Membership manager of Wanjia stores: How do I do user operations?

How to operate user in large offline chain franchise business? How to build a user operation system? In this article, from the perspective of the member manager of Guoquan, I will talk about my understanding of user operation and the methodology behind it.

Not long ago, Guoquan Food, which owns more than 10,000 stores, was listed on the main board of Hong Kong. I saw that many colleagues and operations practitioners were interested in the user operation strategy behind Guoquan.

Yang Xin is the membership manager of Guoquan, and I have known him for a long time.

Recently, after much persuasion from me, he finally agreed to share his user operation methodology! Exclusive revelation, first released on the entire network, the content is as follows:

Hello everyone, I am Yang Xin, the member manager of Guoquan.

I have been engaged in large-scale global user operations and growth for more than 10 years. At Guoquan, I spent more than 3 years building a private domain/user/membership operation system for a large offline chain franchise format from 0 to 1.

At present, the overall user scale has exceeded tens of millions, with annual sales exceeding 10 billion yuan. The transaction frequency through private domain users has increased by more than 50%, and the size of the entire operation team has exceeded 30+ people.

In this article, I will talk about my understanding of user operations and the methodology behind it as a firsthand experience.

1. Is extreme refinement really right?

There are many courses and methodologies on the market that emphasize that when brands enter the private domain, they must carry out extremely refined operations. Only sufficient refinement can bring value to the brand.

The refined operation of the entire user process usually means that the brand divides users into different levels based on its own business goals and then matches corresponding operation actions, such as conversion of new customers, repurchase of old customers, recall of lost customers, increase of average order value of low-order users, etc.

From a theoretical perspective, the more refined the user tiers are, the more targeted the brand's operational actions will be, and the more performance will be improved. Each user has different attributes, needs, and characteristics. The extremely fine granularity means that different operational strategies are matched to each small group of people, or even each user.

When I first started planning the refined operations of Guoquan's users throughout their entire life cycle, I adopted the common RFM model (that is, stratifying users according to their most recent consumption time, total consumption amount, and consumption frequency over a period of time, and matching different operation strategies based on the goals).

Although the target expectations were achieved, the overall input-output ratio of this strategy is not high, and it is impossible to determine the core value growth point of the operation. Therefore, I think "precision" may be much more important than "refinement", and "precision attack" is far more business-effective than "soft policy".

Refinement requires investment in digital capabilities, human resources, organizational resources, time resources, etc. The deeper the degree of refinement, the greater the resource investment, but the actual output is not proportional to the refined resource investment. When the investment exceeds a certain level, the marginal benefit decreases more obviously.

I think theoretical refined operation strategies, such as the AARRR growth model and the RFM model, are not necessarily suitable for every brand or every stage of business development. When the strategic planning does not match the actual implementation, problems such as complex design, scattered resources, unsatisfactory results, or inability to determine the core growth point will arise.

Precision means that under the premise of limited time, resources and manpower investment, the strategy does not pursue the maximization of a single performance output, but rather pursues the maximization of efficiency among user value, brand value and franchisee value.

Brands should determine the most suitable "precision" operation strategy for their own business model and operation model. Through the precise single-point operation strategy layout, precise value breakthroughs can be achieved, and through the ability of automated touchpoint operations, overall operational efficiency can be improved, and ultimately intelligence can be achieved to feed back performance growth.

2. Core of large offline chain business operations

As social animals, humans need to build relationships with all kinds of other "people and things" in society and are "the sum of all relationships."

Offline physical stores are engaged in "relationship" business. Stores established based on a single geographical location win the trust between users, store owners and brands through products and services, and build a community relationship field within a few kilometers. In a sufficiently intimate relationship field, the advantages and characteristics of the products sold in the store are magnified and the disadvantages are weakened. Therefore, I believe that the core of user operation of large offline franchise chain formats is user relationship operation.

