There are frequent problems in agency operation. How to make rational choices?

As the saying goes, "Nothing is the most expensive, only the best". So what kind of service provider is most suitable for businesses? Why look at the agency operation with good indicators, but there are frequent problems after selection? But it is the same organization, but other businesses it serves are doing well?

Therefore, we interviewed john young, CEO of Barley E-commerce, and Lin, owner of Guangzhou Taiyi International Travel Service, to see how enterprises should make rational choices on behalf of operating companies and realize the promotion of stores.

The first step to rationally choose an agent operation service provider is to understand the market. How will the agency operation market change? What's the problem? What challenges will you face in the future?

Thinking Network: How will the agency market change?

John young: Actually, everyone has seen the market clearly now. The agency operation market has gradually entered the stage of survival of the fittest, and then it will be an era of relying entirely on strength to fight for service quality and efficiency. Early merchants didn't understand this industry and blindly looked for service providers. They don't know how to tell who is good and who is bad. Basically, it depends on the verbal commitment of the service provider to judge who has strong sales ability and who to cooperate with. But with the development and maturity of the market, the comprehensive strength of the service team has become the core thing. Merchants looking for service providers will become more rational in terms of overall team strength, operational experience, store analysis, basic operational thinking, and understanding of merchant product categories. Therefore, the next generation of operating markets will become more rational. Next, the number of agency companies may be greatly reduced, but on the whole, there will be more and more.

Four dimensions. Com: What are the common problems in the agency market?

John young: Two months ago, Shenzhen was arrested for fraud. Last week, CCTV news also reported that Zhengzhou Black Generation Operation Company was arrested. In recent years, the market has been very chaotic by this kind of blackmail, and now the government has noticed this, so I believe that after these rounds of reshuffle, our market will be much cleaner. After the market is clean, there is still a problem that everyone's level is uneven, and the service level of different companies is very different. Even different teams in the same company may have different service levels. I think our e-commerce service industry should be as standardized as other service industries, and barley e-commerce has been committed to doing this.

Thinking Network: What challenges will the agency operation industry encounter in the future?

John young: Actually, the challenge has already seen the trend. In the past, the agency operation industry was actually an industry with a lot of diaosi. Some people who have no formal occupation or strong professional attributes, with the rise of e-commerce, choose to play Taobao to make a living. However, after the virtual fire passed, the industry gradually returned to the commercial essence. E-commerce and offline are not antagonistic, but complement each other. The talents we need are knowledgeable, not just familiar with Taobao backstage as before. The company that can basically survive now must have a very strong learning ability in order to truly meet the customer's requirements for service, especially to be professional and have a deep understanding of categories. In the past, the market was engaged in killing, and it must be refined in the future.

The second step in choosing a service provider rationally is to be a "bosom friend". Only by deeply understanding your own enterprise can you find a suitable service provider faster.

Four dimensions. Com: What kind of travel agency is Taiyi?

Lin: We are transforming from offline to online travel, mainly engaged in scenic spot tickets, tourist routes and other related products. The customer base is mainly consumers who need to travel abroad. I also did it for a while when I switched to online, but only a few items kept rising, not the overall sales.

Four dimensions. Com: What are the main problems in your store in the initial stage of transformation?

Lin: When I first entered the e-commerce industry, I didn't understand the overall operation of the Amoy Department at first, and I always wondered why other people's traffic was so high. Second, the brand trust is relatively low. I have done some microblog promotion before, but the effect is not very good. Third, when selling, only a few goods sell well, and I don't know how to drive the sales of other products. Generally speaking, I am still confused about what I should do online. I think this is not good for our development, so I decided to find an operating company to do it.

Thinking Network: What do you hope to achieve through agency operation?

Lin: Quite simply, I hope to promote the sales of other products and realize the promotion of the whole store.

Of course, the third step in choosing an agent service provider rationally is to know each other, which is very important. Only by deeply understanding the situation, mode and advantages of agency service companies can we make the most suitable choice.

Thinking Network: What are the main aspects of barley e-commerce business?

John young: Since Barley was founded five years ago, our business has been divided into four modules, providing customers with four services: traditional operation custody, promotion custody, software and system development, and talent education. We are committed to providing customers with one-stop services. Represents operation, which is the whole network operation. At present, it mainly focuses on platforms such as Taobao, Tmall, JD.COM, Amazon and AliExpress.

Four dimensions. Com: Is the charging mode of barley e-commerce basic service fee+commission?

John young: We have been operating in different categories. The team is divided into different departments according to different categories, which helps us to cultivate and recruit more professional talents in a certain category. Through unique service standards, it is divided into small teams of 4-5 people, led by several store managers in different categories, and serves customers in the form of small teams. The charging mode is mainly to charge customers a fixed service fee first, and then commission according to different categories and monthly turnover. Although the salary of e-commerce talents has been increasing, we believe that we should help our customers improve their performance through our efforts, so our service fee has not changed since three years ago. The assessment of employees is calculated according to the plan compliance rate we give customers, which can effectively ensure that the plan is more reasonable and encourage employees to work hard to achieve their goals.

