Non-standard product business in private domain

In this article, the author believes that "private domain ecology is an incremental opportunity for non-standard products." Why do you say that? Why are non-standard products important? How can brands and individuals find growth opportunities in the non-standard market? Let's take a look at the analysis in this article.

When we discuss private domain again, what business are we talking about?

Private domains include: welfare type, interest type, service type, and online operation type.

The welfare type is suitable for products with high purchase frequency and low unit price, such as daily necessities and dry goods. Regardless of whether users come to the store or place an order directly online, this type of product focuses on cheap discounts.

The interest-based model is more like a self-organized form, similar to city walks, running circles, and fitness circles. The online business model is more suitable for products with high unit prices and long user cycles, such as knowledge payment and high-end jewelry.

While there is no one method that accounts for all situations, there is one thing they all have in common:

By providing goods and services, and offering users emotional value and experiential satisfaction, we can increase their loyalty to the group owner and brand. If you feel that business is not going well this year, I have a suggestion: bend down and pick up pennies in the private domain, you may be able to reap huge value.

01

Why do I say this? Let me share my experience and observations:

There are fewer tourists in winter in places like Beijing Shougang Park, Sanlitun, and 798 Art District. In order to attract more people to check in at these places and keep the permanent stores operating normally, the park managers will plan some market activities.

They invite various small and medium-sized businesses and individuals with entrepreneurial ideas to set up stalls.

This activity achieves three goals at once.

First, through the market activities, the park provides participating businesses with publicity opportunities. Second, the activities attract more tourists and bring traffic to the park itself. Most importantly, the activities can also tap into potential investment and cooperation opportunities for the art district.

Recently, I visited many parks and found that in the beverage stalls outside, juices always sold better than ordinary drinks. This made me think: Why do some people choose lemonade at 15 yuan when faced with a bottle of Coca-Cola at 7 yuan and a glass of lemonade at 15 yuan when walking on City Walk?

When it comes to non-standard products, it seems to be related to personal preferences, tastes, and personality issues. Just like, some people will pay for a statement on a cup.

But from a deeper perspective, people's demands for personalization and customization of products are increasing, and the market is gradually shifting from standard products to non-standard products, which actually reflects changes in market supply and demand.

Don't underestimate either.

Only when you understand the two business models can you find the most suitable incremental path for yourself in the current market environment. One thing that cannot be denied is that creating surprises for users, making them happy and buying value for their lives, is a good business model.

Let’s look at the standard products first:

Take Coke as an example, which is considered a typical standard product. From bottle design to price and packaging, consumers have a unified understanding of it. When buying, they don’t need to consider product differences too much, because they are basically the same no matter where they buy it.

There are only two ways to sell standard products well: open up distribution channels and make small profits but quick turnover.

I have a friend who processes canned products in a factory and sells them under his own brand through short video platforms, Moduo and other online channels.

He said, look at what the situation is now. 10 boxes of small yellow croakers cost 40 yuan including shipping. After deducting the store operating costs, there is almost no profit. If the ROI is not good in a month, it will be better for you to work for the employees in the end.

This is the business of standard products. You engage in price wars and traffic wars in the public domain. In the end, users still feel that your product is not as good as your competitors, leaving a bad impression.

Let’s look at non-standard:

Take lemonade for example. Every store makes lemonade differently. The proportions of lemon, water and ice cubes are different. In the same store, two glasses of lemonade may not taste exactly the same.

In terms of price, users would find 7 to 18 yuan for lemonade acceptable. If the price of cola in the market is fixed at 3 yuan, then anything above this price would be considered expensive.

These mindsets anchored by marketing communications are difficult to change.

As an entrepreneur, if the goal is to make 2,000 yuan a day, you need to sell 285 bottles of cola at 7 yuan a bottle, and only 133 cups of lemonade at 15 yuan a cup. The cost of cola may be 2 yuan, and you can make 5 yuan; the cost of lemonade is also 2 yuan, but you can make 13 yuan, and the cost of lemonade is more controllable.

So, what conclusion do I want to tell you?

If the market budget is limited next year and you cannot guarantee that your products will sell better in the public market, or even have enough profit margin to support team operations, then it is best to use standard products to attract customers and sell customized and niche products in the private ecosystem.

These words may sound a bit confusing, but I suggest that you think more about what types of business you want to bet on based on your company's actual situation. What are your standard products and what are your non-standard products?

02

Non-standard products have many values ​​that are difficult to quantify and are difficult to evaluate.

For example:

If doing business in an orderly manner is likened to "a model student who studies well and graduates successfully", then non-standard business is more like "Musk and Zuckerberg", who graduated from high school and went out to explore the world; at the beginning, it seems that they are not following the beaten path, but as time goes by, they discover some invisible scenery.

However, we can understand non-standard products from the perspective of the standard product market.

