making long-term plans, they may become short-sighted and dig their own grave due to the pressure of KPIs."
Zhang Yong looked at Lin Mu with admiration, put the recorder back in the drawer, and didn't listen to it.
He said, "I won't listen to the recording; I trust you. I want to hear your assessment: is it possible that Youa.com will clash with us next year, launching a surprise attack at a crucial moment?"
Lin Mu pondered for a moment and said, "No, that's unlikely."
"But I think that besides Youa.com, Paipai and eBay are more likely to directly compete with our Taobao Mall."
"After all, Youa.com has only been online for less than a month. Its size and traffic are too small to make any moves."
"Paipai and eBay are different. If they can nip us in the bud, they will spare no effort."
Zhang Yong closed his eyes in deep thought. As a talent skilled in strategic planning, he was particularly sensitive to numbers.
Data from eBay, Paipai, Taobao, and Tmall swirled in his mind. Finally, he concluded, opening his eyes and saying, "Let's play our cards open. We've already discussed it internally and decided to set the specific date for November 11th. Because it's Singles' Day, we can leverage its online popularity and it'll be good for promotion. We'll release the specific date, let our competitors know, let them compete. Let's all work together to expand the market, and then we'll take the biggest slice of the pie in one go."
……
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