1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 452 Strategy (2)

As we all know, the island nation is a country with a very strong sense of division.

Just as what was said in "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword", their national nature contains a series of contradictory characteristics such as inferiority and arrogance, obedience and rebellion, pity and destruction.

Regardless of the tiny country, it has been constantly divided and united in the past thousand years of history, and even created the Warring States Period when dozens of countries conquered each other;
Or is it that everyone always has a polite, humble and hopeful smile on their face, but the suicide rate has long been ranked first in the world;

Even if they appear to be diligent like a group of tireless ants, they are actually inefficient and lazy in the company.

All of them reflect this sense of division that is extremely puzzling to outsiders.

Of course, this strong sense of division is reflected in all aspects of society. Even in life and social interaction, there is a background of "small country with few people" that, upon closer thought, has some characteristics of this type.

………………

An apartment in Shinjuku.

"Ding dong~"

As the doorbell rang, the 27-year-old Kondo Asuka sighed tiredly, closed the Toshiba laptop that not everyone in Tokyo could afford, quickly straightened her clothes, put on the most humble and gentle smile on her face, then quickly walked to the door and turned the handle.

I finally have a weekend, but I end up with a pile of work to deal with. Not only can I not run out freely and have fun, but I also have to deal with neighbors in the apartment who like to come over all the time... Life is so tiring for older female employees in Tokyo!
However, even though she complained, Asuka Kondo did not dare to show any impatience between her brows.

The island nation's extremely rigid etiquette and community culture meant that if she dared to refuse the enthusiastic visits of her neighbors, she would definitely be talked about behind her back by everyone, and then she would be excluded and become a loner amid countless soft attacks, and eventually suffer from depression.

Besides, in this era on the island country, the community owners' committee controlled by housewives is far from being as simple as the Chinese think. It has a lot of influence, both overt and covert. How could Asuka Kondo, who had just moved in not long ago, dare to offend them?
As the door opened, a middle-aged woman who looked to be about thirty-five or thirty-six years old appeared in front of Kondo Asuka.

The middle-aged woman spoke with a familiarity that was not common in big cities: "Oh, Miss Kondo, I'm so sorry to bother you on the weekend;"

After bowing, the middle-aged woman showed a small bag in her hand, and said with a distressed smile: "This is the taro paste cake I bought from Kitanomaru Park this morning, but I was unlucky and only got one box... It's just such a small box. I'm embarrassed to bring it to the community party this afternoon and embarrass myself."

"So, in order to avoid being laughed at by President Sakurajima... I can only ask Miss Kondo for help. Please accept this box of taro cakes... After all, I am also a living committee member. It is my duty to buy Chinese cakes and give them to my new neighbors to comfort them."

At this point, the middle-aged woman clasped her hands together and made a kitten-like gesture for help: "Please, please, Ms. Kondo, you must do me this favor... I don't want to be laughed at by President Sakurajima in public."

Slightly contrary to the commonly held stereotype, women in the island nation in the 1980s and 1990s were actually not that restrained. Influenced by European and American culture, they could also become playful and humorous when necessary.

It's just that a member of the community owners' committee can describe giving gifts as asking for help, and his tone and demeanor don't make people feel disgusted at all...

All I can say is that this middle-aged woman's social skills are indeed quite good.

Seeing the middle-aged woman's rather girlish look and posture, Kondo Asuka couldn't help but laugh: "Commissioner Hamami, you are joking. This is not asking me for help, it's clearly me thanking you for taking care of me... Huaxia Taro Pastry is such a good pastry, but it's really hard to buy. If you can grab a box, many people will be envious."

As she spoke, Kondo Asuka welcomed the middle-aged woman named Sakuhama into the house. She tilted her head and thought for a moment, "It just so happens that my colleague gave me a small box of ancient Chinese Yunnan red tea the day before yesterday. Please take a seat first. I'll go make some tea. Then we can drink tea while tasting the taro paste cakes you bought... Okay?"

The middle-aged woman laughed out loud when she heard this: "Oh my, I wanted to ask Miss Kondo for a favor, but I didn't expect to get such a great deal... Today is really worthy of being the [Lucky Sunday]... Then I'll obey your command!"

The middle-aged woman's words were not entirely intended to bring the two closer together.

