As an important part of the expressway, the expressway service area mainly provides service facilities for drivers, passing vehicles, and passengers. It usually provides meals, rest, refueling, auto repair, etc. for expressway users. Basic functions. The service area has also been gradually extended from the initial positioning of highway infrastructure supporting facilities, forming a trend of accelerated development in the fields of social benefits and economic benefits.
As a relatively closed environment, the high-speed service area has certain closed characteristics, which also makes the drivers and passengers driving on the highway have a certain degree of dependence and rigid demand on the service area. When the service area first started, the supply and demand for consumer services were at an underdeveloped stage. The consumption areas of drivers and passengers were relatively narrow, the content was not rich, and the degree of satisfaction was also limited, leaving them in a depressed state. With the increasing improvement of people's material and cultural living standards, consumption demand has also become diversified and multi-level, and has gradually developed from low level to high level. The consumption field has continued to expand, the consumption content has become increasingly rich, and the quality of consumption has continued to improve.
From the perspective of the current business, it mainly involves several major aspects of services: business intersection with passing drivers and passengers, such as rest, catering, convenience stores and other human-centered services opened in the service area Projects; business intersection with passing vehicles: vehicle-based services such as auto repair (beauty), refueling, etc. opened in the service area; business intersection with cargo transportation: freight connection services, refrigeration services, containers in the service area Pre-recording and other goods-based service items; business intersection with self-owned venues: site (resource)-based service items such as venue leasing in the service area, energy utilization (water, electricity and wind energy).
From the perspective of business development scope, the business development direction can be explored from the four categories of "people, vehicles, goods, and sites". But from the perspective of the depth of long-term business development, traffic volume is our core customer resource, and the different car model structures based on traffic volume are our customer groups. Although the size of traffic flow is a key factor in the size of our business, as economic development currently enters a stable transition period, the previous "demographic dividend" has gradually declined or even disappeared. This requires us to think about this question: Assuming that our traffic flow remains unchanged, where is the basis for the growth of service area benefits, and how to maximize the service area benefits?
The core point lies in the consumption power brought by the consumer groups composed of different vehicle models entering the area. The promotion and growth of consumption power is one of the main vehicles driving the GDP growth of the service area at present and in the future. For our service area, how to change the existing business methods and service environment should be our important driving force and efficiency growth point.
1. A macroscopic view of consumption trends and influencing factors
1. The improvement of people’s living standards has promoted consumption upgrades. Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, the country's economy and people's living conditions have undergone earth-shaking changes. China's total highway mileage has exceeded 130,000 kilometers, and the number of motor vehicles nationwide is close to 320 million. Especially with the advent of the era of private car consumption, driven by the overall environmental trend, it has also brought huge opportunities to the highway service area business. From the perspective of external commercial market development, with the optimization of business models, the iteration of consumption patterns, the diversification of demand experience, and the renewal of main consumer forces, the overall needs of the people have also changed from "material and cultural needs" to "the yearning for a better life." ".
Take instant noodles as an example, which has been praised as “a must-have item for Spring Festival travel”. It has various flavors and is convenient to eat, and has a broad mass base in China. More than 40 billion packages of instant noodles are consumed in China every year, accounting for half of the world's total consumption. According to external statistics, from 2013 to 2016, China's total demand for instant noodles dropped from 46.22 billion packages to 38.52 billion packages, a decrease of 8 billion packages in three years, a decrease of 16.7%. With the influence of factors such as take-out ordering (diversified choices and improved convenience) and people's increasing requirements for nutrition and health, consumer demand has begun to shift.
Within our service area, according to incomplete statistics, the sales volume of instant noodles in the service area in the past two years exceeded 1.5 million units, with sales exceeding 7 million yuan. The sales volume accounted for 6.6% of the total sales volume of the supermarket, while the sales accounted for 4.7% of the total sales of the supermarket.
From the above data, we can see from the sales ratio that instant noodles still occupy an important market share in the consumer categories in the service area, but from the perspective of sales, the benefit value it brings to the service area is not outstanding enough, or in other words On the contrary, it limits the further improvement of our consumption efficiency. How to find "alternative" products that can make consumers more desirable and more motivated to consume in an environment where people's living standards are improving, so as to better improve our efficiency while meeting the real needs of consumers. value.
