Do you know what are the pitfalls of e-commerce operations?

　　E-commerce is obviously not the initial small-scale fight. In the era of mobile Internet, e-commerce has become an important supplement to traditional sales channels and was once considered to be a substitute for the latter. Even though time and practice have proved the narrowness of the above view, it is still impossible to deny that its impact has had a huge impact on the traditional model.

　　Whether it is traditional retail giants or rising people who want to counterattack in the new era, they have stepped up their online layout. No one wants to be abandoned by this era, and no one wants to seize a new track. However, is every new entrant aware of the difference between the "playing method" of e-commerce and traditional thinking? Are the traditional channel models applicable in new environments?

　　Whether it is a wealthy and powerful traditional tycoon or a passionate entrepreneurial novices, do you know the pitfalls of e-commerce operations?

　　Platform entry - Do you think you can be willful if you have money?

　　Tmall and JD.com have long become "a place that must be fought for by military strategists." Every company regards these two platforms as eternal "highland", followed by Suning, No. 1 Store... to make omni-channel online, so that each platform can lay its own products... It seems that this is the operating model of e-commerce.

　　However, the fact is that you really know whether your products are suitable for entering these platforms? In other words, business owners should first understand whether the product’s customer base positioning matches the platform. "Omni-channel" is actually a "false proposition."

　　We all know that each platform has its own unique attributes. For example, Tmall and Taobao are mostly clothing and overseas shopping users; JD and Suning are 3C home appliances; No. 1 store is mainly food, and the attributes of other vertical e-commerce platforms are even more accurate. Even if you meet a "willful" boss, you must enter every platform. If the product is not suitable and does not meet the "taste" of platform users, you will definitely go through a very painful training period for a long time after entering the platform. If the traffic cannot be in and the product cannot be sold, the operation team will be very depressed. If you meet a boss who only looks at the data and is unknown, "Why can others sell it, but you can't do it?" This is something you can often hear every morning meeting.

　　The boss’s mood is understandable, but the boss must also clearly realize that not a group of people can operate and manage all platforms: not to mention that when entering each platform, you need to understand the specific rules of the operation team, planning, operation, design... A low-profile team also requires 2-3 people, and if the configuration is slightly higher, there are 4 or 5 people. Although design and planning can be general, with more platforms, different platform standards, the workload will naturally increase, the number of employees will also increase accordingly, and the team management requirements will also increase.

　　The boss must figure out what kind of platform to enter. If you don’t have too much financial strength and mature management capabilities, it is best to do the basic things first, choose the products, find the precise customer base, and then consider entering the matching platform.

　　Profit space - Have you lost money and gained publicity for a long time?

　　Whether it is a brand or a dealer, since you have entered the platform, you must think about selling the goods in your hands as soon as possible. Years of experience tell us that smart consumers will compare prices. Therefore, no matter what product you are selling, if you want to make money instead of being a scrambler, the upstream channels of your products must ensure that your products have enough profit margins on the e-commerce platform.

　　The deduction points of each e-commerce platform are different, and even each category is different, ranging from 3 to 4, and from 10 to 10. After all, big stores bully customers, and big platforms also have pressure on big platforms. Therefore, the platform cost must be considered in the early stage, because this is calculated based on orders and can be calculated as a fixed cost, which must be considered.

　　In addition, there are the company's operating expenses, including the team's labor costs and rent, which are absolutely large. In addition, water, electricity, logistics, and daily messes are all distributed to each order.

　　If your upstream channels give you only a dozen points in the average selling price of the product and platform, or even lower, then you must think carefully about whether there is a problem with the upstream bargaining power or the problem with the upstream cost control. If the cost is much beyond the scope of your product profit, you must adjust the supply chain structure in time, either change channel suppliers or replace more suitable products, and find ways to reduce costs.

　　Resource allocation - whether to mix rain or a single point breakthrough?

　　Resources are always limited. No matter how rich the boss is, it is impossible to invest money on all platforms: a smart boss will definitely adopt the "28 Rule" to reasonably arrange capital investment and team ratio to ensure the maximization of ROI; a stupid boss cannot invest a lot of money in e-commerce channels.

　　Margin, platform usage fees, order deductions, logistics, advertising promotion, store decoration... the fees incurred on these platforms, as well as employees, equipment, products... These are all necessary options for operating costs. Employee benefits and administrative expenses seem to be dispensable, but which employee doesn't want the more of these, the better? Don’t the boss pay for all these?

　　Every channel is opened and every platform is settled, manpower, material and financial resources are invested. The later operation effect is not good and it is difficult to recover the cost of investment, and it will eventually become a useless project: if the operation is carried out, the content needs to be kept synchronized with other platforms, and specialists need to be arranged to manage it every day when handling customer consultation and transaction orders; if the operation is not carried out, the energy invested in the early stage and the funds invested in the settlement are basically "wasted", which will hit the morale of the entire operation team. At this time, whether to continue doing or choose to give up is a headache for the boss. However, why did you want to carry out these work in a willful way?

　　Whether it is a brand or a distributor, if you do not have enough experience and full confidence in the early stage, it is best to think clearly about the development ideas: whether it is brand display or product sales. Clearly divide the two, determine the direction, and then formulate the rhythm of entry and operation. A single point breakthrough, one platform and one platform "eat" and "get it thoroughly" a platform. With relatively stable traffic and transactions, a highly efficient team is cultivated, and then start the next one, grasp the time and capital allocation.

　　Operational docking – Do you want high-quality resource locations?

　　After complicated qualification review and various fees payments, the platform has finally settled in and is ready to sell it? Don't worry! Do you think this is on Taobao, and you can use Taobao, direct trains, diamond exhibitions, and various live broadcast marketing to exceed tens of millions? The nature of the platform is different, so the rules cannot be generalized. There are no high-quality pits and no long-term exposure to continuously drain traffic. It is simply a dream to achieve the conversion from traffic to sales.

　　Unfortunately, not all bosses are aware of this. Most of them do not understand the platform rules and ignore sales plans, and do not know or ask about marketing costs and operating costs. Simply thinking that entering the platform means that you can start selling immediately, place orders... No matter what basic data accumulation and operation docking are, the target is only GMV.

　　Having said that, how can we gain these resources for our product activities? In addition to the good product itself and the price advantage (sometimes negative gross profit is necessary), the operation of platform category docking must be maintained well. Because only by allowing platform operations to fully understand the store operation status and attitude can he have enough confidence to leave these valuable positions for you. Because these pits are their main resources for completing sales tasks. Therefore, maintaining a good relationship with platform operations, actively cooperating with platform activities, and actively reporting activity plans is one of the most important tasks in store operations.

　　The above points are just the most common problems in e-commerce operations. In fact, there are also skills such as product operations, customer operations, and content operations, which will encounter problems in operation work. But in summary, the key to e-commerce operations is to make plans in advance, clarify development ideas, and then make decisions. With the development of e-commerce today, it is difficult to become rich overnight as easily as it was at the beginning; only by calculating carefully, working hard and looking forward to the long-term can we achieve better development; if we are eager for quick success and instant benefits, we will only end up in failure and lose all our money...