Traditional enterprises should pay attention to these five major issues when transforming

Whether you like it or not, Internet+ is already standing right in front of you...

For traditional enterprises, there are many reasons for Internet-oriented transformation, which can be summarized Mainly in the following three aspects: first, forced transformation, second, forced concept, and third, active transfer.

The first type: having to transform means that the operation of the enterprise has been seriously affected by the Internet and has even been unable to operate normally. Transformation is forced and a last resort. Before, I went to a shopping mall in a county-level city to inspect. Except for the catering, the 40,000-square-meter commercial complex was sparse in other areas. I could only rely on weekends and festivals to attract people. This is called "having to transfer." .

The second type: the concept of having to, refers to the fact that companies are rigidly linked to the Internet in order to make themselves look more Internet-based, more fashionable, and have a higher capital market valuation. For example, some companies that deal in bulk industrial products and building materials have only a few upstream manufacturers and dozens of downstream customers. They are all very familiar with each other. A phone book can solve the problem, and the information is symmetrical and sufficient. But we also need to establish a "Buy Concrete Network", "Buy Asphalt Network" and "Buy Steel Network". Personally, I feel that this does not seem to increase sales much, and it basically cannot bring much convenience to the industry. Why should we do it? The company told the truth: Since the whole society is "Internet +", if I don't do it, investors will think that I can't keep up with the times, don't advance with the times, and won't have a good valuation. Besides, , anyway, someone will pull this stunt. Instead of me being passive while others do it, I might as well do it first. As for the economic effect it can produce, there is no expectation. Some companies even forcefully move their offline business online in order to maintain their appearance. What’s even more funny is that in mid-2015, there was even a “naming trend” among listed companies, triggering a wave of name changes. The impact of the “no choice” trend is evident. The third type: active transfer means that there is no pressure from the operating pressure and speculation concept mentioned above. Enterprises are actively thinking about whether they can occupy a place in the rapid development of the Internet and get more of the new pie. , to achieve overtaking in corners. For example, many well-known universities (including well-known middle schools) have begun to provide online classes and online education. Their offline student sources are already guaranteed and abundant. This approach is just to use the Internet to further expand production capacity and scale. In the Internet era Gain the upper hand and greater advantage. It is not difficult to judge that the problems and pitfalls faced by transformation in different contexts are definitely very different. Based on my own experience in serving the Internet transformation of enterprises, from the perspective of the decision-making level, transformation should mainly solve the following five major problems.

1. The issue of the "me-centered" development concept

My experience in business management and consulting for many years tells me that no matter what the background, the development of an enterprise must "I am the Lord". The so-called "self-centered" means to have a comprehensive understanding and accurate judgment of the company's operating environment. On this basis, combined with its own operating conditions, resources, and advantages, determine the subsequent development strategy. In a rational industry, one hundred companies can have one hundred ways of living, and each company can live a wonderful life. The problem now is that due to the deception culture that has developed simultaneously in the Internet era, many business owners, especially small and medium-sized business owners, have been completely deceived and "turned away". They used to go well, but now they will not leave. They must use the Internet instead of going to the Internet. Consider whether the Internet is necessary, whether the Internet is possible, and whether life would be better without the Internet. Many industries in developed countries such as Germany, Japan, and Switzerland are not Internet-based. Why are they still doing well? Therefore, for entrepreneurs, one point I put forward is: think calmly, establish a "me-centered" thinking, and then look at what the Internet can do for you and how it can be done on the basis of in-depth thinking and grasping the direction of your own development. How to invest and control risks instead of being pushed or pulled by others and gradually deviating from the original correct path without knowing it.

2. Identification of pain points and needs

Since we want to enter the Internet industry or rely on the Internet model, I think there is a word we need to learn well, which is "pain point". The so-called pain point is your purpose of launching an Internet business, or the purpose of making your business Internet-based. Whether the pain points are accurately identified directly determines whether the transformation or investment can be successful.

But unfortunately, from what I have seen, about 30% of the Internet projects carried out by our company have no pain points, and about 60% are "pseudo-climax". The pain points are what you think about yourself, not the market. For real needs, others don't feel pain, it's just you who are moaning for no reason. This problem is an old one. To make products and conduct business, you need to conduct market research. Everyone knows this. Unfortunately, in the Internet era, because of the so-called Internet speed and the huge amounts of money spent by Internet giants, we feel that this view is outdated. It is no longer applicable; as long as I come up with a concept, I can get a response from the market, and then I will package the pain points, and then raise funds to make it continue to "pain". This approach is not completely undesirable. If you are the maker of industry rules and bring huge amounts of money, it is not impossible to achieve such a result. But unfortunately for 99% of companies, you don’t have so much money to burn. At this time You have to think about it, do any customers really need the Internet project you are doing now? How much do I have to invest and how long do I have to invest to get results? In the turbulent Internet tide, if I asked about the input and output of a project, many Internet experts might want to slap me. Now, I can finally say this: No matter what kind of enterprise, including Internet enterprises, Any investment that does not create profits is a shame.