In any business transaction, no matter what you are selling, you must first observe the market, conduct experiments, and analyze data. Not only is this a hassle, but you also have to spend a lot of money hiring consultants.

Now that scientific theories (analytical formulas) and making money are mixed together, many research fields that were previously unthinkable have emerged, such as studying movie trends, business strategies, online novels, short-term games, and so on.

The most bizarre thing is that they also provide five elements and feng shui analysis for bosses and individuals. It sounds like a mixture of traditional numerology and modern business analysis, giving people a feeling that is both mysterious and modern.

I don’t know how much scientific basis these analyses have, but it seems that some people really believe that they can help them find direction in business decisions, or at least provide some psychological comfort.

Those who create or seek research work know that even in a seemingly difficult to satisfy content consumption market, as long as they find the inherent laws of market development through scientific theories, they can predict market dynamics and determine where the next wave of dividends will be.

But in my opinion, clients paying expensive consulting fees and blindly worshipping scientific analyticalism are essentially no different from burning incense, fortune-telling, and praying for the best lots. Although they can provide some guidance, in fact, these studies cannot give definitive answers.

Any research is inseparable from a formula:

Physical form (product carrier), target audience, and practical value; standard products can minimize the knowledge blind spots between each pair of relationships, find large precursors, small precursors, trace the origins, and foresee future trends.

I don't know if this is clear and straightforward enough.

For example:

You want to develop a sports drink. In terms of physical form, you need to consider taste, color, and packaging design; the target audience is people who exercise regularly, and the practical value may be to replenish electrolytes and water lost during exercise.

So, based on the standard product framework, study the characteristics of successful sports drinks on the market, such as the most popular flavors, the most attractive packaging, and what nutritional ingredients are required that are different from competing products. Then, based on this data, predict the performance of your beverage in the future market and develop a production strategy.

Have you ever thought that non-standard products can break this formula and cannot be inferred from each other in terms of physical characteristics, practical value, and target audience? Well, can't games, novels, and content consumption be studied? No.

Because the success of non-standard products depends largely on two points:

First, practical value comes from individual experience needs that vary from person to person, not from general practical purposes. It may be a mixture of emotional feelings, aesthetic feelings, social needs, or other factors.

It is difficult to test demand using a standardized method. Everyone feels differently, so there is no way to make a horizontal comparison. This also means that it is difficult to say why a product becomes popular, and it is even more difficult to find some general rules based on existing phenomena to predict what will happen in the future.

Simply put: personalized things are hard to figure out and cannot be understood with a set of rules.

Secondly, non-standard products are reflexive and cannot be defined by standardization. Consumers often pursue novel experiences and like the feeling of having never experienced before. Once this feeling is made into a standardized product, it loses its most attractive part, such as the old-fashioned Marvel movie.

This kind of self-reflexivity, no matter how it is obtained, is short-lived. If you don't believe it, just look at the products derived from limited IP. When the market circulation is large, people are no longer surprised.

Therefore, in the future environment, companies that produce standard products will not collapse, but a large part of their profits (brand premium, consumer value) will be eaten up by countless small and medium-sized craftsmen.

03

When talking about the WeChat private domain ecosystem, I often hear my friends say: Some people run paid communities, selling a course system for thousands of yuan, and there are people who actually buy it. On Taobao, the same course only costs dozens of yuan.

In the past, I was also confused by this and thought I had a high level of business knowledge. But after understanding the non-standard business, everything became clear to me.

Paid communities and high-priced course systems are non-standard products. Their value lies in providing a unique and customized experience. Regardless of the content, users are willing to pay for products and personalized services, and they need a sense of belonging.

I once asked a post-95s generation:

If you think a certain celebrity’s content is average, why would you pay for his products? He told me that he wanted to change his social circle and see what that circle is like.

An entrepreneur around me who is engaged in SCRM has been in a very competitive market in the past two years. He wanted to make some money to make a living, so he started training. Unexpectedly, within one year, the revenue from training was more profitable than that from selling tools. Not only did he support his team, but he also became a consultant to companies.

You see, the non-standard product business cannot be measured from the perspective of standard products. It is an extended service and can turn extended services into commodities. Therefore, non-standard products are a rare business growth model.

Non-standard products have been popular for a long time.

For example, in foreign countries, there is an e-commerce platform called Etsy, which was founded in 2005 and listed in 2015. I checked and found that its current market value is about 9.3 billion US dollars.

In terms of time, it is one of the early e-commerce companies. Its market positioning is relatively niche, mainly selling jewelry, artworks, and household items. Amazon has also benchmarked against it before and launched its own platform Handmade.

Non-standard products are different from mass-produced industrial products. They are often niche, dispersed and priced at a premium. Because sales volumes are small, merchants determine production based on sales and will not distribute products over a large area. Therefore, they cannot be accessed through conventional channels and it is difficult to form widespread marketing.

