Compared to last year's outbreak, the development of the cross-border e-commerce industry has slowed down this year, with many sellers in the industry experiencing a decline in sales and profits. In front of this pain point, how can independent websites with annual sales of several billion yuan cope with it?
Yi'en.com interviewed Zhengzhou Little Warcraft E-commerce Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Little Warcraft)VP Wang Shuaipeng, as a vertical independent website seller in the industry, Little Warcraft has a unique gameplay that belongs to central sellers. At the same time, facing the popular issue of platform sellers opening up independent website channels, Wang Shuaipeng also provided relevant suggestions.
How can vertical independent station sellers break through?
The Little Warcraft was founded inIn 2017,It is one of the largest global online glasses brands in China,Located in Zhengzhou, Henan, it is a low-key vertical independent station seller in the industry. previouslyOver the past three years, Little Warcraft has developed at an annual growth rate of over 100%, far exceeding the industry average growth rate. But with the recent promotion of Black Five and the internet, Little Warcraft seems not satisfied with this year's peak season sales.
Little WarcraftVP Wang Shuaipeng bluntly stated that this year's sales did not meet growth expectations. Because last year was the year of the outbreak, the epidemic caused a sudden increase in sales, and many sellers' performance was abnormal. Many peers' growth this year has not been as expected, which is closely related to the overall environment. Taking Heiwu as an example, on the day of last year's promotion, many sellers' sales would have increased several times, and their performance may have doubled this year.
Last year was a period of rapid development in the cross-border e-commerce industry, and it was relatively easy to catch the fast train and achieve rapid growth. The industry's development has slowed down this year, and it is not easy for many sellers to maintain stable growth in their performance. In contrast, the time point when Little Warcraft entered the independent platform seems not to be in the dividend period of industry development, but it stands out in the competition with a set of hardcore gameplay.
In 2017, Little Warcraft entered cross-border e-commerce, and at that time, some independent website giants in the industry had already established themselves. So, Little Warcraft attempted to seek opportunities in less competitive customized products, and ultimately decided to enter the prescription glasses category, encountering difficulties at the beginning of its development. Due to a lack of understanding of the glasses industry, it has taken many detours in terms of suppliers. On the one hand, due to small-scale procurement, the price has no advantage and is almost on par with retail purchases; On the other hand, as a trader, it is difficult to control the quality of products when picking up goods.
In order to overcome supply chain challenges, Little Warcraft has established its own glasses design team, procurement team, and processing team, and learned from traditional glasses production enterprises to make up for the company's shortcomings.
Entering a new category, it is not easy to successfully break through. Little Warcraft mainly relies on cost-effectiveness and product differentiation to win.
Wang Shuaipeng said that as a company or brand, cost-effectiveness is a very competitive point in competition, which depends on whether it canreachCost control and product qualityBalance of. Another important point is the differentiation of products. Ordinary eyewear products are mediocre. Relatively speaking, Little Warcraft products are more fashionable, and all women around the world love beauty. From this perspective, we aim to make eyewear more fashionable and attractive, so that consumers may be more willing to choose this brand.
Boss's suggestion: How to avoid a decline in profits due to a sharp increase in operating costs?
After determining the advantageous products, Little Warcraft grew rapidly and gradually became an excellent vertical independent seller in the industry.
This year, cross-border industry logistics prices have skyrocketed, advertising costs have skyrocketed, and cross-border sellers in the industry have expressed an increase in operating costs, which has to some extent damaged profits. Against this backdrop, Little Warcraft has also been impacted.
In the case of profit loss, Wang Shuaipeng believes that raising prices is the most direct way to solve the problem.However, price increases may affect conversion. At this point, in order to maintain profits without too much impact on conversion, Wang Shuaipeng shared two tips from Little Warcraft.
1Accurately regulate the costs of each link
If the seller wants to increase the price, they cannot simply increase it. Instead, they must optimize the entire process and adjust a certain part, which may bring more income but will not significantly affect the conversion. In this stage, the seller needs to analyze the data accurately, and which one should be adjusted will have a relatively small impact on the customer, that is, it will have a smaller impact on the conversion aspect.
IIBe sure to optimize internal costs
Sellers can further optimize their internal operationsoperateCost,For example, throughITInvestment in aspects,Establishing a digital supply chain,Improve supply efficiency and product quality;By studying user behavior,Improve website conversion rate,Reduce customer acquisition costs;Developing tools to support business development,Improve internal management efficiency,Improving human efficiency;andContinuous optimizationThese aspects,IfYespromotethreePointsProfit, thissomeProfit can be usedTo hedge a portion of logisticsraw materialTraffic, etcThe rise in costs.
There is a word called "increasing revenue and reducing expenditure", which allows more revenue to come in and optimizes the costs of various links. In order to ensure profits, Little Warcraft also does the same.
When it comes to increasing revenue and reducing costs, Wang Shuaipeng mentioned that some industry sellers have gradually shifted their operating centers from the Guangzhou and Shenzhen regions to the central and western regions, which may also be a manifestation of cost savings. Taking a technical team of fifty to sixty people as an example, the cost of such a team in the central region isOver 10 million RMB, if transferred to Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the cost may double.
The Little Warcraft is located in the central city of Zhengzhou, which has an advantage in terms of personnel costs. To some extent, there may also be some shortcomings in professional operation recruitment, and the talent matching and professionalism are not as good as in the Guangzhou and Shenzhen regions.
However, for the long-term development of the company, Little Warcraft dares to find excellent people to join the company team. Wang Shuaipeng said that the company will spend a lot of money searching forvariousSome professional talents in the field can make up for their shortcomings and amplify their advantages.
Entering an independent website, platform sellers need to grasp two core points
In terms of profit loss, third-party platform sellers feel more direct. Due to the upgrading of platform control, rising advertising costs, and high storage costs, independent website sellers such as Little Warcraft have become the envy of many platform sellers this year. Some of them also want to enter independent websites and expand new sales channels.
Wang Shuaipeng, who has been exploring independent channels for many years, believes thatFrom a brand perspective, whether it is an independent website or a platform, it is just a sales channel. For sellers, it's nothing more than how to balance the products and users on two channels.
There is a clear distinction between independent websites and third-party platforms, where the products on the platform and the corresponding users are different from independent websites. So sellers can have two different sales channels,But it should be noted thatThe two core points are adhering to product thinking and user orientation.
If platform sellers expand their independent website channels, they can start with familiar products and develop some products suitable for independent websites based on the categories they previously operated on the platform, or upgrade some products currently on the platform.
When it comes to the issue of independent website sellers obtaining traffic in the early stage, Wang Shuaipeng bluntly stated that social media is a great channel. Sellers can choose based on their own products, allowing these channels to fully leverage their value and seize the opportunity to accumulate resources and users through the end of the channel dividend.
How can independent sellers further refine their advantages?On December 13th, 2021, the first China (Zhengzhou) Central Cross border E-commerce Seller Brand Overseas SummitA comprehensive analysis will be conducted.This summit, jointly organized by Yien NetworkThe official Facebook platform and various mainstream platforms have invited over 20 industry experts to gather in Zhengzhou to present two top-level content feasts, Amazon and Independents.
At the Independence Station venue, Wang Shuaipeng will collaborate with other independent station sellers to explore the sellers of the Central Independence StationThe Way to Survival and the Extraction of AdvantagesSecret script for the sellerIndicate the road.Scan the QR code below or click to read the original text to sign up for free and participate in the conference. Go to the big seller to learn from them on site.