2. Challenges and opportunities brought about by changes in travel methods. On the one hand, we have benefited from the favorable resources brought by economic development and the improvement of people's living standards to the development of high-speed service areas, but on the other hand, we have also begun to be impacted and challenged by changes in travel modes and other situations. As mentioned earlier, the mileage of expressways has exceeded 130,000 kilometers, but the total mileage of high-speed rail has also reached 25,000 kilometers. In December 2018, the Hangzhou-Huangzhou High-speed Railway was officially opened, and the high-speed rail operation network crisscrossing the province has become increasingly dense. These comprehensive changes, on the one hand, directly affect the departure rate and occupancy rate of long-distance passenger buses, and on the other hand, they also cause adjustments to the travel modes of customer groups. For example, more drivers and passengers will choose self-driving for short distances and high-speed rail for long distances. With the promotion of economic level, self-driving travel has become a new force; in addition, young groups with new consumption concepts and strong consumption impulses are beginning to occupy the main position of consumption. Changes in these factors have undoubtedly brought different requirements for our consumer services. Consumer services in service areas also need to start trying to change the supply and demand order and supply and demand structure, gradually transitioning from "what is sold in the service area to consumers and what they buy" It has reached the stage of "what service areas provide consumers with what they need".
3. Changes in consumer services and consumer demand. From the inside and outside of the service area, our consumer services have undergone major changes.
First, the branding operation of consumer services is outstanding. In terms of the service area and the opening of stores, on the one hand, its own brands have begun to gradually strengthen and follow the brand operation route. In particular, the current development of the national service area industry is relatively rudimentary. Compared with other open industries such as clothing and fast-moving consumer goods, it is still in a relatively closed stage. This is the best opportunity to build the first brand in the national service area; on the other hand, the service area It began to introduce branded professional stores, such as KFC, McDonald's, Starbucks, etc., and also introduced niche consumer products with obvious regional characteristics.
Second, the process of diversification of consumer service products has accelerated. Catering has evolved from traditional Chinese fast food to various special packages and exquisite snacks. Shopping malls and supermarkets have developed from instant noodles and ham sausages to cross-border products and cultural products. Commercial formats such as food, shopping, leisure and entertainment, automobile services, information media, and transfers have different and diversified developments.
Third, changes in consumption service models have intensified. Driven by travel technology and the Internet economy, payment methods, retail methods (such as new retail stores in Changan service area), and travel methods (consumption changes brought about by electric vehicles and travel changes brought about by autonomous driving in the future) in the service area , business models (from internal 1+N+X business model to shared economy, unmanned restaurants, unmanned supermarkets, etc.) are all undergoing known, foreseeable and unforeseen changes.
Fourth, consumption trends are uncertain. "Seeing him build a Zhulou, watching him feasting guests, watching his building collapse." This sentence can represent the ending of many offline Internet celebrity stores from their birth to their peak, from their peak to disappearance and then to their disappearance. Consumer mentality, consumer preferences, and consumer trends have all undergone indescribable changes. In the past, the huge demographic dividend could bring us consumption dividends that exceeded expectations, but now as far as service areas are concerned, the traditional dividends (rapid growth in traffic volume and gradual strengthening of consumption power) have gradually weakened and disappeared. How to keep track of consumption dynamics in the new economy? , requires further thinking.
2. Use relevant measures to improve our consumption conversion rate.
In order to obtain higher operating efficiency and meet more precise customer service, objectively it also means that we need to improve consumer services and expand consumer revenue. Our customer revenue is equal to the sales quantity multiplied by the average price of the product (that is, the unit price per customer), where the sales quantity = the number of people entering the store * the transaction (conversion) rate. Taking into account the consumption characteristics of the service area, if you want to improve consumer services, the two contents of "number of people entering the store" and "consumption conversion rate" need to become the focus of daily operation and management.
The overall "number of people entering the store" (i.e., the entry rate) of the service area is the data formed under the traffic flow of the highway section, while the "number of people entering the store" of the service area operating area and each store is based on the flow line of people and the store image design , product attraction, etc.