With the successful holding of the three-day Sino-Japanese Cultural Festival, and with the help of the media, Chinese cuisine, especially the series of products that came to the island country with the Chinese delegation across the ocean, suddenly became the hottest high-end and in-demand goods.

Unfortunately, a considerable number of these products currently seem to have no plans to enter the daily terminals of the island country. Therefore, you can't buy them except in a few dozen special outlets such as Kitanomaru Park, the area around NHK Studio, and the three major Chinatowns in Yokohama, Nagasaki and Kobe.

The most infuriating thing is that, I don’t know if they are playing hunger marketing, but these products are supplied in limited quantities every day on the grounds of “inconvenience in air transportation”. Therefore, there are countless Japanese people who run to the outlets to wait before dawn every day. In a situation where everyone has enough money and everyone wants to try new things, even if you want to buy them from others at a high price, it is definitely not an easy thing.

Compared with the cultural and creative products such as the taro paste cakes that the middle-aged woman bought, the ancient tree Dianhong that Kondo received was positioned much higher-end, with much greater sales control, and was also more difficult to buy;
Therefore, when the middle-aged woman said that she was lucky and had gotten a great bargain, she was not just being polite.

………………

Sitting beside the tea table with a serious face, he strictly followed the instructions provided to calculate the most suitable amount of tea, then poured the hot water at 90° into the teapot along the edge, and then timed it to three seconds before the tea came out...

The two of them looked at the golden tea with a slight halo in the glass with intoxicated faces, just like the passers-by in Chinese cuisine who saw the glowing food.

After carefully picking up the cup and taking a sip, the middle-aged woman almost moaned, "So this is what good tea tastes like... Compared to this, the English black tea I drank before, and even the matcha I drank in the Rock Crushing Gym, are completely different... China is indeed worthy of being the source of tea, it is a completely crushing existence!"

Kondo Asuka also squeezed the cup with emotion: "It seems that the Chinese tea we bought before was either fake or inferior products that China didn't want... If I had known that this tea was so delicious, I should have asked my colleagues to buy a few more boxes."

Don't blame these two for being too exaggerated.

A less well-known fact is that most of China's truly good tea has always been circulated domestically. All kinds of exported green tea, black tea, Pu'er, oolong tea, etc., as long as they are traded in bulk, are at most second-level specifications in terms of raw material level... There is no other way. For truly good tea, not only is the output low, the taste cannot be standardized. In order to avoid commercial disputes, this method can only be used.

Besides, Dahua Company has taken advantage of this.

Dianhong is quite different from other well-known black teas. Whether it is the globally famous Sri Lankan black tea or the popular Keemun black tea in China, due to the production process, they have a very obvious burnt feeling and unique aroma after brewing.

But success or failure is also due to one person. For those who like this unique aroma and taste, Keemun black tea and Sri Lankan black tea are priceless treasures. But for most people who don't like this taste, they taste no different from rotten Chinese medicine... And as we all know, women's preference and understanding of tea generally remain at the entry level, so it is really difficult to expect them to taste the beauty of it.

But Dianhong is different. Unless you use a heavy-fire roasting process, Dianhong will not have that burnt feeling when brewed.
On the contrary, it will present an intoxicating honey aroma or floral and fruity aroma, and it does not have the bitterness common in other teas... Sweetness and fragrance are its biggest features.

If the raw materials you use are from real ancient trees, then in addition to being sweet, Dianhong will also produce an extremely strong but very gentle sensation of producing body fluids. Those who have drunk ancient tree Dianhong know that it is a very wonderful feeling. If you use terraced tea or inferior raw materials, you will not be able to produce this unique phenomenon at all.

Moreover, its fragrance is not the kind that lingers on the tip of the nose and tongue, but the kind that makes your throat feel pleasant after you drink it, as if the fragrance is emerging from deep in your skin.

Therefore, for experienced tea drinkers, Dianhong may seem too soft and lacks tea flavor, so they don’t like it very much; but for the vast majority of women, apart from flower and fruit tea, there is probably no other tea in the world that is more intoxicating than Dianhong.

