All of these are true! 80% of the success of private domain depends on execution, and 20% is luck

In the field of private domain traffic management, execution and luck together shape the success story. This article delves into the core elements of private domain operations and reveals why 80% of success depends on the team's execution, while the remaining 20% ​​is luck.

In the industry, people are always accustomed to chasing different benchmark cases in order to apply what they have learned to their own benefit. After executing and participating in different benchmark cases for many years, we will find that there are still differences in understanding and focus:

The so-called private domain effects and success cases are mostly a complete idea of ​​an enterprise from formulating private domain strategies to refined execution, including how to determine goals, how to formulate private domain strategies, how to implement them, and how to build an efficient team.

Even this strategy does not need to be new or cutting-edge. Even if it is based on a proven case from N years ago, it will be successful if it is implemented and executed well.

01 Private domain success: 80% depends on execution, 20% is luck

I think 80% of the success of private domain depends on execution, and the other 20% is luck. Among them, 80% of execution is crucial. If actions are omitted or deformed in each link, the final effect will be greatly reduced. Although the 20% of luck does not account for a large proportion, it determines whether you are standing on the cusp of the trend and whether you can succeed.

Jianshi: Why do many companies fail in private domain development due to the difficulty in execution?

Youran: After serving many leading companies, I can look at problems from a more macro perspective, which is a bit like a "God's perspective". In the actual operation process, we found a variety of problems, and it can be said that 80% of them are at the execution level.

Previously, when I was in charge of the business at Shuidi, my ability as the person in charge and my ability as a team leader directly affected the success of the business. Therefore, I paid great attention to supplementing where there were deficiencies. I was like a lone ranger, and more of my methodology was based on intuitive judgment based on data. For example, when I saw that a certain data was not ideal, I would rely on the internal connections of the company and ask the data analysts to provide the required data.

However, if I apply this random approach to the process of serving customers, it will not work. Most of these customers who need consulting are traditional projects or traditional companies, and they may not have Internet genes. The employees and even executives of these companies may have no experience in Internet collaborative work. But they really want to do it. Therefore, based on the consulting and implementation experience in the past few years, I tried to explain or establish a new perspective for everyone.

Jianshi: If you want to do a good job in private domain, you must first get the team right, especially for those teams that are starting from scratch or are just starting to do private domain.

Youran: I think it depends on how you define “from 0 to 1”. I have observed that many companies have been doing private domain for a while, but if you want to evaluate their real results, I have reservations. If they don’t understand the core value and positioning of private domain, then I think they may just be “just getting started”.

Jianshi: That is to say - just doing it, but not thinking about the problem systematically and comprehensively.

Youran: Yes, they may regard private domain as a channel or a way to connect with users, which is a relatively one-sided understanding. When they say this, I don’t think these companies really understand what they are doing, and they may be more of a follower.

Jianshi: So, what should a private domain team with practical characteristics look like?

Youran: According to our overall assessment, especially in the MVP (minimum viable product) stage, at least 3-4 full-time staff are needed to be responsible for the project: first, the project leader is responsible for the overall work; second, the operations manager is responsible for all operations; at the same time, the team needs a full-time product operator, not a product manager in the traditional sense. In addition, if conditions permit, it is best to have a customer service staff, who, in addition to handling regular customer service, also needs to handle some chores and must have the ability to be versatile.

The output of private domain content depends largely on the support of other departments. After the personnel are determined, the next issue is departmental coordination. The private domain team needs to cooperate with various departments, such as the marketing/brand department, the merchandise/product department, and the technical development department. In addition, there are some roles that require functional departments to give dedicated BPs, such as data analysts and visual designers.

At the same time, in terms of team communication mechanisms, I think two things are very important. First, we must clearly define our goals for everything we do and set key performance indicators to measure the results. This is an important part of quantifying goals and reflecting value. Then we need to reach a consensus across the entire team (of course, clarity does not mean it is unchanging, but dynamic; it just means that the entire team needs to unify their efforts). Second, establish an efficient daily communication mechanism.

