Because I have had in-depth exchanges with the top executives of various agricultural products e-commerce, from the perspective of the industry, the analysis probably has the following important factors. I hope to inspire everyone! Welcome to clap bricks
First, the traditional B2C thinking
This is a big misunderstanding. Many e-commerce platforms think that an online B2C platform, through guiding traffic, customers will shop online, but it is wrong! Agricultural products e-commerce must not engage in traditional B2C thinking, so it is absolutely a dead end. Customers not only buy products, but also live a healthy life. Therefore, e-commerce of agricultural products needs to let consumers show the story behind the products, planting base, picking experience, logistics experience, traceability, supply chain visualization and other dimensions, so the traditional B2C thinking is fatal.
Second, the definition of the target group deviates, and the marketing strategy takes a detour
How to generate traffic from e-commerce of agricultural products is a problem that everyone is concerned about. In terms of demand, this market is still in the cultivation period, and the target population is mostly urban female white-collar workers, who have the demand of pursuing healthy Internet shopping in life+and Gao Fushuai, where the time cost is too high. You have to be defined as a diaosi crowd to meet the needs of "two lean meats+two cabbages+three garlic sprouts". You are destined to be two words: exhausted and dead.
Many agricultural products e-commerce companies spread advertisements all over the place, pushing them to men and old ladies, which is definitely a deviation! Therefore, how to achieve accurate marketing of target customers is a problem that big agricultural products e-commerce companies think about.
The next explosion point of agricultural products and fresh e-commerce is the housewives of the post-90 s generation, so agricultural products e-commerce must pay attention to this group of people.
Third, "electricity" will not "business"
Base integration+marketing+flow+transaction+supply chain service+word-of-mouth marketing, this closed loop is indispensable for agricultural products. At present, many agricultural products e-commerce companies have major management misunderstandings. They think that the center focuses on "marketing+flow+transaction" and only attaches importance to "electricity" without neglecting "business"; In fact, the key to real profitability lies in business. 20 13 At the scene of China Economic Person of the Year selection, Gree Dong Mingzhu said: "I tell you today that no matter how well marketing is done, if we deviate from your strong points-technology and quality, as well as integrity, your marketing is a bluff, and you are a liar." In the same way, the role of the back-end service of agricultural products e-commerce is not done well, and the marketing and traffic of the front-end are gimmicks. Of course, it is definitely a loss in the end.
Fourth, the unaffordable customer unit price and logistics cost
The customer unit price is a fatal injury to agricultural products e-commerce. Industry data: If the customer unit price is lower than that of 200 yuan, it will be fatal, because the logistics cost and loss will lose money. As far as the current business situation of agricultural products and fresh e-commerce is concerned, the logistics cost+loss of each order in 40 yuan is inevitable. Therefore, if the customer unit price can't rise, the logistics cost can't come down, and the profit can only be an illusion. Even SF prefers to be high-grade imported food and seasonal goods, and it will be positioned from the unit price of customers in selecting categories.
Fifth, the lack of integrated procurement base integration
Ignoring the integration of the base is a problem faced by the current agricultural products e-commerce. Many agricultural products e-commerce only cooperate with the base by directional procurement, not to mention creating any strategic synergy between supply and demand. As for whether to guide the planned planting of products in the base with market orientation, this country is only a vision.
Look at Starbucks, an international brand of others. People not only realize the integration of bases and the coordination of demand, but also the supply chain of Starbucks goes back to the cultivation of coffee beans and a series of management of precipitation, wind and soil.
The boss of domestic agricultural products e-commerce has understood the integration of procurement bases. This commercial value is not only the guarantee of quality, but also an important way of branding, intensive procurement and demand coordination. Of course, it is an important means to reduce costs, reduce waste and obtain profits.
