Hot on the Internet, can the "business secrets" of Zibo barbecue be replicated?

Zibo barbecue has become a "phenomenon". So, can Zibo, which has become popular overnight, withstand the "enthusiasm" of a large number of tourists? Can the "business secrets" of Zibo barbecue be replicated? Follow the author's perspective and read the article together!

If we talk about the hottest topic right now, besides ChatGPT, it should be Zibo barbecue.

The Weibo topic has been read 240 million times, with an average daily reading volume of over 6 million;

The average reading volume of topics related to Zibo on Douyin's hot list is over 8 million;

According to Zibo Evening News, as of April 15, the total number of passengers arriving and departing at Zibo Railway Station was 836,350, setting a record for the number of passengers arriving and departing at the station in a single day;

According to Dianping.com, since March, searches for the keyword "barbecue" in Zibo have increased by more than 370% year-on-year, and searches for the keyword "Zibo barbecue" on all platforms have increased by more than 770% year-on-year.

In addition, according to Morketing's observation, direct trains from Beijing to Zibo and more than 80% of local hotels have been sold out during the May Day holiday. With such a hot scene, it is no wonder that netizens jokingly said, "The last time Zibo was so lively was during the 'Five Kingdoms Attack Qi'."

If we look closely, with the recovery of the consumer market, places like Beijing Drum Tower and Xi'an Tang Dynasty City that Never Sleeps are basically "packed" every day. However, the tourism characteristics and cultural heritage of these cities themselves form a sharp "contrast" with Zibo's "title" of an industrial city, which further makes Zibo barbecue a "phenomenal" phenomenon.

So, can Zibo, which became popular overnight, withstand the "enthusiasm" of a large number of tourists? Can the "business secrets" of Zibo barbecue be replicated?

1. The explosion of Zibo barbecue was an "accident"

"Small pancake oven plus dipping sauce, the three-piece set of soul barbecue" is basically the standard configuration of every barbecue stall in Zibo.

It is these ordinary things that have made Zibo stand out with "Zibo BBQ" and become the current "benchmark for cultural and tourism cities".

But the popularity of Zibo barbecue is actually an accident. Why do I say that? Morketing believes that before the topic of "college students' special forces tourism" became popular, Zibo barbecue was already a "proper noun".

When the 2021 B station food documentary "A String of Life" became popular on the Internet, Zibo barbecue appeared in the first episode of the third season. With the special dramatic and literary description of "A String of Life", the close-up shot of the "sizzling oil" of Zibo barbecue in the documentary, and the profound record of the simplicity and hard work of the Shandong people, the video playback volume of the current issue reached 5.3 million + likes.

At that time, Zibo barbecue was already "well-known", at least it attracted many internet celebrities to check in. For example, the videos shot by food bloggers Dao Yue She Shi Yu Ji and Te Bie Wu La La, who have more than 10 million fans on the Internet, about Zibo barbecue were ranked top in the same series in terms of playback volume.

The spread of "A String of Life" and the food bloggers' check-in have brought traffic to Zibo, which has ushered in the first "small" peak of traffic. However, it only attracted a small number of consumers at this time. At least at this time, going to Zibo will not be "crowded".

Until this year.

In early March, a wave of topics about "special forces-style travel for college students" emerged on Douyin. As the name suggests, it means "visiting" the most attractions with the least money and walking tens of thousands of steps a day. This special forces-style "training" travel has attracted many college students to check in. Zibo has also gradually become a "destination" for college students because of its low prices, abundant food and rich attractions.

Driven by the topic traffic and the college student group, according to the huge arithmetic data, the keyword search index of "Zibo barbecue" has increased by 61203.35% year-on-year and 852.80% month-on-month in the past month, with an average of 969,000 times. Among them, the 31-40 age group has the highest proportion, and the 18-23 age group has the highest preference (TGI index).

Of course, it is not difficult to see from the picture that in early April, "Zibo BBQ" ushered in another wave of "peaks". According to Morketing, just before the "peak" appeared, Douyin blogger "B Tai" with millions of fans brought an electronic scale to evaluate several stalls in Zibo's "Eight Bureaus" and "C-position food" Zibo BBQ. In the video, the stalls that were evaluated in person not only did not lack weight, but most of the merchants automatically "peeled" and "rounded off". Even the stall owner in the video did not get angry when faced with "questions", and even gave the "secret recipe" to the blogger.

"Sincerity is the ultimate weapon." The sincerity and enthusiasm of the stall owner in the video, as well as the unique positioning of the blogger "Mrs. B", once again accelerated the popularity of Zibo. Many netizens left messages saying "I want to go to Zibo to eat barbecue" and "The people of Shandong are so touching."

As for the "explosive popularity" of Zibo barbecue, there are voices online that believe this is a "human-planned" event, but in Morketing's view, this is more like an "accidental event" with the right "time, place and people".

In terms of the popularity of Zibo barbecue, it is spring and summer, which is the best time to travel. As the weather warms up, consumers are more willing to do some outdoor activities, and the dining form of "open-air barbecue" just fits the current consumption scene.

On the other hand, as the overall environment warms up, most consumers' willingness to consume and travel has generally increased. At the same time, many cities are vigorously developing the tourism industry, and Zibo's cultural tourism is no exception. It seized the opportunity of "Zibo barbecue" to go viral and not only launched a high-speed train "barbecue train", but also launched a series of "nanny-style policies" to facilitate tourists.