Fortunately, Dahua Company's extremely expensive ancient tree Dianhong tea comes with complete brewing instructions, with special emphasis on the amount of tea, water temperature and brewing speed. Therefore, under the requirements of extremely fast brewing speed and 90-degree water temperature, some of the shortcomings of Dianhong itself have been covered up as much as possible through acquired means. It would be strange if two island women who saw ancient tree Dianhong tea for the first time were not completely stunned by the unique charm that even a fool could taste!

………………

After drinking three cups of tea in uncontrollable amazement, only two small pieces of the already pitifully small box of taro paste cakes were left.

Seeing that the snacks were about to run out, Kondo Asuka felt a little distressed. She was just a clerk who was busy working overtime all day, and there was no decent food at home except instant noodles and bread to fill her stomach at night... But people came to visit her with exquisite Chinese pastries. If she took out the remaining half bag of bread from the refrigerator to make snacks, wouldn't she be laughed to death?
The middle-aged woman seemed to notice Kondo Asuka's embarrassment, and she immediately laughed: "Ms. Kondo, after three cups of tea, it's almost time for me to leave... As the living committee member, I have to rush back to prepare for the tea party for owners this afternoon."

Kondo Asuka felt embarrassed when she heard this. Although these housewives in the island community do hold various social activities every few days, and Hamami, as the living committee member of the community owners' committee, does have a lot of things to do during the weekend, it has only been more than ten minutes since the two of them sat down. If they leave after only sitting for more than ten minutes, it will easily give people the misunderstanding that they are not hospitable enough.

The middle-aged woman smiled and waved her hand, as if she was going to get up and leave in the next second. But as soon as she moved her body, she seemed to remember something, and then she reached into her purse and took out a small plain paper box.

"Oh my, look at my memory... Miss Kondo, thank you for your hospitality today and for treating me to such delicious tea. I have to thank you no matter what."

"Here, this is the deer antler facial cream I shared with you. Although it's not much, it's a token of my love. Please accept it, Miss Kondo!"

Seeing Kondo Asuka reaching out her hand to refuse, the middle-aged woman looked apologetic and said, "Although it is a bit rude to give only such a small amount as a return gift, there is nothing I can do. This deer antler facial cream from China is too hard to get, and I don't know how it works for you, Miss Kondo... Anyway, you use it first. If you find it useful, let me know and I will find a way to get you a whole bottle."

When Asuka Kondo heard this, she suddenly felt a little overwhelmed.

In the island nation, there are many housewives who do not just take care of their husbands and children all day long, they also have many side jobs of their own; the Watanabe wives mentioned above are certainly the most famous group among them, but there is another group of people who are not well-known, but they are a group that cannot be underestimated in the community economy of the island nation.

Ok……

Compared with the "micro-businesses" that are prevalent in later generations in China, it is actually more appropriate to call this group of people in the island country "community leaders."

In fact, the work done by these housewives is basically the same as that of the group leaders in later Chinese generations. They can get everything for you, from small items like toilet paper and plastic bags to medium items like rice, cooking oil and fruits to large items like home appliances and sofas. Their magical powers are so great that they are jaw-dropping.

The method used by these island housewives to develop their business and downlines is also very simple, which is to constantly visit neighbors to chat, make friends through various community social activities, and then recommend the products.

Don't underestimate this seemingly inefficient business method. The island country is different from China. This is a country where e-commerce has never been able to develop. The community circles here are complicated and tight. At the end of the millennium, a well-known economic magazine in an island country once said that in the 1988 years from 2008 to 8, about % of the annual commodity circulation in the island country came from the internal circulation of various communities. In this kind of community economic activity, the key nodes are those housewives who visit their neighbors all day long. It is their business model of visiting every household and developing neighbors into "regular customers" that contributes such a large proportion of commodity circulation.

It can be said that before the Internet era fully arrives, whoever can open up these nodes will be able to win over the women in the island nation’s communities who hold the financial power over their families, thus making their products invincible.

It is obvious that the middle-aged woman in front of Asuka Kondo is a very famous "group leader" in their community. This kind of "try first, buy later" experiential marketing in the form of gift exchange is also one of the most commonly used door-knocking methods by these group leaders.