Jianshi: What experiences and skills can you share about this kind of collaborative communication among teams?

Youran: In the entire team, first of all, the person in charge needs to have a strong sense of responsibility and a growth mindset, because if they are too empirical, it will be difficult for them to make a difference in the private domain. They need to have a sense of excitement and value to go all out, and they need to have strong execution. This kind of work usually requires people with drive and adventurous spirit to undertake.

In addition, in team communication, the team must be open and can discuss everything. It is not possible for one person to have the final say. Especially for the person in charge, the final decision-making power lies with him. Our suggestion is that the team leader should devote himself to the affairs of the team, rather than distract his attention.

Usually, if someone says that someone is very capable and asks him to focus 50% of his energy on this project, this is basically unrealistic. In our experience, there are almost no successful cases of such arrangements, because their original workload is already very large, and it is unrealistic to ask them to invest an additional 50% of their energy. They should be allowed to focus completely on this project.

02 The key to private domain execution: understand users and sell clear products

In the private domain, after we have clarified the user portrait, we also need to analyze the product structure. We need to identify which products are suitable for transactions and dissemination through the private domain in order to establish an operating strategy.

Jianshi: If you have prepared a team, how do you establish your private domain positioning and goals?

Youran: Regarding the positioning of private domain, I have always emphasized that we hope to use private domain as a springboard for digital transformation and to build our own marketing moat. Usually, private domain or digital marketing is part of the transformation of traditional marketing. If a company wants to carry out digital transformation, marketing digitalization is a starting point, because marketing is the link with the most frequent contact with users, and private domain marketing is to build a "moat" for corporate marketing.

Because each platform has its own rules, and it is difficult to completely settle traffic between platforms. The competitive relationship between platforms is also a problem. Therefore, once you have established a private domain, building a private domain based on WeChat can quickly obtain user feedback and data, which can provide guidance and support for the entire digital transformation. For example, how to develop products and how to build brands may ultimately affect the health of the entire brand.

Jianshi: Going further, how should companies find the angle for implementation and evaluate the results?

Youran: First, we need to sort out the business model, perform user stratification, and then find the user cycle and rhythm, and then determine the target user group and summarize the user portrait. We have been discussing the user life cycle, starting from the user's recognition of the brand, to familiarity, to purchase, and finally possible loss. Of course, loss may occur in every link, including the purchase link, and then when it comes to the highly recognized link, users may spread word of mouth. For example, low-priced and high-frequency products may make purchase decisions and repurchase quickly, while the decision cycle of bulk commodities is longer.

The analysis of user portraits includes sorting out the user's gender, age, income stratification, preferences and hobbies. This process is actually to establish specific characteristics, such as judging whether the user is mainly a white-collar worker, student, housewife, or business owner.

Next, we need to return to the people-goods-place model, that is, after clarifying the users (people), we analyze the product (goods) structure and identify which products are suitable for trading and dissemination through private domains.

In addition, it is necessary to sort out the user's purchase scenarios and usage scenarios in order to find the appropriate private domain gameplay, such as whether to spread and convert through social groups, or to create a mini program first. This refers to a mini program with complete functions that can complete transactions, rather than a simple mini program that only issues coupons. If a company has its own mini program, it will have stronger control over users, but the development of a mini program has a certain cost. Therefore, we can first set up a WeChat group to test the effect, and then decide whether to develop a mini program and subsequent private domain strategies.

Jianshi: Please provide examples to further verify how to formulate private domain strategies.

Youran: Taking Internet insurance products as an example, most of the traffic initially came from advertising, and anyone who participates in advertising interaction will have a certain understanding of the insurance product, because even if you get a free insurance through an advertisement, you need to leave accurate identity information, which is an advantage.

After these users enter the company's traffic pool, the conversion cycle depends largely on their behavior. If they have received free insurance or purchased short-term insurance during the launch phase, they will have a higher awareness of insurance. In this case, the first three days are the best time to communicate with them: when the user enters, the company can make the first contact; then make a second contact in the first three days and recommend some high-quality free or short-term insurance products.