Guoquan stores are usually located in residential areas, and their community attributes are stronger. The overall user operation strategy is to move the original social relationship network of the store online, and build a localized "neighborhood community" full of "life" and "human touch" through corporate WeChat communities, private messages, mini programs, message templates and other touch points.

What users buy is food, but what they experience is relationships. Using the highly efficient private domain as a medium, the barriers between people are broken down and the ways of the world are shaped.

Under the guidance of "relationship operation" as the core principle, the overall user retention rate has reached 85%+. In terms of specific user operation strategies, we are different from other large chain formats on the market and are more warm and humane.

What is most effective in building relationships with users in a "neighborhood community" is "warm content" and "humane service."

In traditional channels, brands usually use one-way content delivery with strong marketing attributes, hoping to make users feel the urge to buy the content the moment they see it. However, in the "community", users are naturally resistant to such content. Think about it from another perspective. If you just met someone and talked for a few words, and that so-called friend asked you to spend money with him, would you still be willing to build a relationship with him? You would want to run away and never meet him again next time.

Therefore, when planning content, we must stand at the store's perspective and conduct two-way interactive dialogues in the tone of neighbors around users. The dialogues are usually conducted in plain language, without using some flowery written texts or emoticons. Perfection will make the sense of reality deviate and be too far away from ordinary people. Sometimes we even deliberately write some typos and wrong layouts to increase authenticity. Through this kind of content, the rate of deleting friends and leaving the group after reaching users is also greatly reduced.

Based on the special geographical location of offline stores, providing customized and localized services to users in the community in the role of "neighborhood" can greatly bring the relationship closer to users.

What to eat today? This is probably the most difficult and most life-like eternal topic. We encourage franchise store managers to create short videos and pictures based on local taste habits and food consumption as the head chef of the family, and conduct DIY, communication and recommendation around cooking in the "community".

The content produced by the store manager may not be as sophisticated as that produced by the headquarters, but I believe that in the community scenario, less sophisticated content can be warmer and more touching.

Camping and barbecuing are one of the trendy ways to relieve stress in busy daily life. Barbecue ovens are not expensive, but they are large and take up space, and are rarely used. Therefore, the store will launch a barbecue oven rental service. Users can rent barbecue ovens whether they consume in Guoquan or not. There is no charge for renting. You only need to pay a deposit and return it at any time. By borrowing and returning, there are two opportunities to meet, and the temperature of the relationship rises accordingly.

The online community is also a local information exchange and distribution center. Localized information such as water, electricity, transportation, and road administration will be exchanged in the "community". During special periods such as heavy snow in the north and epidemics, in order to maintain everyone's normal life supply, the store manager will collect user needs in the "community" as soon as possible. If the transportation capacity is reduced suddenly and there are no takeaway deliverymen, they will deliver the food door to door in person.

The operation of user relationships is simple, as long as you think from the perspective of others. It is also complex, as it requires a top-down store execution management system, a systematic digital middle-end empowerment mechanism, and a systematic operation strategy layout.

3. Headquarters and franchise stores create win-win value

The organizational structure of large-scale franchised businesses is often complex. In the process of implementing strategies, headquarters, branches, stores, employees and other levels need to work together to finally present them to users. No matter how good a strategy is, it is just empty talk if it cannot be implemented. Therefore, before building a user operation system, it is necessary to clearly define the responsibilities and relationships between various organizational structures.

1. Organizational collaboration and strategy co-creation system

In terms of operations, the headquarters assumes the responsibility of brand standardization and unification, such as strategic brain, data center, empowerment center, and resource allocation. The branch is the connector between the headquarters and the store, responsible for localizing the headquarters' user-centric strategy according to the actual situation in the region, transmitting training to the store, and supervising feedback. The store is responsible for the specific implementation.

The most important contact point between users and brands is the store. The core of the store is people, that is, the store owner of the franchise store. The key to ensuring that the store manager cooperates with the branch and headquarters in implementing the strategy is "win-win value."

This requires us to have business logic thinking and formulate operational strategies from the dual perspectives of the company's business logic and the store's business logic.

