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Company Introduction#

Entrepreneurial management should meet the following four requirements: First, it must focus on the market. Second, it should have financial foresight, especially in planning for cash flow and future capital needs. Third, it is essential to establish a senior management team early, before the new enterprise genuinely needs and can afford one. Finally, it requires the founders of the new enterprise to define their roles, scope of work, and relationships with others within the company.

An enterprise is an organization that invests human resources, capital, technology, and other resources to generate income and profit through manufacturing products and providing good services. Employees invest time, skills, experience, and creativity in the workplace, completing work tasks and providing management services to earn salary income and returns from the enterprise.

The strategic means of entrepreneurial spirit (Entrepreneurship) are multiple.

It varies with time, place, and enterprise. There has never been a specific strategy that can revive two failing enterprises; nor is there a specific means that can repeatedly lead two enterprises to sustained, stable, and rapid development. Different enterprises, different capital, different structures, different products, different technologies, and market prospects require the selection of different strategic means; the same enterprise must also choose different development strategies at different growth stages and production scales.

Money is just one symbol of success; loyalty and responsibility to the cause are the "peak experience" and inexhaustible motivation of entrepreneurs.

Many times, we see some enterprises decline not because the market has receded, but because the original entrepreneurs became complacent. Some enterprises, after achieving minor successes, see their owners no longer in the state of full commitment they had during the startup phase, but instead indulging in pleasures, extravagance, and debauchery.

Entrepreneurial spirit is the soul of an enterprise, the spiritual force that sustains its existence.

When entrepreneurial spirit is vigorous, the enterprise is full of vitality and energy;

The simplest way to describe an enterprise is: people and things. This is a dynamic match.

Whether strategy or management, one must find a dynamic balance.

At the beginning, an enterprise may not find the best people, but once the work is done well, it can attract better people. When better people come, bigger things can be accomplished. This is inherently a process of gradual ascent.

An enterprise will inevitably face contradictions between the old and the new, as it is impossible to have talent that is perfect from the start. People and things represent a dynamic balance. Having discussed this, I want to say that if it is possible to proactively equip talent, it will certainly be beneficial. This proactive equipping is not attracted by money, but indeed comes from mission and vision.

Mission, vision, and values are indeed the keys to attraction. If you want to attract people when the structure is not in place, relying on money and business will not work; only ideals can do that.

1. Strategy is based on judgments about the future. Vision is the premise for formulating strategy. If the vision is wrong, the strategy will certainly be wrong.

2. How to form a vision? How can it be better than others' visions? There are methods, but no shortcuts. Because it is all about trying, fundamentally it is all about trying. Just like everyone looking for martial arts secrets or Buddhist teachings, it is all about trying.

How to implement the vision?

1. You must be at the forefront. If you want to see the future clearly, you must swim at the forefront. Only at the forefront can you have a vision of the future. If you are not there, you cannot feel the future. The early bird catches the worm; only by being in the water can you feel it. So, you must be at the forefront. The first step is to charge ahead. Only by being at the forefront can you have this experience. The second is to think more; do not just work blindly.

After doing it, you must think about what it means. Why do others do this, and what is behind it? Don’t tell me they did it, so I must do it; you must tell me why you want to do it. You need to think about what the underlying reasons are; thinking is also a manual task. The more you think, the more you will gradually think more than others, and then you will see things that others cannot see. You need to have time to think.

Strategy itself is abstract; otherwise, it wouldn’t be called strategy. Strategy is not just the thoughts in the chairman's head; it is the picture that at least the VP can articulate. Strategy is different from ideas. The chairman often has ideas, but they do not become a strategic consensus with the team.

Reaching a strategic consensus with the team is very important. Who participates in the company's strategic meeting discussions? The world is very fair; if you do not let them participate in the discussion, it will take a lot of time for them to understand; if you let them participate in the discussion, it will take a long time, but later there will be no need for further communication, as they can execute it themselves.

So, where you spend your time will determine the results later. In the process of strategic thinking, the first important thing is the long-term vision; the vision gives you a crystal ball, and the important thing is to do and think.

Thinking while doing, seven parts are strategy, three parts are tactics; without these three parts, you are nothing. Another important point is to have a certain breadth and depth. Ultimately, when entrepreneurs talk about strategy, they often refer to vision and pattern. Where does vision come from? It comes from looking deep enough; where does pattern come from? It comes from looking wide enough.

Generally, when people talk about strategy, they seem to treat it as a simple definition. People need to realize that as enterprises develop to different stages, the demand for strategy is completely different. Strategies can be categorized into experimental strategies, mature strategies, and expansion strategies. These three strategies are completely different.