Based on the above considerations, the following development directions are proposed on how to improve the conversion rate and maximize the benefits of the service area.
1. Further optimize the flow of people and space utilization to improve service capabilities. The business development and business layout of the service area have a relatively obvious "toilet economy" phenomenon. That is, a specific flow of people is formed around the bathroom, and consumer services are driven based on this flow. However, the emergence of such phenomena, on the one hand, makes the overall business location and form of the service area biased, and relies too much on location to obtain "sales opportunities", which is not conducive to the creation of small commercial complexes and the formation of business atmosphere in the service area; on the other hand, From the perspective of consumers, more consumption is not a subjective choice of consumption, but a more random consumption behavior, which is not conducive to the full release of consumer services. In addition, the overall design form of most of the service areas under the industrial company is relatively early and the service capabilities are low. Although the facilities of some service areas have been improved and the service functions have been improved through the establishment of civilization since 2013, the overall architectural layout of the service areas There has been no change, the deficiencies in the architectural layout have not been completely solved, the internal circulation is not smooth, and it cannot meet people's growing needs for quality life.
2. Adjust product structure and enrich product categories. The original commercial format composition of the service area is usually very homogeneous. The same business formats and product categories as the third one cannot attract more consumers, and inhibit certain consumption desires, resulting in the loss of consumption resources. The structure of our current main customer groups has changed from those born in the 60s and 70s to those born in the 80s, 90s and 00s. The consumer demand has also evolved from the past to have a full meal to a variety of choices such as personality, quality, safety and leisure; on the consumption environment New requirements were also put forward. For example, the traditional rice dumpling project may not be attractive enough to today's post-90s and post-00s generations, and the options we provide for consumption are not sufficient enough, and the consumption positioning for the main customer groups is not precise enough. We need to do more in these aspects. some changes.
First, give full play to the functions of platform providers and integrators. At present, the company has further released its existing operating potential and expanded the potential benefits of its service area by integrating platform resources and using coordinated bidding and professional investment methods. In particular, by integrating with the market, many brand stores have been introduced in a market-oriented manner, which has enhanced brand influence, expanded consumer categories, and refined consumer areas, thus satisfying the consumption upgrade and consumption needs of the consumer group. We need to further focus on the platform and give full play to our core advantages through resource integration, project integration, etc.
The second is to accelerate the construction of smart service areas and big data applications. The construction of smart service areas is under the background of the "Internet +" era, based on the operation network of traditional service areas, with the help of big data, Internet of Things, cloud computing, unified platform, mobile payment and other Internet technology means to create a "people, vehicles, A smart service area that serves "life". Compared with traditional service areas, it has the characteristics of stronger customer perception, more humane platform docking, more thorough data analysis, more comprehensive interconnection, deeper intelligent experience, and better customer service.
According to statistics, more information is generated in 18 months today than in the past 5,000 years combined. The mobile phones and bracelets around us, every long-distance car trip, every movie viewing, every shopping track, every online and offline shopping, every meal order, and even every fingertip swipe The moment you pass the screen and the inadvertent likes, the preferences, consumption, social interaction, sports, life, learning data, etc. behind them will all be recorded without distinction, and the resulting information will be stored in Alibaba, Tencent, JD.com’s cloud.
When we fully research and analyze the big data obtained during the top-level design and pilot construction of the smart service area, we can use this to better assist and guide our business operations.
For example: ① In December, about 456,000 people entered the Xiaoshan Service Area, with an average of 15,300 people entering the area every day. The number of men entering the area was about 3.2 times that of women, and the number of consumers was 4.2 times that of women. .
Data thinking: In the Xiaoshan service area where the proportion of male customers reaches 76%, can the products we provide be more targeted? Can female customers be used as a potential revenue growth point? How to attract female customers?
②Among the customers of "Lanfangyuan" milk tea shops in Xiaoshan and Chang'an, those born in the 1990s accounted for 43.16% and 42.43% respectively.
Data thinking: According to the data diagnosis of Lanfangyuan Milk Tea Shop, the consumer group of this business is relatively fixed, mostly young people born in the 90s. Therefore, in the promotion process of this type of business, it is suitable to focus on the customer group There are abundant road sections, and the service area whose customer base is mainly large truck drivers and has insufficient small vehicle traffic is not suitable for promotion.