Let's take another example in Chongqing. There is a fresh e-commerce company in Chongqing. Their integration method of the base is particularly worth learning. They first do B2B instead of B2C, and group procurement drives the integration of the base, and then derives the service of B2C and the experience of O2O. In this way, they have absolute purchasing power, the cost is naturally reduced, the supply and demand information with the base is quickly opened, and relatively efficient collaboration is realized. At present, the new shopping experience of O2O is being promoted. This kind of gameplay is worth thinking about.
6. Customer experience is a double-edged sword. An unpleasant shopping experience will lose a large number of customers.
Never treat consumers as fools and ignore an dissatisfied order. This is the biggest mistake. The easiest thing to bring about is word-of-mouth communication. If you are dissatisfied, it will hurt a large group of your customers. I remember an agricultural product e-commerce boss told me: whatever the reason, the customer refuses to accept it. If the value is not too high, the customer can be sent to the customer, leaving a word of mouth and customer touch. What's more, some goods can't be sold twice even if they are returned.
In the future, e-commerce of agricultural products must cultivate loyal fans, which is the commercial value of the development of fan economy. It is more likely to hold a family and a group of people.
There is also a case of e-commerce of agricultural products. He positioned the target group in the IT Internet circle. These people are typical online shoppers, belonging to small white-collar workers, and their spending power is not low, but they are relatively homely. They do e-commerce by infiltrating the IT Internet circle and quickly occupy customers in this field with good reputation.
A few days ago, I chatted with President Li Dongqi of SF Express in an interview with CCTV. Mr. Li said frankly: once agricultural products and fresh e-commerce companies have established a good shopping experience with customers, it will usher in sustained consumption power and will affect the groups around them.
Seven, we must face the problem of localization.
The trend of e-commerce is migrating to the community. The trend is online community+offline community, and the change of business model is fermenting rapidly. Localization of O2O has become an inevitable trend. It is reported that 60-70% of consumption now occurs within 3 kilometers. Therefore, how to create a circle of eating goods online and create a circle of experience offline has become an important strategy for localization and integration.
The classified query of periodical articles is in the periodical library.
If we don't start with localization, we will lose money. Because agricultural products are limited by commodity quality, logistics and other factors, whether it is a small and beautiful agricultural product e-commerce, or a nationwide market like SF Express and Alibaba. It is an inevitable trend to establish a localized service system, unless it is a high value-added commodity, which can be achieved without considering the cost. Other popular agricultural products must be defined as localization.
The localization trend of agricultural products e-commerce is to integrate with community service stations, convenience stores and other institutions. Traditional B2C e-commerce needs huge operational support and large capital and manpower integration to penetrate the end of early communities. General agricultural products e-commerce can't play well.
Eight, socialized and mature cold chain logistics is the pain of agricultural products e-commerce.
Playing e-commerce of agricultural products, the cold chain is an unavoidable problem. Not only do you have to build a warehouse, but you must also have a refrigerated+frozen mixed distribution vehicle, as well as a refrigerated turnover box and constant temperature equipment. Otherwise, even the best goods will be sent to customers. The investment in cold chain is not what ordinary agricultural products e-commerce enterprises can play well. Continuous asset investment and long return period on investment are all problems faced by playing agricultural products e-commerce alone. Even if you have money and invested in assets, the seasonality and instability of orders will greatly waste your operating costs. What's more, several people who play e-commerce understand cold chain logistics and can establish their own cold chain logistics team. Therefore, socialized cold chain logistics team, intensive and professional management have become the urgently needed resources for the whole agricultural product e-commerce.
Now China agricultural products e-commerce cold chain logistics play as follows:
1. SF is preferred, and the complete self-built logistics system has been spread all over the country at present at normal temperature, and maybe it will be spread at low temperature in 20 14. Within 24 hours this year, litchi in the south will be sent to Beijing and mutton in Inner Mongolia in the north will be sent to Hainan. These classic cases are quickly realized by self-built cold chain logistics.
2. Alibaba, to be exact, is a rookie's cold chain logistics. At present, it is an integrated mode. It has integrated two excellent cold chain logistics enterprises like Zhongcui Logistics and Express Line. They have successfully delivered 80,000 single cherries from American farms to China families and Alaska seafood to more than 40 cities across the country by integrating trunk and branch lines and terminal home delivery. This "two-stage distribution" has explored a new trend of platform and networked toC cold chain logistics of agricultural products.