After all, she is a new generation of women. Kondo Asuka still rejects this half-enthusiastic, half-forced salesmanship from the bottom of her heart. She immediately declined: "Commissioner Hamami, you are too polite. I have always been taken care of by you. I, a junior who has never had much time to go shopping, have never lacked daily necessities... I know that things in China are hard to buy now. This thing is very expensive just by the name. You should keep such a useful thing for yourself... To be honest, I don't know how to take care of myself. If the company didn't require me to do so, I might not even know how to do the most basic makeup now."

Kondo Asuka looked grateful and guilty, and there was no aggression in her words, but her gratitude was obvious.

Those toilet paper, pots and pans, and all kinds of exotic fruits that you recommended to me before, I bought them because you are a senior neighbor and the living committee member... At that time, the salary was good, and although your things were not cheap, they did not constitute much of a burden. I just regarded them as the social cost of living in Tokyo.

But now the company's operations are beginning to become difficult. Not only is there no hope for a salary increase, but income and bonuses have also begun to decline sharply. At this time, if you recommend to me those cosmetics that you know are extremely expensive just by hearing the name... I'm sorry, I have to make a living and I really can't afford it.

The middle-aged woman heard this, but she was not annoyed at all. Instead, she pushed the small box in her hand forward and looked at Kondo Asuka sincerely: "Ms. Kondo, I'm sorry to say that everyone has had a hard time in recent months. The expenses of many sisters in the community have also begun to shrink visibly. Miss Kondo, you haven't participated in the community's social activities for two consecutive weeks;"

"Although you are different from us and have a job, it is understandable that you cannot find time to attend the community gathering due to overtime... But I can see that this is mainly because Miss Kondo has been under a lot of pressure in her life recently." Kondo Asuka's face suddenly changed.

The contradictory and hypocritical cultural environment of the island nation determines that no one wants to embarrass themselves and lose face in front of others, and no one dares to ignore the opinions of others. Therefore, when the other party pointed out his predicament, the clerk panicked for no reason and couldn't even manage his basic expression.

Seeing this, the middle-aged woman sighed with some pity, and then pushed the small paper box in her hand forward: "Ms. Kondo, I don't mean to make fun of you. In fact, I don't think this is funny;"

"What I mean is...it's precisely because you've encountered a small setback right now that I feel you need this gift even more."

At this point, the middle-aged woman looked at Kondo Asuka steadily, her face full of sincerity: "Ms. Kondo, believe me, no one in the whole community wants you neighbors to live well more than I do!"

Asuka Kondo understood what she meant. As a divorced housewife with two children, although Hamami was the envied living committee member by many people in the community, the compensation from her husband was actually not enough for her and her two children to live a good life in Tokyo, where every inch of land is valuable. Nowadays, her main income still comes from selling all kinds of goods to neighbors. Therefore, she can only live well if her neighbors live well.

Thinking of this, the shame and anger that had just surged in Kondo Asuka's heart disappeared without a trace. Then she looked at the middle-aged woman in front of her with some confusion, not understanding what this had to do with how well she was living.

Seeing this, Hamami sighed again: "Ms. Kondo, the current economic environment looks worse and worse. When I chatted with Mrs. Takeshita a few days ago, she told me that her husband's company even planned to lay off employees... Ms. Kondo, have you ever thought about a question? As the situation gets worse and worse, if your company also encounters this situation, how will you deal with it?"

When Kondo Asuka heard this, her expression suddenly changed again.

Although the island nation is famous for its lifetime employment system, which means that once you get a job, you don't have to worry about unemployment for the rest of your life;
But that was in the past. As a large number of island companies were acquired by Europe and the United States during this period, although many Japanese corporate managers have always hoped that the newly established board of directors will retain this tradition, layoffs, which are quite unfamiliar to the island people, still began to happen.

Like many Japanese companies that only look good on the outside, her company's actual performance is not good at the moment, so being acquired or being laid off is not an unimaginable thing for her... In fact, there have been related rumors about the company for the past two months.

So when Commissioner Hamami mentioned this, it hit her sore spot.

You have to know that although the women of this era in the island country can be called the children of version and their social status is the highest in history, but if you ask yourself, even if Kondo Asuka herself has worked very hard, her business ability and tolerance for hardship are far from comparable to those male comrades in the company who are like donkeys and horses and look like they can live in the company 24 hours a day. The reason why they have been aggressively recruiting female employees in the past few years is actually more out of consideration of improving the company's image when they are not short of money.