Some may ask: Do small enterprises need strategies?

In fact, at different stages, their characteristics differ, and the strategic approach varies. The strategic experimentation phase must allow for disorder. At this time, chaos rules everything; do not be afraid. Because many attempts are being made, many experiments are underway. Often, it is grassroots growing wildly.

At this time, how to avoid losing control relies on vision, bringing everyone together, saying that the goals are consistent, the direction is clear, but how to do it is unknown. How to do it? Try. Allow for trial and error, trying this and that. When the day comes that everyone says this is okay, it basically starts to take shape. At this time, control must be established; chaos cannot continue, and it must begin to be organized. At this point, what is needed is a consensus that must be implemented into strategy.

It is no longer a vision, no longer thinking; it can become a system, a clearly articulated business model.

The three stages of strategic development: experimentation phase, maturation phase, expansion phase.

Generally, when people talk about strategy, they seem to treat it as a simple definition, but I later realized that the demand for strategy is completely different at various stages of enterprise development. I categorize it into experimental strategies, mature strategies, and expansion strategies; these three strategies are completely different. Sometimes, people ask whether small enterprises need strategies; in fact, at different stages, their strategic characteristics differ, and the required strategic approaches also vary.

It relies on vision to bring everyone onto the same page, with consistent goals and a clear direction, but not knowing how to do it. How to do it? Just try, try this, try that. After trying, it is found that this direction is correct, and then chaos must be controlled, and it must begin to be organized; what is needed is strategic consensus. Originally, three teams were trying three directions; at this time, it is necessary to tell the other two teams that we will not take this path; you need to turn back, and the other path is correct.

There will definitely be different opinions; it is necessary to guide everyone in one direction, which is a consensus period. At this time, it is necessary to establish a strategy that senior management generally agrees upon, written down; this is no longer a simple thought, but must begin to be systematically articulated: What is my business model? How do I do it? What are the key points?

The gradual decline of entrepreneurial spirit signifies that the enterprise is getting older.

The development stages of enterprises are divided into three: the first is the enterprise 1.0 stage, such as those greedy "sweatshops" chasing profits, when capitalist business was just emerging, like the phenomenon of child labor in the 18th century. After that, the deteriorating situation and the need for labor rights improvement pushed society to develop enterprises to the 2.0 stage, Do well to do good, which is the well-known CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility); enterprises are expected to not only earn profits but also take on social responsibilities. However, Drucker said that enterprises have a third stage, Do well by doing good, which is "social enterprises"; this is the S in SG. Organizations (countries, enterprises, non-profit organizations, families) are metaphorically likened to the "organs" of society, while society is like a body. Drucker insisted throughout his life on "left hand management, right hand faith." What does this mean? Management refers to the organization being effective; otherwise, there is no reason for the organization to exist. Faith refers to the organization having the correct mission. Faith concerns the social (S) goals of the enterprise. Advanced enterprises must have the correct mission, aiming to solve social pain points, and must adhere to conscience.

As Guanzi said: "Merchants trade, traveling fast, continuing day and night, covering a thousand miles without getting far, for profit is in front. Fishermen enter the sea, the sea is deep, facing waves and currents, riding the danger for a hundred miles, not going out at night, for profit is in the water. Therefore, where profit lies, even a thousand-foot mountain cannot be avoided, and beneath deep sources, nothing is inaccessible."

To make a profit, the turbulence is the loneliness and destiny of the merchant class. From this perspective, the so-called entrepreneur can perhaps be simply described as someone skilled at navigating the tides but does not forget to work together with those around him and distant guests; someone who enjoys luxury but also strives to ensure that silk farmers can wear fine silk and that wanderers know the beauty of perch. All originate from a flow of heart, a yearning, an impulse. Essentially, strategy is a dream, and life is a longing.

Product Introduction#

1. Different management objects. Entrepreneurs manage economic organizations, while government officials manage administrative organizations;
2. Different management functions. Entrepreneurs are responsible for forecasting, planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling the production and operation activities of the enterprise, while government officials execute administrative management functions;

3. Different specific goals pursued. The primary goal pursued by entrepreneurs is profit maximization, seeking to improve economic efficiency, expand market share, and enhance competitiveness; government officials pursue the sustainable and coordinated development of society as a whole, which includes not only economic development but also political, educational, cultural, technological, democratic, and legal development.

