Losing Money to Be a Tycoon - Chapter 293
Chapter 293: Everything that Boss Pei Did Felt Wrong
Zhang Yuan was confused. “Huh? Boss Pei, what do you mean?”
Pei Qian sniggered. “From the way things are going, customers have to wait at least four to five days for their system units to arrive at their doorstep after placing their orders, right?”
Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and replied, “Er… we could deliver the units in three or four days if we act quickly.”
Pei Qian shook his head, obviously unsatisfied. “That’s really slow.
“Based on our current model, we are creating good computers to be displayed in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. Gamers can come to the internet cafes and try out the computers for themselves, in order to see if they are good or not.
“If they like the computers, they have to pay for it. We would then order the necessary hardware and assemble a computer for them. At the same time, we would be responsible for getting the system units delivered to their doorsteps and providing after-sales services. All we would earn are the installation and service fees, right?
“Here comes the problem. If we order the hardware online, it would take at least two or three days to come even if the delivery is quick. Then, we have to assemble the system units and deliver them. That would take another day at least. Wouldn’t customers become very anxious in those few days?
“That’s a huge problem!”
Zhang Yuan was slightly confused. “Huh? It’s just three or four days; they can wait, can’t they?
“Even online shops that sell ready-made computers work that way, right? Some shops even take a full week to deliver the system units after the orders have been made. We’re already considered quite fast.”
Pei Qian shook his head. “We’re only two or three days faster than other online shops; how can we call that a core benefit? Gamers still have to wait, don’t they?
“Fast service is this: customers placing an order in the morning and receiving their system unit by the afternoon on the same day!
“That’s why we cannot only place orders for hardware after receiving customers’ requests. We have to be prepared with the hardware in advance.
“We need to achieve four things:
“We should deliver customers’ purchases as quickly as if they had been bought from physical stores. Our after-sales service has to be as good as first-tier brands. Our marketing model and the quality of our goods have to match up to the most good-hearted online stores. Our quality-to-price ratio must be pegged against what unscrupulous merchants selling ‘lemon’ products[1] boast of!
“Only then can we do this glowing logo justice, understand?”
Zhang Yuan became speechless. He pondered for a moment and said, “That requires us to have large amounts of stocks prepared. Yet, that’ll be like false bravado. If we can’t sell our stocks, we’ll have to hold it until the next generation of products comes out. By then, the stocks would have to be sold at very low prices. The risks are too high!”
Pei Qian smiled. “There will be risks to anything that we do. How can we sit back and do nothing just because of that?
“As long as money can buy an excellent shopping experience for our customers, it would be money well-spent!
“Since we have decided to venture into this business, we should not keep it so low-profile. I’ll give you a sum of money. You can rent warehouses near each of our Fish-Catching Internet Cafe branches and store our stocks there.
“Don’t worry about overstocking. I’m thinking about holding a 1024 Programmer’s Day event. We can use that opportunity to publicize ROF’s brand as well.”
All three men looked confused. “Programmer’s Day?”
Pei Qian nodded and explained his plan in detail.
The main event was a huge sale for Fish-Catching Take-Out and Upwind Logistics, starting from the week beginning with October 24th. The event would ultimately aim to give back to old and new customers alike, improve the businesses’ reputation, and increase their market share.
Of course, the core aim was to spend as much money as possible.
After finding out about the computer-installation business, Pei Qian decided to include it in the 1024 Programmer’s Day event.
It would seem quite underwhelming if he only gave discounts for Fish-Catching Take-Out and Upwind Logistics on Programmer’s Day.
Now, he could give discounts on system units, too. It was just as well!
“ROF can be included in the event as a computer-installation brand as well, but we have to make some changes.
“First, we have too few types of systems—one, to be exact. We won’t be able to properly satisfy customers’ requests.
“I think we can come up with three types of systems: costing 7,999, 11,999, and 15,999 yuan respectively. During the sale, we can sell these systems at their cost price. In essence, these systems would be sold at the total cost of their respective hardware parts. That would mean we would deliver and install them at no charge.
“We can also include a free upgrade. Those who purchase the 7,999 yuan system can upgrade to the 11,999 one for free. Those who purchase the 11,999 system can in turn upgrade to the 15,999 one for free.
“The first 100 customers can enjoy this free upgrade. After that, we will hold a ballot and allow lucky customers to upgrade at no charge.
“Fish-Catching Internet Cafe can hold a ballot at regular intervals as well. We would give one entire system to one lucky customer during each ballot.
“Of course, all of these activities will be conducted between October 24th and 31st. After that, we’ll resume normal operations.
“Holding a promotional event like that would make us more popular and get our brand name out there. It wouldn’t be too ridiculous to spend some money, right?”
Pei Qian was not actually speaking to the three men… but to the System.
Indeed, the System did not prohibit him from doing this!
The System drew a very blur line between ‘promotions’ and ‘free gifts’. As long as it looked like a promotional event on the surface and Pei Qian explained that he was trying to gain popularity by giving discounts, the System would likely turn a blind eye to his actions.
He could not help but feel moved. Physical industries were really the best!
He could do no such thing for the games.
Once research and development was complete, games required no more production costs. The more promotions one ran, the more one would earn.
On the other hand, one had to incur large expenses for manpower and rent to operate physical industries. On top of that, he could run huge promotional events and sell computer hardware at low prices. As long as he did not do this over an extended period and gained popularity and fame in return, the System would not consider it an intentional loss.
He had also mentioned he wanted to produce a large number of stocks. He would spend a lot of money to build up an excess of stocks, which Pei Qian guessed would not all be sold. Once they came up with new products, the excess stocks would have to be sold at extremely low prices. That meant another chance to incur losses!