The situation is already too complicated to handle, and coupled with the uncertainties and fluctuations caused by women's physiological characteristics, once the company really needs to lay off employees to cope with the difficulties, who will be the first to be eliminated? You can figure it out with your butt.

Seeing Kondo Asuka hesitating with an embarrassed look on her face, Hamami sighed, then acted like a big sister next door and looked at her with pity: "Ms. Kondo, I'm an experienced person and have suffered countless hardships as a young girl, so listen to my advice... As women, our greatest asset is ourselves, and the greatest cause in life is to invest in ourselves!"

"You are so young and beautiful. Instead of working hard every night and getting scolded by your boss the next day, why don't you take good care of yourself and make yourself the brightest star in the crowd, and then gain the admiration and attention of countless men?"

At this point, Hamami took out a copy of Women's Friend from her bag and placed it on the coffee table. She spoke softly, with a hint of concern and a hint of temptation: "Look at you now. You have dark circles under your eyes. You look listless."

"I have seen too many young women who are not as good-looking and elegant as you, but they are all fought over by countless men, willing to serve as drivers and give them food coupons... Miss Kondo, as beautiful as you are, why do you have to waste your most precious youth and capital, and waste all your energy on such thankless things as overtime work?"

Ah? ?
Am I beautiful?

Asuka Kondo, who had always thought that her appearance was only above average, couldn't help feeling happy after being stunned.

The culture of the island nation dictates that they rarely hear such direct words of praise. Besides, she is a woman after all, so it would be strange if she was not happy to hear such words.

Suppressing her joy and confusion, Kondo Asuka lowered her head to look at the book "Friends of Women" as if to cover up.
An arm that didn't look young but was well maintained appeared in her eyes, and then, with a somewhat envious look, she turned the page of the magazine.

"Women, the only way to escape from the crisis is to invest in yourself!"

Looking at this article written by a famous female editor with a very misleading title appearing in front of her, Kondo Asuka looked up at Hamami somewhat awkwardly, and then, with the other's encouraging eyes, she picked up this magazine which was very influential in the island country and began to read it carefully.

Ok……

History has always been a cycle of reincarnation. Seeing this kind of title, even an ordinary otaku in later generations can guess what the content is with his buttocks.
In fact, since the mid-1980s, content such as "a woman's greatest investment in her lifetime is herself" has long become a cliché. This article is nothing more than a repetition of the content in a new context that closely follows current hot issues.

But the bad nature of human beings is that as long as what you write is what they want to see, no matter how many times you write the same old thing, or how obvious the intention in your text is, they will still enjoy reading it.

and so……

Five minutes later, Kondo Asuka's cheeks flushed slightly, and her eyes showed a little more spirit and hope.

Putting down the magazine in his hand, he looked at the middle-aged woman with some trepidation: "Commissioner Hamami, is this deer antler facial cream... really effective?"

The middle-aged woman tilted her face confidently and pushed: "The joint efforts of Dahua Company and Sankyo Pharmaceutical must be high-quality... I won't say anything else, just look at my old face and you will know the effect!"

It has to be said that middle-aged women still pay great attention to maintenance. Therefore, although that face is not beautiful, it looks extremely fair and not greasy at all, which is very different from the current situation where the face is pale or greasy after hydrating and maintaining the skin.

It must be admitted that with the recent popularity of Sankyo Co., Ltd. and Dahua Corporation, the names of these two companies have already carried a strong persuasive power. Therefore, after hearing the middle-aged woman's personal experience, Kondo Asuka actually became excited.

If that Chinese deer antler facial cream can really make me beautiful, then I will definitely be able to find a tall, rich and handsome man as my real name, and then...

Seeing the familiar ambition that only women have in Kondo Asuka's expression, the middle-aged woman laughed: "Of course, a woman's face is a work of art. Although the Chinese deer antler facial cream is very magical, it alone is not enough. After all, its main function is whitening;"

"If you really want to maximize the effect, you need to use their [Lotus Royal Cream Chinese Herbal Mask] for moisturizing, [Trichosanthes powder cream] for removing acne, and [Scar Cream] for removing freckles..."