2. The secret of a “single product hit” in a “small” city in Shandong

To put it more concretely, if "Zibo" is regarded as a brand, then the popularity of "Zibo BBQ" is more like the brand's "single product explosion" strategy.

For brands, the "single product explosion" strategy can quickly improve consumer awareness, establish a three-dimensional brand image, and expand brand awareness. Its general communication path is often inseparable from Douyin push flow communication, Xiaohongshu seeding, Internet celebrities, netizens' interactive check-ins, etc., and the "explosive" path of "Zibo BBQ" can also be summarized in the same way.

For example, the topic of "College Students' Special Forces-style Tourism" on Douyin in the early stage increased the popularity of "Zibo BBQ". Later, more and more college students joined in, forming a trend of promotion and diffusion, and consumers gradually formed cognition and interest in "Zibo BBQ".

As the popularity increases, many netizens will spontaneously share their travel guides for Zibo on platforms such as Xiaohongshu. The unique social nature, coupled with the fact that most consumers are now accustomed to the consumption phenomenon of "being planted with grass", gradually strengthens the mental position of "Zibo BBQ" and further helps the "consumption conversion" in the later stage.

As the popularity gradually soared, a large number of internet celebrities and netizens came to check in. In addition to the bloggers mentioned above, such as Te Bie Ulala and Tai B, a number of stars such as Gao Yalin and Wang Churan also "came out" to help promote it, eventually turning "Zibo BBQ" from a regional-level ranking into a phenomenal "social verb."

However, we should also know that the "single product explosion" strategy does not apply to every city. A few days ago, Yunnan's Water Splashing Festival was held, which also set off a wave of popularity on short videos, but soon because of the "malicious pulling of women's raincoats" incident, this traditional festival representing blessings "changed its flavor".

It is undeniable that there have been some negative news online about "Zibo BBQ", such as hotels "raising prices at will" and barbecue restaurants "forcing consumption", but it did not fall apart because of this. So what did the "small" city of Zibo in Shandong do right?

First of all, it is to create a "good reputation" through details and services, and grasp the "God" mentality of consumers. The "God" mentality here does not mean that consumers are "superior", but a state of consumption after being valued and experiencing high-quality services.

As we mentioned above, after barbecue in Zibo became popular, Zibo Culture and Tourism immediately added 24 weekend round-trip "barbecue trains" from Jinan to Zibo, and also thoughtfully prepared "souvenirs" for passengers.

In addition, the Zibo government has added 21 customized barbecue bus lines based on the distribution of barbecue restaurants in the city; and arranged volunteers at the train station to provide transportation, accommodation, barbecue, and tourist route consultation and promotion services to passengers.

Morketing also observed that due to the booming business, many barbecue stalls would inform tourists in advance that "the meat is gone and they can go to other stalls for dining" in order not to affect tourists' dining. Some barbecue stalls even gave out free ice cream, benches, etc. to tourists waiting in line for meals.

Secondly, when problems arise, they should be investigated and rectified immediately without passing the buck.

For example, regarding the incident where the hotel "raised the price on the spot" to 800 yuan, Red Star News reported that the hotel involved said that if the price was booked on the spot or negotiated by phone in advance, it would actually only cost more than 200 yuan. The relevant person in charge of the Zibo Municipal Government also made it clear that "we are still investigating and will find out where the problem is."

At the same time, in response to Zibo's "rapid popularity", the official Weibo account of the Zibo Municipal Market Supervision Administration issued a "Reminder and Warning on Regulating the Pricing Behavior of Operators" on April 16, which explicitly prohibits barbecue restaurants, hotels, etc. from raising prices at will.

Finally, Morketing also discovered through short videos that the local people of Zibo also spontaneously assumed the responsibility of "host" and left a good impression on tourists.

For example, some taxi drivers not only enthusiastically recommend tourist attractions to out-of-town tourists, but may even do so for free; for another example, local drivers will actively "give way" when they see out-of-town license plates, in order to provide as much convenience and service as possible to out-of-town tourists and leave a good impression.

It can be seen that although Zibo’s popularity was an "accidental event", it was also inseparable from the "necessary preparations" of Zibo’s local area.

3. Final Thoughts

Can Zibo, which became popular overnight, withstand the "enthusiasm" of such a large number of tourists?

According to a video posted by netizens, on April 18, a notice was posted in front of a barbecue restaurant in Zibo, saying "Due to overwork of employees, the restaurant will be closed for 3 days."

The owner of the barbecue restaurant reportedly said that due to over a month of overwork, the more than 30 employees in the store were too tired to work. "Now it's not about money, saving lives is the most important thing."

At the same time, Morketing also found that many stores are rushing to change their "stores", changing from fried chicken restaurants to barbecue restaurants. The reason is obvious. Although only a few stores have closed down urgently due to "overload" operation, the "pressure" of more than a month has also made this "small" city "extraordinarily" crowded.

So, can Zibo withstand the "enthusiasm" of a large number of tourists? At least until now the situation is still promising. The answer to this question will surely become clearer after the upcoming May Day holiday.

Can the "business secrets" of Zibo barbecue be replicated?

Morketing holds a negative opinion for the time being.

As we analyzed above, the popularity of Zibo barbecue is mostly due to "accidental" factors, and the conditions of "right time, right place, and right people" are not suitable for every city.

At the same time, the development of cultural tourism should be adapted to local conditions. If we blindly copy the logic of "Zibo", it is likely to backfire.

Author: Morketing

WeChat public account: Morketing (ID: Morketing)