According to consumption analysis, male customers prefer filling and refreshing products, such as Red Bull, coffee, and egg yolk rice dumplings; while female customers prefer milk tea and pastry products.
③ Extract the data of customers who spend more than 100 yuan, and the rankings of each age group are: the post-80s generation first (29.62%), the post-00s generation second (28.32%), the post-90s generation third (25.58%), The fourth place was born in the 1970s (16.47%).
Data analysis: The consumption of those born in the 1970s is relatively conservative. The main force of consumption in the service area is the group born in the 1980s. The potential of the post-00s generation cannot be ignored. Therefore, the next step of business adjustment and introduction needs to be planned in advance. It is recommended to introduce some For business brands oriented to the post-2000s customer group, their distinctive features are personalization, low prices, willingness to pay for technological innovation, and mobile payment.
There are many data analyzes of the above type, and we need to further dig and refine them. Connect everything, store everything, calculate everything, everything is becoming informatized, digitalized and intelligent. When all data interact and superimpose into a house, the data itself becomes a new energy that can be released and expanded. Big data drives global changes in ecology, value, consumption, culture, concepts, etc. Its destruction of the original value system and explosive growth based on its own data energy are unmatched. The core of the commercial consumption ecology consists of the consumer end, the brand end, the channel end and related services. Each end is formed through the process of commercial consumption, such as customer portraits, consumer needs, social information, assets, finance, commodities, physical space, etc. Different information data terminals, and the resulting various data flows are continuously gathered and superimposed, and effective big data is formed through corresponding technologies.
In the construction of smart service areas and big data applications, how do industrial companies transform existing massive data into resources that are useful to us, how do they assist operations and management, and how do they improve efficiency? At present, the service area operation has encountered a ceiling and the stage of human traffic dividend has been exhausted. Apart from Tian's help, we need to think carefully about how to solve the problem through human efforts, and the practical application of big data is to guide and lower the business. The key to improving and reforming the operation of one-step transportation stations.
① Increase the conversion rate. Through the time-sharing "number of transactions/store traffic", we can obtain the actual conversion rate of store A. However, the conversion rate of similar store A is 10 points different between the Chang'an service area and the Xiaoshan service area. This provides us with content to study in our business analysis.
② In the same service area, at different time periods of 24 hours, the demand (conversion rate) for drivers and passengers is different, but there are rules to follow through data analysis.
③ The selection of product categories needs to be further explored. The composition of customer groups in different service areas is different. Not all products and business formats are necessary to be sold repeatedly in the service area, and a dynamic adjustment strategy is required.
④ Each service area has its own characteristics, IP, and is closely related to the local core consumer groups, and their consumption characteristics need to be continuously explored and analyzed.
Similar models and viewpoints need to be created by ourselves. From 0 to 1, we need the research support of the big data theoretical system. We will further strengthen this area in 2019.
The third is to combine public bidding and direct investment introduction. In the past two years, the company has further improved the "Investment Management Measures" and "Cooperator Management Measures". During the implementation of the system, the relevant processes have been optimized and refined based on the reactions of all parties and the setting up of the company's three-level structure. In particular, flow charts and work requirements have been prepared for coordinating public bidding, direct investment and other businesses. On the basis of the coordinated public bidding system, a total of three public coordinated biddings have been carried out. The rental growth space of the service area projects has been further released, with the total rental premium reaching more than 24 million yuan.
Through project-specific investment promotion, more than 20 brand management projects have been introduced in the service area. Among them, Pizza Hut, Manji Dessert, Typhoon Shelter Kitchen, and Yip Brothers Fruit are the first to be introduced in the national service area. Xianheng Hotel, Ding Lianfang, Zhenyuan Tong, and Chow Sang Kee are the The local time-honored brand Zhengxin Chicken Steak is a national chain brand introduced in the form of a framework. Star and Little Thumb Auto Repair brands are also introduced as pilots. More than ten brand projects are introduced in the form of franchises; the introduction of the above brand management projects is in the guaranteed service area In addition to the overall improvement in business image, overall revenue has also increased steadily. With the customer gathering effect of the brand, it is expected that there will be room for further expansion of customer revenue in the future, forming a virtuous cycle of operations.