Looking at a young woman in front of her who had fallen into fantasy, Hamami smiled like a female fox who had just caught a chick;
Then, half an hour later, with a fruitful harvest, he left Kondo Asuka's apartment with satisfaction...

………………

At this time, hot spring hotel.

In a thatched teahouse with a strong island style, Zhuo Mali looked at Bao Shuxian in front of her with interest: "Oh? Can you help me coordinate the various advertising matters?"

After drinking coffee with Miss Mu in Akihabara the day before yesterday, she originally thought that she would be just a spectator on this trip to the island country, and that Miss Mu had no plans to place any advertisements in the near future;
Unexpectedly, just two days later, Bao Shuxian, who had been missing all day, came to the door.

Seeing the teasing smile on the peach face, Bao Shuxian, who had dark circles under his eyes from exhaustion in the past few days, felt a sudden throb in his heart and could only explain with a wry smile: "Minister Zhuo, according to Minister Mu's plan, the operation methods of each of the more than 100 independent brands going overseas this time are completely different;"

"For high-end products such as Chansu Pills and Ancient Tree Dianhong, the route is value-added circulation + special channels;"

“Mid- to high-end beauty products such as deer antler facial cream and other household products are distributed in the community;”

"Affordable skin care products such as bath bean facial cleansers are sold through the drugstore and cosmetic channels;"

“As for the rest of the Chinese patent medicines with a relatively large supply, they are sold in pharmacies;”

"There are also mid-range specialty foods such as mung bean crisps and taro crisps, which are currently sold through special outlets. They will only start to be sold in daily terminals when their popularity and acceptance reach a certain level.

"I believe Minister Zhuo has already learned about these situations."

At this point, Bao Shuxian looked embarrassed: "For these products targeting women, we can use various matching methods to avoid various sunk costs during the market launch period as much as possible to maximize their effects;"

"But the problem is that these products we have this time are not only targeted at female consumers... Compared with female consumers who are more easily affected by emotions and the surrounding environment, there are not many tricks for those low-end fast-moving consumer goods targeting male groups. We can only follow the normal operation;"

"So, in this process, advertising on various media, especially on what channel, when, and what content to place, how to use the smallest budget to bring out the integrated communication effect of these media, as well as communication and supervision of those media, and even the payment method and replacement ratio, have become very important things... In Dahua Company, there is probably no one who is more experienced than Minister Zhuo in this area, so I can only ask for your help!"

Bao Shuxian wanted to flatter her, but when he saw Zhuo Mali's eyes, which were always smiling and seemed to be able to see through people, he finally gave up his original plan and honestly expressed his needs.

After all, this is all due to insufficient budget.

The media costs in the island country are staggeringly high. Even if NHK is willing to offer a very favorable friendly price, it is obvious that in order to achieve the desired effect, it is not enough to rely solely on NHK media...even relying solely on traditional television media, newspaper media and outdoor media is not enough.

Therefore, how to do IMC well within a limited budget, strive for a higher replacement ratio, and invest the saved money in more publicity has become a very important task... Yang Mo is not in Tokyo now, and Miss Mu also has a lot of things to worry about, plus she doesn't have much experience in this area, so in the end, she can only find Zhuo Mali.

Oh?
Are they low- to mid-end fast-moving consumer goods for men?
I almost thought that Dahua’s focus on this trip was entirely on pharmaceuticals and beauty products.

but……

First, the value creation of high-end products and the support of related secondary markets, then the development of special channels for mid-to-high-end beauty products, and now the battle is about to begin in daily channels;
Even with the help of the host, isn't the pace of the eldest daughter of the Mu family a little too fast?

Or does she really have that much confidence?

Zhuo Mali looked at Bao Shuxian, who had a somewhat embarrassed expression in front of her, and her smile became more playful.

Just when Bao Shuxian, who felt as if he was being pricked by needles, was about to use Yang Mo's name to get this minister, who exuded the charm of a mature woman, to take over the task, he heard Zhuo Mali suddenly smile: "Tell me, what products are you going to push in the first wave?"

Hearing the other party's promise, Bao Shuxian was overjoyed that he no longer had to worry about offending others...

______
PS: I wish all teachers and seniors a happy May Day!

Although the author was stuck in traffic for most of the day, he was not happy at all.

(End of this chapter)