4. Different management methods. Entrepreneurs have a unique set of values and methods for managing enterprises; government officials mainly use administrative means, administrative regulations, and administrative orders to implement management activities and execute management functions.

5. Different generation mechanisms. Entrepreneurs emerge from market competition and are reasonably allocated through market mechanisms; government officials are mostly appointed through administrative means, and their appointments, transfers, and promotions are organizational arrangements.

6. Different quality requirements. As entrepreneurs, they should primarily possess knowledge and experience related to enterprise management, while government officials should mainly have knowledge and experience related to administrative management. Although there are some overlaps between the two, each has its own independent knowledge and experience system, and they cannot be completely equated.

Scene Application#

Some markets for production factors, property rights trading markets, financial markets, and labor markets have been opened to some extent. Companies can seek suitable production factors for their own conditions in the domestic market and reconfigure them to adapt to the unfolding exchange activities of various interest subjects under market economic conditions, communicating and adjusting various economic activities and economic interests. At the same time, to operate a modern enterprise system well, a unified, open, and smoothly functioning market system is also necessary; its existence and development are the preconditions for market competition and spontaneous price adjustment, forming the basis for optimizing the market mechanism's regulatory role.

Principles of Efficiency#

Establishing a modern enterprise system must prioritize efficiency. Undoubtedly, all activities of the corporate entity must achieve the maximum return with the minimum economic input; this is the fundamental goal of enterprise system reform. From a micro perspective, only when the production input returns of the company reach their maximum can the enterprise ensure its survival in the fierce market competition. Improving microeconomic efficiency is a necessary condition for the survival of enterprises, and it is also a sufficient condition for improving and enhancing the national macroeconomic efficiency. Therefore, it is the basic goal of the operational mechanism.

Principles of Effective Resource Allocation#

The rational restructuring of social resources and various production factors is a favorable guarantee for conducting socialized and efficient production and operation, and it is also the foundation for establishing and operating a modern enterprise system. The efficient and rational allocation of resources is a problem that the national macro-industrial policy must address, and it is also a problem that the modern enterprise system must study and pay attention to.

Ultimately, resource allocation is a macroeconomic structural issue, but it is closely related to the immediate interests of companies. If enterprises violate market laws and improperly utilize market resource endowments, blindly expanding the production and operation of long-term products, even if they perform well in the short term, it will be difficult to maintain a long-term undefeated position. Once faced with changes in the macroeconomic environment, enterprises are likely to fall into a state of stagnation.

Goals can be expressed with three A's:

The first is Affordable, which means not spending tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands on sequencing.

The second is Accessible, meaning not creating hunger marketing; children are born every day, cancer patients are discovered every day, and convenient methods must be provided for prevention or treatment. The third is Achievable, meaning the goals must be attainable, useful, and effective, avoiding flashy but useless efforts. Today, genetic technology is driving a significant revolution in medicine, and taking on these responsibilities is our mission. Of course, we also need to continue improving our ability to earn money, and we are willing to contribute more taxes to society and create more jobs. Sociologist Weber believes that the determinants of social stratification are the trinity of wealth, power, and prestige. Since ancient times, people have cared about "seeking an explanation" from above, whether for interests, rights, reputation, or a combination of these. Various "workers" in the company, returning to the essence of humanity, are driven by the intrinsic motivations of wealth, power, and prestige, each with its own emphasis. A reasonable value judgment and incentive mechanism that balances efficiency and fairness is key to forming an orderly, effective, and vibrant organization. A good system ensures that everything has an explanation, gaining employee acceptance, and through institutional rules, provides employees with a sense of hope. Whether they seek prestige, benefits, or power, there should be clear paths to follow, igniting the fire within them and fueling their passion and creativity at work.

The "how" refers to how to implement the aforementioned "ideas" and "statements," mainly referring to the construction and operation of the company's product and service system.

The core of the "how" revolves around user needs and pain points, creating exquisite, efficient, and differentiated products and services. In this way, while satisfying users, it also fulfills employees' sense of achievement.

Things have their priorities, and matters have their beginnings and ends; knowing what comes first and what comes later brings one closer to the path. The "how" must be reasonable and approach the principles and essence of things.

The focus of entrepreneurs' thinking and management should revolve tightly around the three laws of "ideas, statements, and actions." The consistent element is people; enterprise management is also about managing people. The development of people drives the development of the organization. In summary, entrepreneurs should lead people with advanced concepts, drive them with effective mechanisms, and serve them with high-quality products.

From the perspectives of cost and capital, resources, technology, and products, understanding the enterprise's material foundation is crucial.