Thinking Network: What are the advantages of your model?

John young: We do subtraction in the process of customer acquisition, and deeply study the customer acquisition path to ensure that customers can connect with the operation team in the shortest time and reduce the loss of information. At the same time, it attaches great importance to the accumulation of systems and data, and develops a set of its own operating platform to help operators make decisions with intelligence. Through the precipitation of data and the output of the system, it helps customers to automatically generate decisions and improve efficiency and success rate. The core point is the team. We guarantee to provide professional services to our customers through modern internal management system.

It is understood that the renewal rate of agency operations is relatively low. What is your current renewal rate and the number of service stores?

John young: Considering the customer's capital flow, our renewal rate is assessed quarterly, which is basically maintained at 50%-70%. I believe this renewal rate will continue to increase. In fact, the number of shops we serve is divided into several dimensions. It operates more than 200 stores (including full-time operation and local operation), promotes more than 600 hosting customers and serves 400 software customers.

Four dimensions. Com: How will you meet the emerging needs of customers for online celebrity live broadcast?

John young: Although we have not set up such a team ourselves, we do have such channels. Faced with these needs of customers, we will also judge whether these needs are suitable for the characteristics of the store, because many customers are really irrational. If the category of the store is suitable, we will match the appropriate resources for the store. If the category of the store is not suitable, we will directly tell him that the conversion rate may not be too high, and try to reduce unnecessary losses for customers.

Thinking Network: Agency operation is a two-way choice. As a service provider, how do you choose a business?

John young: When a customer visits, we will tell him directly whether he is suitable for e-commerce. Personally, I hate it when customers start asking for guaranteed sales, because even if we have the ability to operate, it is difficult for us to do so when there is a problem in the supply chain of our own products. We emphasize steady rise, not quick money. We watched the price of the selfie stick drop from 100 yuan to 10 yuan. We don't want to serve our customers like this because they just want to make quick money. This gene is far away from us. We still want to cooperate with enterprises that can go further and longer with us.

The fourth step: Rational choice of agency operation requires both parties to adjust and communicate in time to achieve the best effect of agency operation.

Thinking Network: How did Taiyi choose barley e-commerce?

Lin: At that time, besides barley, we also contacted some agent operating companies. Some companies will sell them directly to us with exaggerated effects, and they will keep saying how much turnover they guarantee. We don't think it is very reliable. What we were considering at that time was to find a company with very professional operation technology. After learning about barley, we went to the field and met the consultant. I feel that they are still very real, and barley has a good official reputation. In addition, barley is located in Guangzhou, which is not too far away from us geographically, and it is more convenient to communicate. So I finally chose barley. In fact, at the beginning, we were not fully managed, but integrated marketing services.

John young: Yes, that is, we send a store manager to provide them with consulting services. Later, with the improvement of performance and trust, further cooperation began.

Thinking Network: Is there anything wrong with the cooperation between the two sides?

Lin: I was worried for a while, too. When I see the increase in sales, I want to know whether this is due to the operation of the agency or whether the sales will increase without them. We tried to stop the operation and try it ourselves, but later found that the keywords of our through train were not very professional and the sales volume was also affected. So we safely returned the barley and operated on it. Up to now, we have been constantly running in. Our side is mainly responsible for the adjustment of products, and we are very relieved to hand over the operation to barley.

Four dimensions. Com: How about the promotion of Taiyi Store after its operation?

Lin: When we first cooperated, it was 20 14. At that time, the monthly sales volume was about several hundred thousand. By 20 15, the monthly sales reached more than 2 million. In fact, we were already satisfied at that time. By the first quarter of this year, our monthly sales have reached 4-5 million. As of August this year, the monthly sales volume has reached 30 million, and it is expected that the annual sales volume will reach the target of 50 million this year.

Thinking Network: What are the plans for the next stage?

Lin: At the beginning, we cooperated in the form of operation trusteeship. At present, we have cooperated through shareholding.

John young: Yes, now we have become a very important shareholder of Taiyi.

Lin: Next, we will also launch a travel APP with Barley, including marketing with Barley resources and other types of stores to further enhance brand awareness.

Thinking Network: What good suggestions do you two have when other businesses are looking for an agency?

Lin: I need to know more about the specific situation of the agency, what kind of team this company is, and don't believe those advertisements. At the same time, we must communicate with consultants more and cooperate more.

John young: First of all, you should go on a field trip. Never trust a company that can persuade you to make a deal with him just by phone. Secondly, the services of the operating company should be relatively concentrated, not the kind that can do everything. The third point is what I think is the core point. You can tentatively ask him if he can make a commitment to your turnover. Generally speaking, it is not reliable to make a promise to you blindly.