For insurance users, the company's goal is to convert them into long-term insurance users with full coverage. During the process, the company can reach out to them again in the first seven days. If they have already made a purchase, it can be considered that their position in the user flow has been raised to a higher level, and then 1V1 telephone sales promotion can be carried out.

User operation process of an Internet insurance company

Jianshi: What is the opening rate of 1V1 in this case?

Youran: When it comes to 1V1, everything is changing. I emphasize 1V1 because it is the strongest touchpoint in the early cognition, because it can pop up directly in the chat box. But based on our operational experience in the past one to two years, this may not always be the case. For example, in a catering company we served, a certain type of mini program service notification could achieve a 40% open rate without much optimization.

We analyzed the reasons and found that service notifications require user authorization to obtain, because users have an active action to obtain, and service notifications appear more official and more trustworthy, so the opening rate is higher. Of course, this is a function that needs to be applied for in the background development. The application threshold varies from case to case and depends on the specific scenario of the development, but basic functions such as coupons and expiration reminders can be realized.

Mini Program Service Notification Interface

Jianshi: Both types of touchpoints provide strong reminders. How can we use them reasonably without harassing users?

Youran: Service notifications are divided into many types, such as event start, coupon reminder, coupon expiration, etc. These are all service notification types based on business scenarios. It is more suitable for some refined operations and is based on user authorization. On this basis, there is no need to do too many layered actions, because the user has authorized it and has specific attributes, which is more suitable for sending customized content to different customers.

1V1 operation is now more suitable for some brand-building content, such as brand events. When users add a brand account, they can push information when there are major brand events. This will not be too frequent, mainly for brand promotion and construction, and can also lead to some conversions.

Jianshi: In fact, the entire private domain reach scenarios include 1V1, Moments, service notifications, and communities.

Youran: Regarding the community, its effect depends largely on the product attributes and user groups of the enterprise, as well as the positioning of the community. Do you want to use it as a coupon issuing base, or do you want users to have real exchanges in it? For example, Luckin's community is mainly for issuing coupons. Members do not often communicate with each other, but they will actively receive coupons. Pop Mart's community is very active, because interest will drive group members to actively participate in purchases and secondary transactions. I have also seen some communities that really generate exchanges, such as some content-based podcast communities.

Jianshi: A group of podcast groups we have observed are mainly for chatting. To be honest, many podcast hosts may not have systematic products at present.

Youran: This is because most of the podcast groups we join are content-based ones, not brand podcast groups. Many brands are also running their own podcast groups, which is consistent with the concept of private domain as a marketing moat and brand building base that I mentioned at the beginning.

03 Shorten the cycle by about 35%: Refined operations allow users to place orders faster

The goal of refined operations is to push users to the next key node and shorten the cycle time as much as possible. This is an important role of private domain marketing in traditional industries.

Jianshi: Let’s continue by discussing the refined strategies commonly used in the private domain and how these strategies can be integrated with the company’s business.

Youran: The core of refinement is to summarize the user process, including the time and behavior after the user enters the private domain. The relationship between the two is mutually integrated rather than single.

Taking new energy vehicles as an example, it includes entering the store, adding corporate WeChat, test driving, paying deposits, picking up the car, and purchasing follow-up services. Most users will add corporate WeChat on the day they enter the store, decide whether to pay the deposit within one to two weeks, and pick up the car within one to three months after paying the deposit. We need to summarize these time patterns and use them as anchors to design the operation cycle to reach users. At the same time, this is also a reference to guide the operation rhythm and check whether there are any problems with the overall operation.

The timing of the next action is critical. Through private marketing, we can shorten the decision cycle of car companies by about 35%. First, we will invite potential customers to the store, because most people will browse advertisements through various car apps or platforms and leave contact information before buying a car. Test driving is an indispensable part of the car buying process, so the sales team will contact them and invite them to the store based on the information left by the customers. This is a crucial step, because once the customer test drives, they have an intuitive understanding of the vehicle, and there is an opportunity to convince them through detailed product introductions and selling points.