Great!
After listening to Boss Pei’s explanation, Zhang Yuan could not help but raise his thumb. “Boss Pei, you are far-sighted indeed, and you make such bold moves!
“However, I have a minor suggestion.
“1024 is Programmer’s Day, but if we run a promotional event for that reason, it might not be as effective. After all, we are trying to target everyone… and not just programmers.
“Why don’t we call it ‘1024 Digital Day’? That would expand our audience and make it easier for us to advertise the promotion.”
Pei Qian nodded. “Alright, that works!”
He didn’t think that referring to October 24th as Programmer’s Day was appropriate either.
At first, he was only going to run promotions for take-out and delivery services. Referring to such an event as Programmer’s Day sounded far-fetched.
Now, the event would include take-out, logistics, and computer-installation services. Calling it 1024 Digital Day would be more memorable.
More people in Jingzhou would take note of it, and Pei Qian would incur more losses.
In addition to the manpower costs Pei Qian would incur during this period, he could be assured that he would be spending a huge sum of money.
Zhang Yuan was becoming very excited and highly motivated.
Boss Pei is amazing!
He trusts me!
Before this, Zhang Yuan had thought about keeping the business low-profile. He wanted to go down the route of online computer-installation business and ride on Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s fame. He thought that he would be able to generate some revenue by targeting ballers.
He had not expected Boss Pei to be so generous. He was offering so much support that Zhang Yuan felt touched!
“Boss Pei, don’t worry. I’ll do this well!”
Pei Qian nodded. “Alright. As always, do not be afraid of spending money. Understand?”
Boss Pei had finally thought things through as well. Being stabbed in the back by his own employees was unavoidable.
The bigger his business was, the less he would be able to attend to everything personally. He also could not expect his subordinates to report every single thing to him. They could only offer updates every once in a while. Misinformation and time lags were to be expected.
He had so many employees under him; there would probably always be people who had nothing better to do and wanted to try their hand at starting a business.
After all, Boss Pei was treating them so well. Their lives were already stable and comfortable. Some people would seek to fulfill higher-order desires, such as achieving success in their careers. Pei Qian could not fault them.
Thus, Boss Pei had to take some responsibility for causing his employees to repeatedly stab him in the back—he had satisfied everyone too well.
Without any worries in the world, of course, they would have time to think about how to start their own business.
Pei Qian could not help but feel sorrow. Boss Pei was to be blamed for everything.
Yet, this was not a bad thing. The key was in what perspective he took.
If he saw things negatively, he could say that everyone was out to kill him. If he saw things positively, he could say that there was a chance they could help him spend more money if they worked blindly.
As the saying went, it was better to redirect the current than to fight it.
Take this incident for example. Zhang Yuan had wanted to run a low-profile business. He had thought about making use of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s fame and Upwind Logistics’ convenience to run his computer-installation business. Although such a business would not generate much revenue, it also would not incur much loss. The most likely outcome was that it would earn some money.
However, Pei Qian managed to use this opportunity to spend even more money during this cycle by making some adjustments.
He had turned a problem into a blessing!
Pei Qian giggled. It’s a good thing I’m a genius. Otherwise, I would be defeated by my own employees!
They discussed a general direction for the promotional event. Finally, preparations for 1024 Digital Day’s unstoppable promotional event was underway.
…
October 14th…
Zhongdian Chinese Network…
All preparations for the collaboration with Repent and be Saved had been complete.
Everything was done very efficiently. Most importantly, Ma Yiqun understood that traffic on Zhongdian Chinese Network was increasing rapidly thanks to Repent and be Saved’s popularity.
He could not guarantee that this effect would remain for a long time. Thus, launching the event earlier meant being able to stabilize traffic on the website earlier as well.
“It’s almost time. Post the official notice.”
Ma Yiqun nudged Li Yada subtly, and both posted the notice at the same time.
The notice clearly explained all the details of the combined event.
Zhongdian Chinese Network would launch a seven-day login event. New users would only have to complete several simple tasks in order to get unimpeded access to all novels on the site, Repent and be Saved’s Look-Changing Pills, and other rewards.
The official notice on Repent and be Saved notified players that their accounts had been linked throughout all of Tengda’s sites. They could now use the same account to access Zhongdian Chinese Network and claim their rewards.
On top of that, Ma Yiqun also instructed his editors to notify all authors.
Traffic on the site would explode in the next few days; everyone had to work harder!
When Zhongdian Chinese Network was set up, Ma Yiqun began guiding the editors in their work. The editors had also been reviewing manuscripts non-stop since then. They already knew the better writers among the full-time, low-tier ones.
Later, Zhongdian Chinese Network offered to top up elite writers’ remuneration so that they could earn as much as they would if they had been writing on larger sites. That move offered great motivation for the group of elite writers.
Now, since there was going to be more traffic on the site, writers would stand to earn more money if they wrote more chapters. Naturally, all the authors on Zhongdian Chinese Network became ecstatic and motivated to work harder.
A good number of authors had also written more chapters in advance. They kept these chapters, waiting to release them all during the combined event—in the hopes that their novels would race up the ranking charts and become popular!
“The website has traffic and a number of good novels on the shelves. Whether it succeeds or not depends entirely on this!”
Ma Yiqun was nervous but excited.
He had wanted to give up his career in online literature. Boss Pei was the one who renewed his confidence and put Zhongdian Chinese Network in his hands.
More than three months had gone by since then. Ma Yiqun had been working hard and pulling all stops. Finally, he had an opportunity in front of him—an opportunity to repay Boss Pei and turn the website’s loss into profit!
[1] This is a slang for products that appear to be of high-quality but are actually low-quality and have low durability.