3. Organizational Operation Model Issues

After clarifying the necessity and goals of getting involved in the Internet, and identifying the pain points of the market, the rest is the question of how to do it. At present, I think it can be summarized into three models: one is self-operated, the other is transportation, and the third is hybrid. The advantage of self-operation is that the company can control it, and the connection with traditional business is relatively smooth; the advantage of agency transportation is that it can be invested in a result-oriented manner, and the professional team has good capabilities and resources, and it is easy to see results; hybrid is somewhere in between, and some channels You can do it yourself, such as direct-operated shopping malls, WeChat stores, etc., while important Internet platforms such as Tmall are operated by professional institutions. The right or wrong choice of organizational operating model directly determines the success or failure of an enterprise's Internet transformation. Generally speaking, there is a big difference between the Internet operating model and the traditional business operating model. For a traditional business team to switch to Internet business, it is equivalent to one person having to have two ways of thinking at the same time. You can imagine the difficulty. A home textile company in Shandong that I am familiar with has done an excellent job in exporting. They chose to develop the domestic market mainly based on the Internet marketing model, and they organized their own teams to carry out it. It took a long time and no less than 10 million yuan was invested, but the results were mediocre. The reason is that the traditional foreign trade team is not adaptable to the bulk order model in the domestic market, cannot grasp the basic characteristics of Internet marketing, cannot grasp the real demand, and cannot respond to the market fast enough. For this company, it was obviously wise to rely on external teams to complete the Internet transformation in the early stages.

4. Resource investment issue

Internet business requires small investment, quick results, and low threshold. An individual can earn hundreds of thousands of yuan by opening an online store, let alone a large enterprise like us! Many decision-makers of traditional enterprises hold this view, which is actually very different from the current reality in the field of Internet business expansion. First of all, for an enterprise, the investment to transform to the Internet is not small, and the threshold is not low. The transformation towards the Internet mainly involves investment in three aspects: first, the introduction of Internet business, technical and management talents, which is a huge investment in the current booming Internet market; second, the software required for the operation of the Internet business platform. Hardware resources are relatively controllable in this aspect; the third is investment in Internet promotion, including advertising promotion, personnel promotion, discounts, and participation in various promotional activities of online merchants. The investment in this aspect can be said to be a bottomless pit, Didi, Kuaidi Everyone has seen the subsidy war, and these companies cannot afford to persist, let alone traditional companies with meager profits. The Internet business naturally has the characteristics of high investment, high attention, and high returns. It is actually difficult to say whether the returns after high investment can offset the huge investment. In this sense, the returns from transforming to the Internet are not fast. As the saying goes, "before the troops are moved, the food and grass go first." For a company to transform to the Internet, it must have a detailed inventory of the resources it can invest. It must clearly understand the above situation and cannot rush for success or seek success. It may be a quick success, but be prepared to fight a protracted battle on the Internet.

5. The issue of changing thinking patterns

The transformation of enterprises to the Internet model is not a simple upgrading of technical means, but a change in thinking patterns, which requires entrepreneurs to both It is necessary to have an insight into the characteristics of Internet business, and to deeply analyze the operating mechanism of traditional business, and to design integration points, profit points, and entry points between the two. Failure in any aspect will lead to failure. The characteristics of the Internet business can be summarized in Lei Jun's words, which are called "focus, reputation, perfection, and speed." However, the thinking of traditional business is more inclined to multiple products, multiple businesses, steady development, balanced development, and targeting wherever you want. The decision-making speed does not need to be fast, but it requires sufficient information. The implementation after the decision-making is evaluated in years. The Internet business is completely different. Decision-making requires rapid decision-making (which determines that information cannot be sufficient). Business operations will be adjusted immediately according to the market. The products and markets that have been identified must be fully pursued at all costs to achieve the ultimate perfection of single products. , the wool comes from the pig, and in the end the dog may pay the bill. There is a saying in the Internet industry that three months for an Internet company is equal to a whole year for a traditional company. If the thinking of enterprise decision-makers cannot switch to Internet thinking as soon as possible, and they still use the way of thinking about traditional business to research and deploy Internet business, this transformation is likely to be a "pseudo transformation". It is just that the business is moved to the Internet, and the true source of the business is not Changes will occur. If the above five aspects of the problem are not solved, the Internet transformation of traditional enterprises will not be successful. At least it will waste people and money, but at worst it will affect the foundation of traditional business and the unity and confidence of the team. Therefore, careful thinking, rigorous planning, and rational Investment and orderly promotion are very important.