This is the foundational environment for enterprise operation: the physical world.

In this world, entrepreneurs are the creators. Everything has a spirit; products reflect human character.

Ultimately, entrepreneurs must let their products speak for themselves; only by painstakingly creating good products can they gain the favor of the market and customers.

Creating good products is the trait and duty of excellent entrepreneurs. According to Marx's theoretical framework, the production process of an enterprise is essentially the process of laborers using tools to transform labor objects. Among this, laborers are the most critical. Without the initiative of laborers, production cannot be discussed. From the perspective of the enterprise 主体，besides entrepreneurs and employees, there are also investors and consumers. In the relationships among employees, customers, and shareholders, different enterprises have different emphases. For a long time, Wall Street has favored shareholder interests, Huawei has always emphasized "customer-centricity," and Kazuo Inamori summarized that Kyocera's existence is for the material and spiritual happiness of all employees. Regardless, inspiring the poetic, aesthetic, and noble aspects of labor, and activating the spiritual and meaningful values of products, is a compulsory course for enterprises.

Key Points:

1. The most important ability of a product manager is the ability to define, which is essentially an insight into the market, leading to a positioning ability.

2. Product managers have five tasks (three definitions and two focuses): defining the market, defining opportunities, defining product forms, focusing on customer experience, and focusing on customer mindset.

3. The difference between products and goods: those that provide use value are called products, while those that provide transaction value are called goods. The larger the scale of commodity transactions and the faster the transaction frequency, the higher the value of the commodity, or its valuation.

4. From products to goods, attention must be paid to pricing, marketing, and operations, and channels must be established.

5. When technology is scarce, it becomes a competitive advantage; when technology is not scarce, it becomes just a workload.

In the early days of the internet, search companies quickly crawled information and web pages from the internet using crawlers. Web pages and information are considered assets for search companies; they have hundreds of billions of pages in their databases, which are called assets.

If someone today creates a search engine with excellent crawling technology and indexing technology, they will find that there is nothing left to crawl. So, this is not a matter of technological superiority but rather an issue of assets.

Ultimately, competition is a competition between assets, a competition of asset scale, and a competition of asset quality. The brand war also has some strategies, which can be fought through positioning. Apple's battle against IBM was a classic case, demonstrating how a small brand can take on a large brand. Jobs positioned IBM as a large, bloated, and outdated entity, while he positioned Apple as a trendsetter and leader. Today, we continuously see new brands succeed; the initial design of the business model may be more critical. Brands ultimately bring incremental value; if successful, you hope to achieve a higher premium through branding.

• When technology is scarce, it is a competitive advantage; when technology is not scarce, it is just a workload.

• Finally, let's talk about technology. When technology is scarce, it becomes a competitive advantage; when technology is not scarce, it is just a workload. At this point, there is no need to discuss technological competitiveness, as it no longer exists.

Customer Cases#

"User growth" revolves around enabling users to utilize core product functions, rather than simply acquiring new users and activating existing ones. Even if many users are attracted through channel distribution or user subsidies, if their behavior only stops at downloading and registering the app without further visits, such efforts cannot be considered genuine "user growth." In other words, this kind of "user growth" work is ineffective.

Instead of overly emphasizing user acquisition, it is more important to focus on whether users have generated HVA (High Value Action) and whether user LTV (Lifetime Value) is healthy. This evaluation standard actually raises higher requirements for "user growth" efforts. The reason is that the internet has entered a stage of a saturated market, where traffic is becoming increasingly expensive. Relying on large-scale advertising, buying traffic, and CPM/CPT methods leads to higher costs and makes it difficult to accurately evaluate effectiveness. Blindly buying traffic can disrupt the product's lifecycle.

How to carry out "user growth" work?

The complete path for advancing "user growth" consists of goals, projects, organizational guarantees, long-term goals, and reviews, including:

1. Determine what the phased growth goals are based on the company strategy.

2. Combine industry characteristics and think deeply, working backward from the goals to realize the path and corresponding growth projects.

3. Consider organizational guarantees based on projects, forming closed-loop teams or tightly coupled FT that break down departmental walls.

4. Balance long-term growth goals, thinking ahead about how to cross the growth curve and start the second curve of user growth.