The fourth is to improve customer stickiness and enhance customer experience. The Changshan Service Area in the western Zhejiang region had customer revenue of 32.5858 million yuan in 2017, while the customer revenue of supermarkets in the service area during the same period was 5.6319 million yuan, but the non-oil transaction volume of gas stations reached an astonishing 31.5788 million yuan. Of course, due to the special inter-provincial geographical location of the Changshan Service Area, its refueling volume remains at about 90,000-100,000 tons, and its annual sales are about 700-800 million. However, the non-oil product transaction volume it creates is mainly due to the internal business volume of the service area. Exceeding revenue by 5.6 times. Behind these data is actually the development and guidance of customer demand habits. Once consumption habits mature, good customer stickiness will be formed. The so-called customer stickiness refers to the sense of dependence and re-consumption expectations formed by the combination of customer loyalty, trust and positive experience for a brand or product. The stronger the dependence, the higher the customer stickiness; the higher the re-consumption expectation, the higher the customer stickiness. In our traditional supermarket business, the consumption contact with customers is a short-term contact. The conclusion of the transaction also means the end of the supply and demand relationship. It will basically not promote re-sales, nor can we use effective measures to guide customers' consumption. . At gas stations, the traditional oil product business has become a good channel for business communication and consumption scenario switching. Different forms of non-oil product consumption coupons are given to drivers and passengers (especially truck drivers) according to the amount of gas. It has changed the traditional consumption habits of customers, smoothly guided drivers and passengers to new consumption channels and consumption habits, and promoted re-consumption space by using points, consumption coupons and other forms. This requires us to make further exploration and attempts in many aspects. For example: ① Provide customers with personalized services: For example, the new retail model of Wufangzhai in Chang'an Service Area is close to the cutting-edge consumer trends in terms of product display and consumption methods; ② Let customers feel that they have received enough attention: enough attention It means that customers have experienced service content that exceeds customer expectations, such as Haidilao, which is a model in the catering service industry. Some service area gas stations will provide free cleaning services for the front windshields of driving vehicles while customers’ vehicles are waiting for refueling. This is also an unexpected service;
③ Through a specific system or system, communicate with customers Achieve interaction and interoperability: This is an important link to improve product services, gather loyal customers, and improve customer satisfaction. It is a pity that our ability to interact and interact with loyal customers still needs to be improved. ④ In the face of customer dissatisfaction or doubts, solve customer problems through healthy communication; ⑤ Regularly conduct efficient customer experience activities to enhance customer stickiness; ⑥ Classify customers appropriately and conduct refined marketing according to customer categories and characteristics .
3. Expand the partner library and improve product quality. While further introducing new brands, the company currently pays more attention to the comprehensive expansion of existing brands. Signed a cooperation framework agreement with Zhengxin Chicken Steak Company, which already has a cooperation project, and rolled it out in the service area. Ten new service areas will be added in the first batch; Jixiang Wonton, which has a good reputation in the service area, will further expand its operations in the Bei'an and Fenghua service areas. Introduction; Yuxiangtai souvenir projects with distinctive local characteristics will be promoted in Yuyao, Shaoxing and other service areas based on Fenghua. Traditional brands that are already well-known in the service area will be supported in the development of new retail businesses. For example, the Wufangzhai Zongzi project has successively opened unmanned smart restaurants, magic box unmanned vending machines and other new retail formats in Xiaoshan and Chang'an service areas. Since the Xiaoshan Wufangzhai unmanned smart restaurant opened in April this year, the sales base of the original traditional store has been The average daily revenue has increased significantly, especially the proportion of online payments has increased significantly. At present, the company's investment brand library is being expanded and maintained. The number of business project brands in the service area has expanded from more than 30 at the beginning of the year to nearly 150 at the end of the year. It has established contacts with more than three brand operation integrators, and has launched a brand integration store on a trial basis. .
In the future, we should take the entire transportation resource platform as a foothold, further expand our cooperative business library, use the brand as a support point, and use the brand as a quality focus to continuously improve product quality and meet consumer service needs efficiently and accurately.