The headquarters has insights into the most cutting-edge gameplay in the industry and thinks about a systematic operating system; stores, as an important role that directly faces front-line users, can help us gain insight into users' real needs.

In order to avoid the headquarters being self-satisfied and to fully mobilize the stores' sense of participation and make them feel a sense of ownership, every time a strategy is formulated, we will visit and investigate stores across the country extensively, communicate face-to-face, listen to ideas and opinions, collect feedback, reach consensus, and co-create strategies.

In the process of implementing the strategy, it may be distorted and deviate from the original plan. Therefore, we have built a direct communication platform for the headquarters to contact the stores directly. Any store that is dissatisfied with the strategy formulated by the branch or headquarters can make frank and open suggestions. Only by being brave enough to accept the front-line fire can we formulate a strategy that can stand the test of time.

2. Centralized empowerment system

2.1 Centralized Data Asset Platform

I think the most important skill for operations is data insight. Through data analysis, we can gradually get closer to the truth and feed back strategies. Therefore, the most important thing in building a user operation system is to establish a user data asset platform.

For the headquarters, the user data asset platform allows us to clearly see the data of each user and each store, track the number, profile, preferences and potential value of users, and formulate effective strategies and operational measures based on this. At the same time, this mechanism also helps to report upward and synchronize goals and progress with the organization, such as user inquiry frequency, contact frequency, exposure and performance growth, etc.

For stores, the comprehensive data dashboard provided by the headquarters can display users' consumption data, number of users, user value, user preferences, etc., enabling them to better build and maintain relationships with users.

2.2 Centralized content and marketing platform

The establishment of content and marketing platforms enables the headquarters to carry out non-standard management under standardized management and reduce the execution pressure of front-line stores.

The headquarters will regularly provide frontline stores with content and marketing materials, such as posters, copywriting, pictures, videos, etc., based on marketing nodes and product planning. Marketing tools are directly distributed to stores. In addition to standard activities planned at the brand level, frontline stores can also carry out personalized activities based on their own store product inventory and local hot sales.

GuoQuan’s franchise stores are usually run by couples, and they need to do everything themselves. Therefore, we also use automated journey strategies to improve store efficiency, giving them time to return to providing warm and valuable services to users.

In terms of external marketing tools, the headquarters will also assist stores in establishing external cooperation with third-party platforms, such as Meituan, Ele.me, Douyin and WeChat Moments, to expand user traffic beyond the geographical coverage of the stores through efficient and real-time means.

2.3 Clear performance attribution, reward and punishment system

Establishing clear traffic and performance attribution rules can help franchise owners know what is going on and avoid disputes. No matter which channel the user comes from or which channel they are in, they all have One ID; the store also has its own "One Store One Code", which uniquely binds the store and the user to ensure that the order is consistent with the store to which it belongs.

A clear reward and punishment system can boost the motivation of front-line stores and employees. We will establish a ranking and punishment system for operational execution, dividing stores into three levels: "excellent students", "average students" and "poor students" according to their performance, to ensure that stores can perform specific operational tasks in accordance with regulations.

Different levels can obtain different rights and interests, including material incentives, traffic incentives, honor incentives, etc. Of course, there will also be appropriate punishment measures. If the store's execution and cooperation rate is not high and the data does not meet the standards, the level will be adjusted appropriately according to the actual local situation.

In addition to store levels, the operational tasks issued by the headquarters will also be divided into S, A, and B according to the importance and urgency. Stores are required to complete the specified tasks within a specific time according to the task level, and will be given corresponding incentives. Incentives are divided into two categories: regular and challenge. Regular incentives are continuous, while challenge incentives require specific goals to be completed and incentives are obtained based on real-time rankings.

3. Hierarchical management system

The user journey strategy needs to be "precise", and franchisee and store management must be sufficiently "refined". We will formulate different hierarchical management strategies based on the store's operating stage, operational capabilities, and regional attributes.