5. Assuming that individual growth projects are likely to fail, design and execute specific growth projects.

Phased Goals: The goal of "user growth" is to enhance users' HVA, but depending on the product's lifecycle, HVA may have a gradual process or change. Doing user growth and choosing company strategy is somewhat similar; the biggest challenge is not how to do it but where to prioritize resources. At this time, it is essential to determine the strategic goals of the current business phase. If the strategic goals of the business are unclear, the goals for user growth can only be set as vague indicators like "increasing registered users" or "increasing MAU." My own experience is that if such vague goals are set without evaluating HVA, the biggest problem is resource waste, false prosperity, and obscuring the validation of the product's core functions. The phased goals here are essentially consistent with the "North Star Metric" in growth hacking, such as the number of playlists created on NetEase Cloud Music, the number of rides ordered on ofo, the number of questions/answers on Zhihu, etc.

Defining Growth Projects: What qualifies as a "user growth project"? Points mall, red envelopes, coupons, and events like "xx Friday" or "xx brand day" are typical "user growth projects." The most important aspect of a "user growth project" is "guidance," guiding users' decisions in generating HVA in the direction we expect. In "I Work on User Growth," the author also cites many principles for guiding user psychology, such as evoking strong emotions, default option guidance, triggering loss aversion, and creating cognitive attraction. Many books, such as "Influence," "Thinking, Fast and Slow," and "The Power of Habit," discuss methodologies for influencing brain decision-making.

Creating a "user growth project" requires considering many details, optimizing and guiding each process, and shortening the path to using core functions as much as possible. For example, simply "issuing red envelopes," which sounds like a straightforward project, requires careful consideration of "red envelope amount control strategies," "integration with core functions," "anti-cheating measures," etc. For instance:

• The red envelope strategy must be adjustable, issuing different amounts based on user activity frequency.

• Users may not initially know about the red envelope feature, so a promotional budget is needed.

• After receiving a red envelope, users should be encouraged to share, so a doubling feature for shared red envelopes is necessary.

• Identify KOL users who typically share through data to increase their chances of winning.

The success of growth projects requires collaboration among various personnel, such as growth project managers, product managers, developers, data analysts, marketing/PR/offline teams, etc. If any link in this chain falters, it will lead to the project not achieving the expected results.

A reasonable organizational structure to ensure this: Establish a dedicated project growth team, with support from product, development, operations, marketing, PR, and other teams, excluding BP (Business Partner) support for the user growth team's work. The performance of these BPs is determined by the user growth team leader or primarily based on the opinions of the user growth team, thus forming a growth FT. If a product lacks a dedicated user growth team, many people from different departments may think they are responsible for user growth. If growth does not meet expectations, those claiming to be responsible will not feel accountable, leading to a situation where "everyone claims credit, but when it comes to blame, they pass the buck." Therefore, for a company to excel in user growth, it must have a reasonable growth organizational structure to ensure success.

In summary, "user growth" is advanced under clear goals, relying on various "user growth projects." These projects require suitable personnel to form a user growth team to safeguard their success. "User growth projects" may be effective in the short term but could lose effectiveness in the long term, necessitating the exploration of new growth curves. Ultimately, "user growth projects" do not guarantee 100% success; their effectiveness can vary. At this point, it is necessary to "exchange the redundancy of testing for the certainty of growth."

Product, operations, user growth, data analysis... It seems that the PM industry is becoming more segmented, but in practice, I believe it raises higher requirements for the capability model of every PM. After gaining a deeper understanding of "user growth" work, my biggest takeaway is the ability to better judge and differentiate my current tasks, adopting different thinking styles and action paths when planning core product functions and user growth functions, and better grasping the rhythm of cooperation between core product functions and user growth: user pain points - seeing the big picture from the small, insight and excavation of core product functions - growth function cooperation - driving more users to use.

• The construction of internet business models is based on the ability to quickly accumulate our assets and rapidly expand our user base.

• The fundamental meaning of the existence of relationships lies in the social value brought to each other through interaction, whether emotional value, economic value, power value, or other values; fundamentally, it is based on continuous interaction. "Online social" means that this relationship's interaction can only be achieved through internet media. It is impossible for both parties to always have video live streams, so a significant portion of the interaction is realized through "text messages." So, how do "text message" relationships complete an effective interaction?

• As the party actively sending messages, it is generally based on a certain scenario (such as seeing a beautiful landscape, learning about news, doing something interesting, or thinking of a viewpoint), which triggers their desire to share or express, thus opening the message receiver's dialogue box—editing and sending messages—receiving replies—entering a conversation. In this process, the active party receives effective feedback and fulfills their needs; the receiving party also gains the value of being needed. This is a positive feedback interaction.

• Liking something and creating new art requires sensitivity; however, solving problems must rely on rationality.

