The combination of mobile technology and social networking has fundamentally changed the way information is disseminated, significantly lowering the threshold for consumer decision-making and giving rise to various innovative sales paths. This marks a significant transformation in distribution channels. WeChat commerce primarily falls into three categories:

Category A: Utilizing mobile internet as a channel expansion method, brand owners and supply centers conduct overstock distribution through agents, and engage in transactions with consumers on mobile internet via social media. Typical examples include WeChat business brands such as Qiao Shisui and Hanshu.

Type B: No longer focusing on goods and brands, platform players easily tap into mobile distributors through online and offline channels to sell products on their behalf. As individuals become sales units, business can be everywhere. This model is currently thriving, not directly facing consumers, and some may not be so glamorous, but many people are quietly making a fortune. Typical example: numerous Taobao market merchants.

Category C: The concept of micro-commerce is "the great hermit in the city". Any individual can be a "micro-commerce" as a consumer. After all, individuals are relatively low-cost sources of traffic, and all that is needed is to allocate benefits properly. Therefore, brand merchants and supply centers turn consumers into sellers, giving them a commission for selling products. Typical examples include college students, idle white-collar workers, and nightclub hostesses.

Without a doubt, in 2015, these WeChat merchants continued to thrive, but after rapid and disorderly expansion, it was time for the tide to wash away the weak. What kind of WeChat merchants would die out?

"Deadly trap 1: Those who 'only know' how to stock up on goods will die."

"Producing samples, finding endorsements, designing packaging, recruiting agents, and stockpiling goods" is the typical way of selling products for WeChat business entrepreneurs nowadays. Does it seem familiar? Yes, many years ago, the "chain franchise" trend experienced in China's retail industry followed the same path.

The advantages of the aforementioned model lie in its simplicity in management, disguised low-cost financing, and rapid scale expansion. However, it is also important to remember that there exists a game between brand owners, supply centers, and agents, which can lead to efficiency losses. Specifically, these losses can be attributed to the following factors: low capital efficiency of agents, persistently high markup rates, poor information transmission, slow supply chain response, chaotic pricing systems, and high inventory risks.

Nowadays, consumers are becoming increasingly savvy, and competition in the micro-commerce industry is intensifying. Companies are desperately pushing inventory downstream in a bid for short-term gains. Ultimately, if consumers refuse to buy, and agents defect, there will be no one to foot the bill for greed and speculation. The pyramid system of overstocking will quickly collapse. Overstocking is a traditional business model, which is not necessarily bad. However, if companies cannot control and manage the upstream and downstream value supply chains, yet still engage in overstocking and pass the buck, they are courting disaster.

Death Gate 2: Violent trolling will be punished

With the rise of WeChat commerce, it is an indisputable fact that various advertisements have flooded WeChat Moments. In the view of WeChat marketing expert Zong Ning, the career-oriented approach of WeChat commerce has overly accelerated the market maturity. Everyone is rushing to make quick money and piling up product advertisements, which has worn out the patience of social friends and naturally triggered resentment from more and more people.

In 2015, those who incessantly post violent content will face harsher treatment. Whether it's official platforms like WeChat or social friends, they will express their dissatisfaction by blocking or blacklisting them. At this time, if you still advertise for sales without understanding how to utilize "emotion, sentiment, and feelings" combined with "depth (opinion), concentration (insight), and temperature (story)" to manage your circle, you are on a dead end. Focusing solely on making money will actually distance you the most from money.

Therefore, it is best to produce high-quality content during peak periods. It is also important to consider the quality and attributes of your "friends", tailor your content to suit their preferences, seize the right timing, and share aspects of your life, highlight successful transactions, showcase products, and tell stories. This approach fosters interaction and social engagement, which is the right path to follow.

Death door number three: those who are obsessed with "mentors" will die

Indeed, the popularity and rapid growth of WeChat business naturally attract various forces from all sides. However, on the other side of the "myriad creatures competing for freedom in a frosty sky," there are inevitably those who fish in troubled waters.