3. JD.COM, starting the terminal distribution service station mode. It is reported that in the future, JD.COM will try the "ABC" (Agricultural to Business to Customer) mode, in which link B will cover all the after-sales links of purchasing, warehousing, distribution and marketing. 1February 14 It is reported that the self-operated fresh food distribution station in JD.COM has been put into trial operation, which just caters to the shopping experience of the last mile at the end of O2O. However, JD.COM's cold chain storage, trunk line and branch line distribution have yet to be integrated, and we can only wait and see.
Therefore, if you can't do the cold chain logistics of agricultural products e-commerce, then you can simply close the door and stop eating!
Nine, category positioning error
When it comes to category positioning, we should think about why SF preferred to choose imported food at first, and why Alibaba chose American cherries and Alaska seafood. The definition of these categories is not only related to the needs of the population, but also closely related to the support capacity of the supply chain. Professionals who play supply chain know that the core of operation is category-driven supply chain, whether it is traditional retail or e-commerce. Scientific category selection is more than half of your success, so it is very important for agricultural products e-commerce to locate categories. Don't use too many categories to attract more purchase demand. In a multi-category mixed supply chain system, especially agricultural products, it will make you lose your reputation, and it may even ruin your brand.
Everyone looks at the oranges that were originally sold in life, the willows sold by Liu Chuanzhi, the lychees that SF preferred to sell, and the Alaska seafood sold by Tmall. All of these can be seen that the subdivided category definition is of great value to the e-commerce of agricultural products.
From the perspective of supply chain, as a category-driven supply chain, the scientific nature of selecting categories on the e-commerce platform determines your profit potential. I once discussed with the supply chain directors of well-known domestic e-commerce, when the category increases by 10 times, the management complexity of the supply chain will increase by 100 times, or even higher.
X. Control of Return Proportion
This is the KPI index that agricultural products e-commerce must focus on. The loss caused by a return is not only the loss of goods, but also the loss of important customer shopping experience and word of mouth. Therefore, controlling the return ratio of agricultural products e-commerce has become the focus of CEO's attention. Of course, as I said before, I would rather send it to the customer and try to avoid the loss caused by the return.
According to the data of my actual investigation, the return ratio of many agricultural products by e-commerce has reached 10%, and the better ratio is 6%. The loss caused by such return ratio cannot be ignored. However, agricultural products e-commerce has also made many innovations, such as the prepaid C2B model, which will greatly reduce the proportion of returns; The other is online to offline in the kitchen-easy era in Shanghai, which infiltrated the community and paid in advance by membership. It is said that the return ratio can be controlled below 1%.
Therefore, to control the return ratio of agricultural products e-commerce, we should not only think from the perspective of operation, but also change our business ideas from the perspective of business model.
summary
Why is the e-commerce of agricultural products losing money? The analysis of the above 10 dimensions may enlighten everyone. In fact, this is not only a problem of operation and management, but also a problem of business model, and it will also involve marketing strategy, resource integration ability and so on!
To sum up, the losses of agricultural products e-commerce are mainly from the following aspects:
1. Waste of marketing;
2. The integration of procurement is not in place;
3. Lack of integration and application of socialized cold chain logistics;
4. Loss of the whole supply chain process;
5. Wrong positioning of categories;
6. The control of return ratio.
To achieve real loss reduction, in the final analysis: customer experience should be added and supply chain operating costs should be subtracted.
For China/Kloc-400 million population base, Internet life is an inevitable trend, and agricultural products and fresh e-commerce must be a big market. Today, at the end of 20 13, the e-commerce of agricultural products in China has not yet shown an industry benchmark. There are many problems in the whole field, and problems are opportunities for development. Exploring traditional industries in China with Internet thinking must have potential commercial value. This is not a company.