Merchant and doctor

Chapter 1989 (Simplified Version)

A few days ago, Man Hongyun planned to buy a new car, a sedan, saying that when doing business, he couldn't be too unpresentable, otherwise customers would look down on him and he would lose many orders.

Li Yunhu was initially not in favor, but he couldn't resist Man Hongyun's persuasive skills and eventually wavered.

When they were invited to dinner, Li Yunhu stammered and mentioned to Bian Mu that it would be understandable if the two of them went through a lot of trouble to take out a loan to buy a second-hand house in Lijin City, but it would be a bit much to take out a loan to buy a car.

Bian Mu guessed that Man Hongyun might be short of money, so he offered to lend Li Yunhu 3 yuan, saying that he would only need to pay back 2 yuan, and the remaining 1 yuan would be a small donation to their business.

Li Yunhu was very shy, so he wrote a proper IOU, clearly stating that he would repay the loan in full at normal interest rates. He was too embarrassed to accept Bian Mu's generous gift in full.

As a result, at another dinner party, Bian Mu heard Li Yunhu say that he had been ripped off when he bought the new car, as it was severely downgraded!

Coincidentally, a few days ago, Qi Yuewei invited Bian Mu to a business dinner. After only a few bites of food, she complained that even the dishes at the star-rated hotel were starting to be simplified.

Forest ranger Lao Liangtou paid special attention to the chat group of private clinics. Several times, the old man told Bian Mu that it was no wonder that the small clinics were not doing well. One of their major problems was that the medications were often simplified to varying degrees. Many patients would not have gone to them for treatment if it weren't for the cheap prices.

……

After hearing it so many times, Bian Mu had a certain impression of the phenomenon of "simplification" in his mind. In his view, "simplification" means simplifying certain functions or configurations without lowering quality standards, or simply not selecting certain configurations. Under certain conditions, based on compliance, merchants may also lower the standards for the use of certain raw materials. However, unless the customer is an expert and raises a separate inquiry, some merchants' sales staff play the "vague" card when it comes to pricing.

Bian Mu believes that as long as it is not a deliberate "downgrading" and does not affect the quality of the products sold, there is nothing to say.

however……

Bian Mu firmly believes in one thing: professional TCM doctors should never "simplify" prescriptions when practicing medicine, and professional pharmacists should not "simplify" prescriptions in any way when making medicines. If they cannot continue to make a profit due to objective factors such as rising costs, then they should just change careers.

To be fair, Bian Mu didn't really accept the "simplification" approach. Taking the tablet, Bian Mu carefully browsed through it. The product's pre-designed animated videos were remarkably clear and immersive, clearly produced by a professional team. Through several animated videos, Bi Shaoxiong divided the testing equipment Bian Mu had hastily assembled into five parts, forming a series of medical device products. These five devices could be developed and sold separately, each generating its own revenue, or they could be assembled together to achieve more and better functionalities.

It must be admitted that Bi Shaoxiong does have a talent for business; no wonder he's so successful!

"Your company doesn't have the qualifications to produce this kind of medical device, does it?" Bian Mu questioned, seizing on a key issue.

"Equity investment! It's a win-win situation. Many medical companies with excellent qualifications started a bit late and easily fall into a slump. We don't look for big ones, we look for high-quality small and medium-sized companies that are just waiting to make ends meet. Don't worry about that. I've already found three, and I'm just waiting for you to come and inspect them in person. You're not an ordinary person; your perspective and judgment are different from ours. My uncle praises you from time to time. Once you make a decision, I'll immediately start negotiating and signing agreements with them. You know, right now I can only do this kind of business outside the industry. Otherwise, it would definitely upset my uncle! He's very sensitive to these kinds of things," Bi Shaoxiong replied casually.

Without a doubt, given Bi Shaoxiong's abilities, as long as he takes a stake, I believe that within a year, his opinions will carry a significant weight at the company's board meetings. Perhaps it is because of this characteristic that Chairman Bi has always been wary of his nephew!

"You're joking. I'm just a quack doctor. What do I know about real business operations, let alone conducting on-site inspections of highly technical tasks? Even if the production qualification is resolved, the system you've implemented is clearly somewhat technologically compromised. What, do you usually cut corners?!" Bian Mu seized on the key quality issue again and questioned him a few more times.

Upon hearing this, Bi Shaoxiong smiled meaningfully.

"Do you know? In our Lijin City, objectively speaking, you're already at the pinnacle of the TCM world! Nie Yixiong has practically retired from frontline clinic work, Cen Songxue is focused on staying home to save her life, and the others, let alone technological advancements, are simply not on your level in terms of the concepts of modern and comprehensive TCM! In other words, you've been at the top of the technical pyramid for so long that you easily develop a mindset that all customers are high-end. But from a business perspective, the core of profit is still the general public! How many top-of-the-line sports cars are there in all of Lijin?! Durable, easy to operate, and cheap to maintain... the actual profit of those family cars is truly astonishing! On the surface, my uncle's personal assets are in the hundreds of millions, and he seems very successful! But actually, we have a relative, an uncle whose family has been in the fruit business for three generations, selling only apples, pears, and grapes year after year, just the same three things, without fail. Their actual profits are several times that of my uncle! As long as the quality doesn't decline, and we offer prices that everyone is happy to accept, it's sure to sell well!" When it comes to business, Bi Shaoxiong is much more knowledgeable than Bian Mu.

Hearing this, Bian Mu smiled. He knew that he couldn't compare to President Bi when it came to business acumen.

“What you said makes sense, but... in real life, the target audience for this kind of medical device is still quite small. Ordinary people can't treat your uncle to the extent he needs, so... the sales circle is a bit small, and in terms of volume, it will be quite difficult for you to make a lot of profit.”

"Hey! You've probably developed a professional mindset, no wonder! You're the founder of the 'digital medicine' school! You're all about precision in everything. But doing business... it's different. As long as we don't intentionally deceive people, we can be a little more vague! Don't misunderstand! I'm not intentionally misleading consumers. No matter what business you're in, consumer demand is incredibly diverse, with dozens of different types. Even if some people buy our products just for psychological comfort, they'll accept it. For example... when smartphones first came out, most working-class people thought they were too expensive. Several months' salary wouldn't be enough to buy even the cheapest one. And if it broke, they couldn't afford to replace it. Besides, smartphone consumer culture wasn't as mature back then as it is now, so they really didn't feel it was very useful." "And now?! The phone you gave Duan Hongyi was a top-of-the-line model, wasn't it? Right? But you yourself are using a mid-range phone. The testing system we've developed is actually following the same path that smartphones took back then. As for the corresponding consumer culture, don't worry about it. I'll handle the advertising planning. You have countless legendary stories at your disposal. With a little editing, you can create a unique commercial cultural boom related to health. Professional models, professional actors, teachers, lawyers... which one of them doesn't care about their image?! Lumbar spine, cervical spine, gait, posture... how can they distinguish so clearly?! As long as it's blurred, as long as there are some therapeutic effects, sales will skyrocket. I have experience in this area!" Bi Shaoxiong seemed quite animated as he spoke.

Seeing this, Bian Mu couldn't help but shake his head slightly.