Jianshi: In this case, what measures can be taken to encourage the customer to complete the current step?

Youran: We will provide some benefits as incentives. Every step needs to use benefits and benefits that can impress users to prompt them to take the next step. The specific benefit hook depends on what the enterprise itself can provide.

For example, for test drives, we can tell customers that they will receive certain benefits if they test drive in the store. Each store will prepare some small gifts or surrounding activities every week. We can also further design activities based on the customer's situation. If they have children, we can recommend family activities, and the children can receive gifts after the test drive. If the customer decides to make a purchase on the day of the test drive, we can also provide additional preferential rights and interests. We can tell them the current government's preferential policies, subsidy measures and the deadlines for these discounts, or apply for more discounts for them and give them some follow-up services.

In addition, the points system is also a commonly used incentive method, and many companies provide redeemable rewards through the points mall.

Illustration of incentive rights commonly used in the automotive industry

(These contents will be converted into words + mini-program cards, or service notifications to reach users, pushing them to test drive or place an order)

Jianshi: We talked a lot about refined operations. Is it true that the more refined the better?

Youran: This needs to be determined based on the actual situation and resources of the enterprise. Excessive refinement may lead to increased operating costs and increased team burden. I believe that refined operations should be executed based on accurate information, and the granularity of refinement should be adjusted as the business develops.

Take some new energy vehicle clubs as an example. They were originally officially organized groups. Since the user circles of these enterprises are relatively unified, they may spontaneously form different types of clubs for camping, self-driving tours, golf, etc. As a brand, in the face of these more segmented needs, it can cooperate with related brands such as coffee and camping to serve these car owners. These are all naturally derived from business development.

For example, a company we served mostly sold its products in gift boxes, which were not suitable for sales in the private domain. But when the scale of the private domain reached a certain level, the company realized that it could use the existing production lines and packaging materials to design several products specifically for the private domain and conduct refined reach and sales. For example, it changed large packages to small packages and added youthful elements to adapt to the consumption habits of young users in the private domain.

Therefore, there is no need to be too meticulous at the beginning, because the market is always changing, and the strongest touchpoints will change accordingly. Relying on empiricism at the beginning may lead to misjudgment, and you cannot be sure whether the strategy is ineffective or the market environment has changed, which will cause trouble.

04 Private domain is a magnifying glass: it can magnify both advantages and defects

High-quality content and products have always been the cornerstone of the private domain. Without these two, no matter how hard you try in the private domain, you may ultimately fail.

Jianshi: Next, let’s look outward. Are there any new trends or new ways of playing that you can share with us now or in the future?

Youran: I may have a different view on this question. I think people are too obsessed with new things and ignore the work at hand. Of course, there are exceptions. But after the screening of time, high-quality content and products are always the cornerstone of private domain. Because private domain is like a magnifying glass, it can magnify both advantages and defects.

Therefore, if we can establish a complete digital system, our private domain will in turn promote the production of high-quality content and products. Initially, everyone thought that the private domain should be at the forefront to expand revenue, but now I am more inclined to think that this is a process of mutual interaction and empowerment.

Jianshi: So, what do you think about the phenomenon of homogenization of private domains in the market? Especially when everyone seems to be doing similar things?

Youran: I think, to put it more directly, everyone still needs to think more about their own business model and product features. Only by deeply understanding your own business can you form your own set of strategies and methods. Maybe part of your strategy is similar to other industries or companies, but overall, because it fits your own business, it is your unique set of actions, and others can tell at a glance that it is yours.

I think companies need to be clear about what can be done in the private domain and what cannot be done. For example, if a company's product quality is not good, or there are problems with the supply chain, or the business model is not good, or the organizational structure is too rigid, these problems cannot be solved in the private domain. We must always focus on our own business, know who our users are, truly connect with users and serve them well.