• Vitality lies in courage and resilience. Courage is used to break through the constraints of reality, while resilience is used to shatter the illusions of ideals.

Product Competitiveness

The depth of problem-solving + the cost incurred + the efficiency of problem-solving + the experience of the process Two products solving the same problem constitute a competitive relationship;

• 58.com and Ganji.com both solve the problem of users finding local life service information (direct competitors);

• Newspapers and Toutiao both solve the problem of users obtaining news information (substitute competitors);

• WeChat and SMS both solve the problem of users communicating information (substitutes);

What determines the strength of competition between products:

• The target users that the product is positioned for

• The methods of solving problems

• The value concepts advocated by the product

• The target audience of the company's values and corporate culture

1. The target users that the product is positioned for

The scale of the target audience is dynamically static; it remains unchanged within a certain time period, so the demand released by this market is also limited. If two competing products target the same audience, it will significantly increase their competitive intensity. For example, both Xiali and BMW solve the problem of user transportation, but the competitive intensity between BMW and Xiali is relatively weak because their target audiences differ. However, BMW and Audi are in fierce competition because their target audiences overlap significantly.

2. The methods of solving problems

The methods of solving problems largely determine the performance of products; the more similar the methods, the less likely they can coexist. Newspapers satisfy users' needs for news information through printed paper, while Toutiao does this through an app. Different methods of satisfaction provide users with a broader choice space; convenience may lead to newspapers being far less competitive than Toutiao. However, if Yidianzixun and Toutiao satisfy users in the same way, even using similar methods, it increases their competitive intensity because the range of choices for users becomes narrower, ultimately forcing them to choose one over the other. Therefore, when you have Toutiao on your phone, you may still subscribe to newspapers, but it is difficult for Yidianzixun to coexist on your phone (assuming all three satisfy the same demand).

3. The value concepts advocated by the product

The value concepts advocated by the product influence users' sensory and spiritual experiences when using the product; this is what everyone refers to as sentiment. When two products use the same method to solve the same problem for the same users, the value concept may be the last differentiating factor, which might explain why excessive competition has made sentiment so popular.

Products are fundamentally the result of human output; marketing battles make users aware of products. Therefore, we cannot simply summarize and compare but should break down competitiveness in detail and strengthen each aspect. Only in this way can we clearly understand the differences and advantages between our products and competitors, allowing users to naturally recognize the products and related companies during promotion.

The number of people in the Yuque team is far fewer compared to DingTalk documents or Feishu. DingTalk should have one or two thousand people, while Feishu is rumored to have several thousand. Returning to Yuque, we also had this anxiety at the time, but later found that a smaller team size was actually an advantage.

The biggest advantage is that it forces us to make choices and think clearly about product positioning early on. Currently, we have a clear understanding of product positioning; Yuque's core competitiveness lies in its knowledge base, not in online documents. This saves us a lot of manpower. The basic premise of Yuque is to ensure that the document editor is user-friendly while figuring out how to create distinctive competitiveness at the knowledge base level, innovating around this aspect. Yuque becomes more precise in product positioning, and at the same time, we gain more confidence.

Looking at team size through the lens of product positioning is quite interesting. If we seriously examine DingTalk or Feishu, they also have knowledge bases, but if you ask how many team members are genuinely dedicated to developing the knowledge base, you will find that DingTalk has a single-digit number, and Feishu has few as well. In contrast, Yuque has a nearly tenfold overwhelming advantage in terms of investment in the knowledge base. Whether it is DingTalk documents, Feishu documents, or Tencent documents, their positioning is quite broad, which limits their investment in the knowledge base. The reality is that they need to allocate a lot of personnel for Office compatibility, and then they have to create suites to align with Office, consuming 90% of their team. However, Yuque does not have this concern; Office compatibility is not Yuque's feature. For Office compatibility, we only provide preview and import/export features. We found that many users upload Office files to Yuque, and most subsequent actions involve reading. By providing a preview, we allow users to read files online, addressing most of the demand for document online capabilities.

The competitiveness of an enterprise arises from the combination of human resources, with the lower limit being product strength (i.e., the combination of R&D investment and talent) and the upper limit being iterative capability (i.e., meeting human needs and following media trends). Companies possess competitive sources from the lower limit of corporate leadership and talent reserves to the upper limit.

1. Funding aspect: It is necessary to determine how much support can be obtained. The amount of funding will affect the progress of the product; more funding can bring in more resources, while less funding requires careful usage. Although product managers generally do not pay much attention to funding, I still suggest that everyone consider the use and allocation of resources like they are starting their own business.

