Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

Zhang Qiming stared at the second hand of the clock above Chen Yuanshan's head.

The conference room was filled with an almost solemn atmosphere. No one was chatting, drinking water, or looking at their phones; only the soft scratching of notebooks could be heard. During the national operational data analysis session, Chen Yuanshan had bluntly pointed out a series of challenges, including "the sluggish growth of traditional value-added services such as nationwide SMS" and "the anxiety the mobile company is facing in finding its next growth driver." These statements made everyone realize the seriousness of the problems.

Everyone waited in silence for the clock to strike ten.

Zhang Qiming looked around. There were about sixty people attending the meeting, including headquarters leaders, key personnel from relevant departments of headquarters, and representatives from various provincial branches.

Chen Yuanshan sat in the leadership seat with his arms crossed, glancing at his watch. The man sitting next to him was Liu Zhenhua, the senior vice president of headquarters and the ultimate decision-maker at this meeting.

The second hand of the clock on the wall moved, stopped, and then trembled as it pointed directly upwards.

"Alright, let's move on to the strategic outlook segment," Chen Yuanshan said. "Our next speaker is Fang Jing, Director of the Strategic Development Department. The Strategic Development Department is like a telescope for our company, specifically helping everyone see the way. Director Fang will analyze industry trends from a macro perspective and offer suggestions on our next strategic direction. Please welcome Director Fang."

Everyone sat up straight in their chairs at the same time, making a rustling sound.

Fang Jing stood up from the leadership section and walked onto the stage amidst applause. She had short hair, wore a dark blue suit skirt, and held a remote-controlled pen in her hand; she had no written notes.

Zhang Qiming knew that Fang Jing was a returnee from the United States, had a strong interest in new models, and was extremely good at trend analysis. It was this ability that allowed her to rise to a high position in the headquarters' decision-making level before she was even forty years old.

The first page of her PowerPoint presentation contained only one line: "When Pipes Meet Content".

"Thank you, Mr. Chen," Fang Jing said with a smile. "Colleagues, you may be feeling a bit anxious after listening to Mr. Chen's report. I'll try to spend 30 minutes helping you shift your focus from today to tomorrow."

The crowd burst into laughter.

Fang Jing pressed the button on the remote control pen, and Zhang Qiming saw a set of data appear on the screen.

National SP Business Growth Curve

2002: Growth rate 80%

2003: Growth rate 45%

First half of 2004: Growth rate of 18% (estimated full-year growth of 25%)

"These figures should be familiar to everyone. The growth rate of our SP (Service Provider) business is slowing down; that's an objective fact. Some say it's because the market is saturated, others say it's due to tightening regulations. But I want to ask a question: Is user demand truly saturated?"

Zhang Qiming interlaced his fingers and couldn't help but shake his head.

Over the next twenty minutes, Fang Jing used various data charts to analyze in detail user needs, current hidden dangers, and the content differences among major internet giants, including NetEase and Tencent.

"Wangyi and Xinlang's news push notifications have low conversion rates and high unsubscribe rates. In contrast, Tencent's mobile QQ has an unsubscribe rate of only 7%. Why? Because they don't provide individual messages, but a continuous service. Users receive offline messages from friends via SMS, which satisfies a social need. Once users get used to it, it's hard for them to leave. This tells us a lesson: the upper limit of simply copying information is far less than that of continuous content."

Zhang Qiming listened to Fang Jing speak, feeling both gratified and nervous. He was gratified because Fang Jing repeatedly emphasized a conclusion using data and logic. And Qingniao Reading was the perfect real-world embodiment of that conclusion.

What worried him was that Fang Jing's words weren't just a strategic direction for the national branches; they were also essentially handing an entry ticket to the giants who hadn't yet entered the market. If Qingniao couldn't quickly establish itself at the headquarters level, it would soon become someone else's prey.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in the golden decade of mobile communications, we enjoyed a period of great success with voice and SMS services. What will drive the next decade? My answer is: content, services, and ecosystem. True value is created when the pipeline meets content. Thank you."

A round of applause followed.

"Thank you, Mr. Fang, for sharing," Chen Yuanshan said loudly. "Now we will move on to the sharing session of innovative cases from various provinces. There is one province that has consistently been at the forefront of data service innovation in the country. We hope that its experience can inspire everyone. Please welcome Wang Hongxin, General Manager of the Data Business Department of Guangdong Mobile."

Wang Hongxin raised his shiny bald head, strode onto the stage with his round belly, and opened the PowerPoint presentation.

"Thank you, Mr. Chen. Good morning, leaders and colleagues. My topic today is 'Mobile Games: A New Attempt in SP Business'."

A set of data appeared on the large screen:

Guangdong Mobile has 4200 million users (ranked first in the country).

SP (Service Provider) revenue structure: SMS 70%, Ringback Tones 20%, Other 10%.

Pain point: Slow growth in SMS messaging, urgently needing new growth drivers.

"As you all probably know," Wang Hongxin said rapidly, his accent thick, "Guangdong has a vibrant economy, a large young population, and a quick acceptance of new things. Since the beginning of this year, we've partnered with several game companies to launch a service that promotes mobile game downloads through SP (Service Provider) SMS messages."

Wang Hongxin switched to different PPT slides to demonstrate the business model and data performance.

Zhang Qiming quickly browsed through the messages; they were promoting classic mini-games like Snake, Tetris, and Sokoban. Over three months, they sent a total of 800 million text messages, with a conversion rate of only 3.5%, a next-day retention rate of just 40%, and a complaint rate of 12%.

"A 3.5% conversion rate," Wang Hongxin scratched his head, "is actually not bad. But the 12% complaint rate is giving us a real headache. Many users download the app but can't play it, and then they call to yell at us for scamming them."

The crowd let out restrained laughter.

Wang Hongxin then shared his experience on the selection of game themes and the timing of game releases.

As for the lessons learned, he summarized them as follows: There are too many mobile phone models, making compatibility issues difficult to resolve, resulting in a high number of complaints, which earned him a lot of laughter.

Wang Hongxin bowed with satisfaction: "That concludes my sharing. In short: mobile games have potential, but the key lies in technological barriers and user experience. I welcome all colleagues to Guangdong for exchange, and let's explore together."

"Thank you, Mr. Wang," Chen Yuanshan said. "Now we have three minutes for Q&A. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have."

Zhang Qiming raised his hand. Chen Yuanshan nodded.

"Mr. Wang, I'd like to ask you something," Zhang Qiming began, "After users download the game, do you have any follow-up operational methods? For example, do you remind users to come back and play via SMS, or push new game updates?"

Wang Hongxin rubbed his chin with his index finger and nodded: "Old Zhang's question is very insightful. We haven't done any follow-up operations yet, mainly due to technical limitations. Once users download the app, they leave our service area unless they actively come back. This is also the direction we want to break through next. If we can establish a continuous connection with users, the retention rate should be able to improve."

"Thank you, Mr. Wang," Zhang Qiming said with a smile. "We in Shanghai have also been exploring content-based businesses recently, hoping to solve the problem of sustained user interaction. I will share a case study later, and I look forward to your guidance then."

Okay, looking forward to it!