From Taobao intern to the father of Pinduoduo

Chapter 49 Taobao Mall

Tongji Hot Pot Restaurant.

Because Alibaba's headquarters are located in the suburbs, there are no other large companies nearby besides Alibaba.

Most of the people dining at Tongji Hot Pot Restaurant are Alibaba employees. It's already October, and golden leaves are falling to the ground.

The customers in the hot pot restaurant were wearing shirts, some even shirtless, chatting animatedly about big things, small things, and family matters.

The waiter set up the copper pot, and Qiao Feng pulled out a chair for Lin Mu, saying, "Sit down."

The waiter poured water into the copper pot.

Wang Jialei remained silent, as did Lin Mu, who was taking in the atmosphere of the era with great interest. Unbeknownst to him, he had already been reborn for over half a year; time really flies.

Finally, Wang Jialei couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Dayan, you should know why I called you here. Recently, things haven't been going well on Taobao Mall. Merchants are very dissatisfied, and the review scandal has broken out."

"Whether internally or externally, there are calls to remove the online store and stop the diversion of traffic."

"Taobao Mall has been online for half a year, but it has not only failed to gain traction, but its growth rate is also far lower than that of Taobao. You should have heard the rumors that General Manager Huang is about to leave, and the entire Taobao Mall team is left with only about 20 people. This is a critical moment of survival."

"I admire your talent. I've had the pleasure of reading all your posts, whether they're on the intranet or the forum. So, let me be frank: you've come here today—is it simply to chat, or do you see potential in Taobao Mall amidst this crisis?"

Seeing Qiao Feng's sincerity, Lin Mu didn't hide anything and answered truthfully, "Both. First, Mr. Zhang and you are both very famous in the group, and I really want to come and broaden my horizons; second, I really am optimistic about the future of Taobao Mall."

"Oh?" Wang Jialei retorted, "Even I'm not sure about this, yet you're so optimistic about the future of Taobao Mall? Tell me your reasons."

Wang Jialei looked at Lin Mu scrutinizingly.

Under Zhang Yong's leadership, Taobao Mall is now like a division commander leading a group of platoon leaders. Each member of this team is capable of working independently and can be considered an elite group.

While the team is indeed short of people and resources, they don't just want anyone to join. General Manager Zhang did instruct him to try and recruit Dayan if possible; the leadership values ​​Dayan's quick thinking and deep understanding of user psychology.

But that doesn't mean Wang Jialei can't test Lin Mu. If they are lucky enough to become colleagues, he can find out in advance how to get along with Lin Mu in the future.

Lin Mu pondered for a few seconds, then sorted out his thoughts and said, "The 'review gate' reflects the current dissatisfaction of merchants and the internal misunderstanding of Taobao Mall. I think it's because we haven't clearly defined the essential differences between Taobao Mall and Taobao Marketplace, leading to confusion among users, merchants, and employees."

"I think the correct positioning of Taobao Mall and Taobao Marketplace is like Guanghua Road in Beijing, with Xiushui Street at the west end and Xingguang Tiandi at the east end."

"Both are bustling with people, but they coexist and prosper because of their different positioning, products, and experiences. Customers go to Xiushui Street to enjoy the fun of bargain hunting and the flexibility of prices, while they go to Star World to trust the brand and quality assurance. They never complain that the other is diverting their customers."

"Our current problem is that we've crammed Xiushui Street and Xingguang Tiandi into the same storefront and are using the same set of rules to attract customers. Some businesses are feeling the change in foot traffic, which is essentially a result of their maladjustment to this ambiguous situation."

"Therefore, I believe the solution is not to eliminate the other, but to use a landmark marketing event as a lighthouse to illuminate the respective directions of both paths for consumers and businesses."

Wang Jialei nodded approvingly. During their internal review and debriefing, they reached the same conclusion as Lin Mu, and even their solutions were identical. The Five-Colored Stone Project was planning just such a groundbreaking event.

He asked, "If you were in charge of marketing, what approach would you choose? It's okay, this is indeed a difficult task, just say whatever comes to mind."

For Lin Mu, it was simply a matter of reciting the answers from the future directly. The only thing he needed was acting skills; he couldn't speak with too much certainty, or it would seem strange.

He spoke candidly: "If it were me, I would try to market a holiday, like Black Friday in the United States, to create a landmark event."

"I would shout a slogan, such as 'Only one day a year on Taobao Mall, everything is 50% off and shipping is free.'"

"In terms of specific implementation, I will persuade existing Taobao merchants to bring out their unsold goods and try to convince them to offer them at half price; if possible, it would be best to persuade some big brands to join. We will spare no effort to create the perception that 'Taobao Mall equals genuine brand products plus the ultimate discounts.' Even if only a very small number of brands experience a surge in orders, we can still create a legend and establish Taobao Mall's position as a platform for genuine products."

Wang Jialei's eyes sparkled as he stared intently at Lin Mu, as if he wanted to devour him whole.

This guy's thinking is exactly the same as theirs; such a talent is perfect for joining their team.

He asked, "If it were you, which specific day would you choose to carry it out?"

Lin Mu pondered for a moment and said, "I would choose November or December. Because the peak sales season is after National Day, holding the holiday at this time can boost sales."

Glug glug. At this moment, the water in the copper pot boiled, and wisps of white steam rose slowly like cooking smoke.

Wang Jialei asked, "Dayan, I'm now formally inviting you to join the Taobao Mall project team. Are you interested in working with us to turn the tide?"

Lin Mu said with a hint of reserve, "I like challenges."

Lin Mu added ingredients to the hot pot and casually remarked, "By the way, Qiao Feng, I have another suggestion. I think the name 'Taobao Mall' should be changed."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

Lin Mu said, "I know the intention behind Taobao Mall's name; it's to leverage Taobao's brand recognition for better promotion."

"But the situation is different now. We call the Taobao Mall managed by General Manager Huang the 1.0 era, and the Taobao Mall that General Manager Zhang has taken over is the 2.0 era."

"In the 1.0 era, although Taobao Mall used the Taobao name to promote itself better, it had a negative effect, namely, the brand positioning was unclear, which I have mentioned before."

"Another point is that if we abandon the brand trademarks of the 1.0 era in the 2.0 era, we can better demonstrate to the outside world our determination to break with the old and embrace reform and transformation."

"Moreover, the name Taobao Mall is really not a good one. Look, the name 'Taobao' is simple and easy to understand, giving people the feeling of finding treasures at a market. Adding the words 'Mall' makes it sound incongruous."

"Ideally, we can come up with a high-end, sophisticated, and catchy new brand name."