In this process, the role of experts is very important. If it were not for the recommendation of experts, it would be difficult to find a product because they are the link.

In China, many people used to sell non-standard products on various platforms. For example, if you search for "LV women's bags", it is a standard product, and if you search for "women's bags", it is a non-standard product; agricultural products and jade businesses are all considered non-standard.

In the past, the trust in selling non-standard products was relatively low, the e-commerce platforms were not strictly regulated, and it was difficult for merchants to control the quality of their products. Many merchants took advantage of this to make money.

The situation is different now. The supply and demand are greater than the supply. The relationship between people, goods and places has been reorganized and arranged. Demand is put in front of the customer. If you are not satisfied with the purchase, you can only get a refund without returning the goods.

Therefore, business thinking has changed. Where people are and what they want are more important than what you have. To put it bluntly, when the merchant's sickle falls, users will still have to see how fast the knife is. If you want to survive in the niche market, you must ensure that your product quality is up to standard.

Therefore, I believe that the private domain ecosystem is an incremental opportunity for non-standard products.

After the Internet's growth hit bottom, businesses and users were divided into countless self-organized groups, with each circle forming a serious layer. The flow of information within the circles undoubtedly created a new consumption space. Non-standard elements emphasize interest-driven, individual visual aesthetics, and are more popular, focusing on niche and novelty.

Consider this:

What sparks will emerge when a group of stock traders gather together? How will the fan base around a big V change with the common values? What kind of emotional value will the community formed around a brand inspire?

Of course, the private domain I am talking about is not limited to WeChat, but also includes platforms such as Douyin, Kuaishou, and Xiaohongshu. Although the social functions of some platforms are relatively weak, they have formed a complete closed-loop system at the commercial level.

04‍

If brands or individuals want to find growth opportunities in the non-standard market, they must do so in three ways:

1. Transformation of value proposition

In my opinion, the independent brands or designer brands required for non-standard products feel marginalized in front of traditional commercial brands.

As consumers, whether facing corporate customers (B2B) or individual customers (B2C), the evaluation of non-standard products comes from personal subjective feelings and values.

This means that everyone wants to gather with like-minded people and brands in a safe and recognized business environment. At the same time, it is necessary to create a place with common values ​​and atmosphere so that buyers can feel a sense of belonging.

For example, if I want to develop a brand of tea and sell it in the community, I will definitely first realize that some people not only pay attention to the quality of the tea itself, but also attach great importance to the cultural significance of gift giving. They want something that is unique, tasteful, and reflects a sense of value.

Or, tea is a way of making friends and a symbol. When offline activities are organized regularly, tea can promote the connection between group members and make the community closer.

Perhaps, non-standard products are like a project. At the beginning, no one may be able to clearly explain the values, and they need to be controlled by specific people as boundaries. But after being slowly refined, they gradually become visible.

2. Reshaping the aesthetics of design

I have always believed that non-standard products are never about "good looks". Design is a logic that should be extended around "service". Service is not limited to vision, but also highlights the first impression.

Non-standard design requires unique concepts, meeting core design principles while exercising fine control over other aspects. Only in this way can it be called true innovation.

Take the brand of Rei Kawakubo, for example. Maybe only some people know about it. On its short-sleeved shirts, there is nothing but a love logo. However, it is sold at a high price and many people like it.

You say, what is the difference between it and the short-sleeved shirts that cost dozens of yuan on the market? Most people can't really tell the difference, but for those who know how to appreciate it, they are basically attracted by the brand concept.

3. Going beyond the sustainability principle

Similarly, the sustainable operation of non-standard products is difficult to define, just like young people’s love for joint culture.

The relaxed and casual nature of street culture represents a value of de-identification. In such an environment, people temporarily put aside their identity differences and enjoy equal interpersonal communication; although traditional brands may try to create this relaxed atmosphere, it is often difficult to achieve the same effect.

Similarly, whether non-standard products can be operated sustainably and whether they can form a recyclable value system is related to the people and the managers.

Sometimes, some niche brands appear that summer and never appear again. It is this short-lived existence that brings people indelible memories.

Obviously, the non-standard product business has concepts, values, self-persistence, as well as restraint and rejection.

Among all measurement dimensions, sentiment is more important than business, which does not mean not making money. However, if we use "how much money is made" as the ultimate measure, we will not be able to discover good products and good content.

In summary

Non-standard product business, an area of ​​incremental growth.

When economies of scale no longer represent a competitive advantage like they did before, you can no longer win the market by producing large quantities of goods. You need to stop and think carefully about what other abilities you have to create barriers on the technological side, or customize products for your users.

Author: Wang Zhiyuan

WeChat public account: Wang Zhiyuan (ID: Z201440)