2. Channel resources: Which sales channels can be utilized for the product? Different sales channels will have different impacts on the product and the entire service system. For example, e-commerce channels and distributor channels differ in sales models, payment cycles, and after-sales services. E-commerce channels require building e-commerce sales personnel to sell one order at a time, and the payment cycle is generally longer. Distributor channels require large customers or teams for channel promotion and management, and these channels usually require payment upon order, resulting in a faster payment cycle.

3. Marketing resources: To gain more user awareness and contact, marketing promotion is an essential step, especially for to-C products. Therefore, planning must also determine how much marketing resource can be invested in the project and through which marketing channels to promote. The product plan should define what type of marketing resources and channels to invest in at what stage.

4. After-sales resources: After a product is sold, it must provide after-sales service to users. The product plan should also clarify when to involve the after-sales team and how the product development team will collaborate with the after-sales team.

5. Scenario method: Assess which needs are essential based on user demand scenarios. This method requires standing in the user's perspective to feel their real needs and purposes, as well as observing what truly valuable needs are from a god's-eye view. This avoids being misled by the superficiality of needs, such as the well-known story of the Ford horse-drawn carriage.

6. Positioning method: This refers to evaluating based on the company's strategic planning, as well as the product's positioning and goals. There are many high-value user needs, some of which align with the company's strategy and product positioning, while others may not align as closely. When evaluating user needs, it is necessary to prioritize those that align with the company's and product's positioning, followed by other high-value needs. For example, if your company and product aim to provide customer acquisition and retention capabilities, then needs related to internal employee management are not a priority.

7. Expert method: The expert method evaluates the value of needs based on the perspectives of industry experts and whether they are worth meeting. The advantage of this method is that if the expert truly understands the users, they can provide valuable advice, such as Steve Jobs. It is important to note that many so-called "experts" actually view problems from their own expert perspective rather than using their knowledge to see things from the user's perspective. Caution is needed with such expert advice, as the value viewpoints they propose often do not truly represent the needs of the majority of users, so it is necessary to avoid being misled by these experts.

8. AB test method: For some needs assessment, the AB test method can be used. This is a comparative evaluation method that judges value based on user feedback comparison results. For example, if the value of two needs or functions is difficult to assess in absolute terms, we can present both needs or functions to users and let them vote with their feet.

Product Positioning The process of clarifying product positioning is essentially a process of constraining and converging the product. By clarifying product positioning, it further specifies which groups the product serves and how to impress users so they can accept the product and become your users.

1. User group positioning: User group positioning refers to selecting a certain type of user or demand group as the target audience for the product through market analysis and other means. Why is user group positioning necessary? This is because each customer group has differences, and no single product or service can meet the needs of all groups. Only when your user positioning is accurate enough can your product or service be more targeted and closer to the core needs of users.

2. Target market capacity: Target market capacity refers to clearly defining the size of the future target group and its market value. Target market capacity is a key factor in user group positioning, and positioning user groups usually chooses those with large market capacities. Of course, a large market capacity will inevitably encounter more competitors, so some products may choose relatively niche user groups. Entering the niche market steadily allows for deep cultivation or gradual advancement into larger markets.

3. Product competitiveness: Product competitiveness is a comprehensive analysis based on user needs and the capabilities of competing products. It refers to the prominent characteristics or capabilities designed for one's own product. Determining product competitiveness is an important task for product managers and a key focus in product planning. Product planning and product requirements must be designed based on product competitiveness, and a clear product competitiveness often becomes an important goal and key milestone in product planning. Porter's Five Forces analysis model is a commonly used model for product competitiveness. This model analyzes product competitiveness based on competitors' competitive capabilities, the ability of potential competitors to enter, the substitutability of substitutes, suppliers' bargaining power, and buyers' bargaining power; we will not elaborate further here.

4. Marketing strategies and pricing: Different product positioning leads to different marketing strategies, sales channels, and product pricing. If it is a niche market, the product pricing is usually higher; thus, the user group in the niche market is small. If the product's profit is too low, it may not sustain the company. Similarly, there are differences in marketing promotion for niche and mass markets; marketing channels for niche markets are usually more vertical, such as communities and social groups where niche users gather. In contrast, marketing for mass markets typically involves more accessible channels, such as elevators, television, and online media.