Especially now, telecom operators, large brand companies, and others have begun to pay attention to WeChat commerce, and its popularity has surged. As a result, various WeChat commerce training courses have emerged endlessly. Coupled with the lack of standards for new things, there has been a situation where "good and bad are intermingled".

Many WeChat business tycoons are just pretentious and self-righteous, and truly skilled experts are extremely scarce. WeChat business players have to keep their eyes open, don't be deceived by "fake experts" and directly "led to death" by fake "mentors".

After discussing the dead end, let's take a look together at where the future of WeChat business lies in 2015:

Gate 1: The community's best survive

Essentially, WeChat business relies on "human-centeredness". On social media, they are the primary subjects of sharing - people have become the new channel. Whether these users are communicators, distributors, or marketers is no longer important; what matters is trust and personal endorsement. Sharing based on real-life scenarios brings a trust premium. Recommendations from friends carry warmth, naturally lowering the barriers to trial and use. This compels every WeChat business operator to cultivate a circle that "makes friends feel reliable".

For example, beauty and makeup brands should gather female user communities who love beauty and are particular about the quality of life, focusing more on certain aspects, certain lifestyles, and certain specific styles, in order to create various scenarios, and bring a sense of belonging and recognition to these scenarios. Scenarios are demands, and demands are products. On this basis, brands are no longer planned, but are more likely to be ignited, and product marketing naturally narrows down to a community of lifestyles.

At the same time, don't forget that in the fragmented environment where mobile internet dominates, traffic itself is not stable. However, the formation of a solid social circle through community building is the best way to combat fragmentation.

Therefore, establishing a highly engaged community is the source of vitality for WeChat business.

Second Pathway: Survival through Datafication

It is undeniable that the development of WeChat business has been rapid, covering the path of traditional commerce that would take N years in a single year. Previously, it was about racing to expand territory and pursuing extensive growth, but now it's time to enter the era of intensive cultivation and meticulous management.

In Fang Yu's words, WeChat merchants should occasionally ask themselves questions such as what is the repurchase rate of their regular customers, what is the average transaction value per customer, and who are the most influential consumer groups. These key data determine the efficiency of WeChat merchants. Meanwhile, in the background, the data on supply chain purchase, sales, and inventory determine the turnover of funds. All of these rely on information-based and data-driven management.

With detailed operational data, micro-merchants can continuously optimize themselves internally - if product selection is unreasonable, consider delisting; if pricing is inappropriate, try to adjust it; if marketing is ineffective, consider designing new methods... Externally, micro-merchants can compare themselves with industry rivals, identify and compensate for their shortcomings, such as improving supply chain efficiency and improving the benefit distribution mechanism. In this way, micro-merchants will gain a powerful tool to break through the red ocean.

Third way to survive: those with a team survive

To achieve the above two points, teamwork is indispensable. From now on, WeChat merchants who continue to work alone will find it increasingly difficult to move forward.

Without a doubt, after the dividend period of 2014, the WeChat business industry is undergoing various drastic changes. It is definitely impossible for one person to simultaneously play multiple roles such as marketing, community operation, product management, and supply chain coordination. To gather stronger forces, it is necessary to improve efficiency through division of labor, and thereby build a team where each member performs their own duties and complements each other's strengths.

It is noteworthy that the "Fraud" category of the "Report" item in WeChat's chat interface has added an option for "Paying but not delivering goods". As a result, WeChat is likely to launch "WeChat Business Certification" in the future, bringing WeChat Business under standardized management. For WeChat Businesses that rely heavily on WeChat, without a team, it will be extremely difficult for them to survive.

It can be seen that the journey of WeChat business is still vast and promising, and those who join the game still have reasons to be excited. But beyond the excitement, players must pay attention to the rules of survival, lest they become martyrs and end up as fertilizer for others.