3.1 Based on different business stages

The headquarters divides the stores into two categories: mature and growing, based on the store's turnover and current stage of operation, and then establishes expansion and breakthrough stores locally.

For growing stores, we focus more on brand penetration and community promotion, and expand through rights and services using communities and friend circles; for mature stores, we focus more on consolidating and expanding the user base, and precise operations, such as increasing customer orders, recalls, repeat purchases, etc.

3.2 Based on different regions and user consumption attributes

We divide stores into five levels based on their target user groups and geographical locations, including provincial capitals, prefecture-level cities, county-level cities and township stores.

Different regions have different consumption habits, so different strategies and content are needed. For example, in terms of climate, in November every year, it is winter in the north, and people tend to eat hot pot, while in the south, it is still autumn, and the demand for hot pot is not that high. In terms of taste, people in Sichuan and Chongqing prefer spicy food, while people in Guangdong prefer light food. In terms of scene, we do personalized promotion for the Asian Games in Zhejiang.

3.3 Based on different operational capabilities

Different stores have different perceptions and capabilities. We will also stratify stores based on their operational capabilities, and each level is equipped with a strategy that matches its operational capabilities, ensuring that even the store with the weakest operational capabilities can have basic customer service capabilities.

The highest-level stores are able to operate independently. We let them manage themselves, but the headquarters still controls key, standardized operating strategies. For example, we can use precise operating strategies to send recall coupons to silent members of corresponding stores. For stores that are completely unable to operate, we will adopt corresponding strategies to ensure the overall quality of the brand and operations.

There are also some stores that are unable to make operational investments due to energy constraints. At this time, we will communicate with the store manager and the headquarters will carry out unified management. This is a two-way choice relationship.

4. Training and co-creation system

In order to effectively promote the work of the stores, we have set up two key roles: strategy expert and training instructor.

Most of the strategy experts belong to the headquarters. Their daily job responsibilities are to formulate user operation strategies, extract excellent cases from front-line stores, produce training courses, etc.

The training instructor is mainly responsible for adjusting the courses based on local actual conditions and deepening the training to ensure that the content can be fully understood by the front-line stores.

In terms of strategy execution, the two roles need to work closely together. When a strategy expert develops a new operation strategy, he will first find stores with strong Internet thinking and high degree of cooperation to conduct pilot projects. When the pilot projects produce benchmark cases, they will be compiled into SOPs and handed over to training instructors to be replicated in various branches and stores in batches.

5. Key details of strategy implementation

As operators and Internet practitioners, one mistake that is easy to make is the "knowledge curse". We will assume that the executors of the strategy have the same set of cognition and discourse system as us.

Some of Guoquan’s franchise stores are located in third- and fourth-tier cities, where their understanding of the Internet is relatively weak, so we must explain it in simple language that they can understand. For example, we use “performance” instead of “GMV” and “annual consumption” to explain “LTV”.

We will also package incorrect operational actions into cases and use stories to make it easier for franchise store managers to understand and absorb.

When implementing operations, it is also important to have a "fast and slow" rhythm. The speed of our headquarters' strategy iteration and the speed of store execution are often opposite, with fast strategy iteration and slow execution feedback.

Therefore, operational strategy adjustments should not be made too quickly or too frequently. Generally, large-scale strategy adjustments are made every 3-6 months, at the store, city, province, region, and from local to overall pace.

For example, the overall coupon strategy is adjusted once a quarter. If it is an adjustment for some stores, it is recommended not to exceed 30% per month to prevent the stores from being unable to keep up with the pace of adjustment. Small adjustments and tests are feasible, but large-scale changes, such as suddenly increasing the number of coupons from 5 to 8, are difficult for stores to accept all at once. Chain brands are best to limit the monthly strategy adjustment to 20% to 30% to ensure that stores can accept and effectively implement it.

The above is my understanding of user operations in large offline chain franchise formats, as well as some ideas behind the establishment of Guoquan’s user operation system.

Author: Sanshi, WeChat public account: "Chen Sanshi"