Positioning What is product positioning? Real estate products possess not only financial product attributes but also consumer product attributes. Based on the content, amount, and frequency of consumption, residents' consumption naturally forms a consumption ladder, referred to as the "consumption ladder theory." Consumption at the hundred-yuan level mainly involves "food," while consumption at the thousand-yuan level mainly involves "clothing." These two categories represent low-cost, high-frequency consumption. Consumption at the hundred-thousand-yuan level mainly involves "cars," while consumption at the million-yuan level mainly involves "houses." These two categories represent high-cost, low-frequency consumption. The above four categories cover the typical consumption of clothing, food, housing, and transportation. Except for a few niche markets, they are basically in a state of oversupply and fierce competition, known as the "red ocean." The ten-thousand-yuan level consumption market includes health care, entertainment, and cultural education, representing medium-cost, medium-frequency consumption.

Let’s take a look at several internet products we are familiar with and the impressions they leave on us.

Why do these products leave us with such impressions? This brings us to product positioning. In Al Ries and Jack Trout's book "Positioning," positioning is described as the effort you put into the minds of potential customers, essentially placing the product in the minds of future potential customers.

This means that the reason we associate these products with certain characteristics is that these products have long penetrated our perceptions. Moreover, it is crucial that once this perception is formed, it is difficult to change. Let’s look at a few examples:

• Coca-Cola: Most of us know it as a cola brand, but the other beverages produced by Coca-Cola (in fact, there are many, such as Fanta and Sprite) are difficult for us to associate with Coca-Cola. Therefore, the competitiveness of Coca-Cola's other sub-brands is far less than that of the cola category.

• Pinduoduo: Pinduoduo leaves us with the impression of low quality and low price. Although Pinduoduo has been working on branding in recent years, this impression is difficult to erase in a short time.

• Meituan: A few years ago, Meituan invested heavily in takeout services, leading people to directly associate Meituan with takeout, while in fact, Meituan initially focused on group buying and currently offers many life services. Recently, Meituan has also promoted a new positioning as a "lifestyle assistant," with considerable advertising, but many people still equate Meituan with takeout.

Thus, we see that once product positioning casts a solid impression in customers' minds, it enhances customers' associative thinking during decision-making, leading them to think more about our products. However, the downside is that this mindset is difficult to change, requiring significant costs to cultivate new brand impressions, and it may not even succeed.

Excellent examples of brand positioning

Having discussed the definition and methods of product positioning, let’s share a few classic product positioning cases. The first is Procter & Gamble. Procter & Gamble was the first company to invent the role of "product manager," and its product positioning is quite distinctive. Unlike many companies, Procter & Gamble does not brand itself as a company but has developed many independent brands. Moreover, most sub-brands are quite successful, thanks to the positioning advantages of these sub-brands. Taking shampoo as an example, let’s look at the impressions Procter & Gamble's shampoo brands leave on us.

• Rejoice: Makes hair smoother.

• Head & Shoulders: Excellent anti-dandruff effect.

• Pantene: Healthy hair care.

• Shiseido: Hair care and styling.

Each product has similar basic functions, but due to different positioning, products within the same category do not compete much, instead occupying different segments of the market. This is Procter & Gamble's independent brand positioning strategy.

Conclusion

Product positioning is something that must be done from the outset, having a profound impact on the development of the product. As product managers, when designing a product, we need to consider not only the needs, functions, and interaction design but also how to deepen users' impressions through our product design, occupying the top position in users' minds within the same category. This is why we say we need to design the "delight points" of the product; through "delight points," we can connect with users' emotions, evoke their flow state, and strengthen the product's presence in users' minds.

Brand value is the soul of an enterprise. Building a good brand takes years, while a light asset model can make a company widely known in a short time. However, brand awareness does not necessarily mean that the product has high brand value.

The company's vision and goals, combined with personal career paths, form a shared vision, inspiring morale through this spiritual value system.

This stimulates a sense of belonging to the organization and a desire to contribute to organizational goals, motivating members to seek innovative opportunities for the enterprise's development. The belief system addresses the organizational barrier of "no clear organizational goals, and people do not know how to contribute to the enterprise," helping further motivate the realization of the company's strategic plans and emergency strategies.

The belief system can be used in the board of directors to disseminate the core values and mission of the enterprise among board members and management,

allowing board members and management to find clear goals to strive for while establishing a common foundation for strategic understanding.

When the enterprise develops smoothly without issues, the belief system can motivate board members and management to seek new business models and pathways to create greater value.

When a crisis occurs in the enterprise, the belief system can assist board members and management in analyzing the root causes of problems and finding solutions. Thus, the belief system can effectively promote the realization of the company's established strategies and emergency strategies.