Taobao Changing Faces: Jack Ma Strikes Back

This is a tense war. Several days, all squeezed into a public relations Taobao less than 10 square meters room on the go. They not only major network to monitor the dynamic forum, and had to keep dealing with a large number of telephone, fax and e-mail, which are sent to media across the country documents, statements. Since early September Taobao shielding Baidu search two sides since the escalation of friction, you come to me to this Chamber.

Alibaba Group, the last confrontation with the fierce competition or in 2006, after the C2C market grips with Tencent, Taobao is not only forced to attempt to stop the charges, a large number of net users have also been stolen Tencent pat. Later, Ma lamented: "Tencent attack is always quiet."

Baidu is a barely veiled attack. Back in October 2007, Robin Li said in Hong Kong into the C2C. Today, Baidu's C2C business launching soon.

With Tencent, Baidu's competition history, the Alibaba Group has not prevail. This time, Ma suddenly quite unashamedly shielding Baidu, hidden under the noisy war of words, in fact quietly Taobao change of face. Ma Initiative "winter", and Alibaba Group, the largest impact on B2B business by the winter and paypal is limited by policy uncertainty, Yahoo word of mouth network node is still in the early incubation, the only contrarian Ma Taobao able to take the heavy expansion and integration of resources .

Ma's counterattack

China's major Internet companies service the number of users billions of dollars, only Alibaba hundreds of thousands of business owners rely on service life. Therefore, Tencent, Baidu and other competitors in the field of electronic commerce to expand big time, Alibaba is only limited by the user scale swallow until Taobao has 10 million users and hundreds of millions of product information, Ma had just have the lung power to fight back.

Taobao, but Ma was originally used to stop the infiltration of eBay to Alibaba B2B pieces. Founded in 2003, he Taobao had admitted that "in order to protect Alibaba's B2B, I decided to enter the C2C." Beat eBay, the Ma Taobao position on a new description: "The family in Alibaba, Alibaba.com is the big brother, hard breadwinner; Taobao is the younger sister, lively personality, you can buy flowers holding big brother to the skirt, Hong Tousheng, now the junior high school in the future to read Fudan University. "

Just 5 years, Taobao has become the most important one hand Ma weapon. To the end of June 2008, Taobao already has 72 million registered users, including 1.3 million sellers, nearly 20 million active users a day, every day new members up to 10 million in Taobao site traffic among the five domestic name. China's online shopping market grew by more than 5 years of 100%.

Taobao potential is not limited. As of the end of June 2008, the number of domestic Internet users reached 6329 million shoppers, 25% of the total percentage of Internet users. China Internet Network Information Center reports that the first half of 2008, Taobao, the total online shopping market share of 56.3% in the C2C market share is a staggering 83.9%.

September 12, Zhang Yi-Fen was ordered to set up Taobao search business, which is China's Alibaba to give up after Yahoo's search business, search for another attack. Yi-Fen Chang from Taiwan Taobao previously responsible for advertising sales center vice president, also is the Yahoo search for "big sister."

In 2005, Ma has tried to seize the Yahoo search engine market in China, the result is losing, not only in the search market, Yahoo China had also lost the advantage of a good portal. This time, Zhang Yi-fen on Taobao search platform with great satisfaction, "I used to do search engine is estimated that commercial traffic is probably the total flow rate of 1 / 4 to 1 / 3, the other not to make money traffic. And Taobao flow rate of 100% of commercial traffic, and other search engines compared to the profit potential, not an order of magnitude. "

Meanwhile, Ma Ali Group's website advertising the business alliance, "Ali Mama" into Taobao. By Ali Mama, Taobao sellers of advertising, like Google AdSense ads can be the same union, pushed other sites outside Taobao. Taobao is sitting on millions of buyers search forward and attack, retreat to return to the whole network search market sooner or later. At a time when Ma is also considering expanding the community service Taobao, which is home to rival Tencent. To this end, Jack Ma, chairman Shi Yuzhu once the network compete for orders with giant social networking site 51.com.

Almost overnight, a full Diversification potential Taobao ready to come out. "2 billion yuan to be spent over the next five years, and must invest in technology, innovation, talent introduction, ecological chain buildup." In the July 5, the fifth anniversary celebration Taobao, Taobao Ma announced the additional investment. Ma said that Taobao want to become "the largest online e-commerce service provider."

"To provide basic services of e-commerce, such as product categories, system management, transaction management, payment management, user management, etc., so that these businesses are doing with your platform Ziji things." Taobao president Lu Fu Peng, Li Jie Ma of such platform of the new strategy.

Upgrade

Alibaba Group in-house, then Taobao is the most recognized the growth potential of stocks, the group's resources are flowing Taobao platform. Early September, he went into her mother for Ali Taobao and a message to all employees in the first reference to "big Taobao" strategy, in his view, would "cover 400,000 small and medium sites and 3.0 billion of network traffic per day and 80 million Internet users, "Ali mother into Taobao, Taobao is the big first step towards implementation of the strategy.

Ma also said Taobao charges in the case has not yet started in August has been a balanced budget, its revenue mainly from advertising. In fact, Ma announced before the big strategic Taobao, Taobao, a series of new business has quietly launched a year ago.

Taobao to achieve a balanced budget for advertising revenue, mainly from the similar to Google Adwords the "Taobao through train" service. Responsible for the business, Chang Yi-fen said, "Taobao through train" to promote the past six months, Taobao's nearly 100 million seller in 2% to 3% tried, with Google's keyword advertising, like buying Taobao train the sellers ads position will appear in search results on the right position.

Now, in Silicon Valley has a more than 30 technical team is designed for the Taobao platform and search engine marketing. "The biggest story going to happen, and now I use the technology is 1.0, going into the 2.0 era." Zhang Yi-Fen mock mystery. In her eyes, Taobao is not a C2C e-commerce platform, which is more like a full media platform advertising opportunities.

In fact, long Taobao C2C is no longer a single trading platform. In April 2008, Taobao, Taobao Mall opened, the introduction of brands to begin operating B2C business, Li Ning, Philips, Dell and other brands have settled in Taobao Mall. However, Taobao's B2C and Dangdang not the same, only for the business to provide Taobao trading platform itself is not involved in warehousing, logistics, and then press the different kinds of brand goods, Taobao requested space in the mall business annual minimum flow of 300 million to 7 million yuan, Taobao 3-7% according to the ratio of extraction costs.

Taobao Mall has now entered the brand is not much, because most of these enterprises in the country has established a relatively complete multi-channel system, into the existence of Taobao Learning Network marketing is not only practical problem, more importantly, will be hard earned on the line channel formation price shock. Therefore, the current service Taobao Mall is the second and third line the main users of the brand, not the strength of these brands in the country laying channels can Taobao products spread across the country, and these businesses are also Taobao an important source of search advertising.

Not long ago, news broke Taobao interested in acquiring the largest online toy City Music Amoy network to enrich Taobao B2C business.

By the end of August, Taobao announced the opening up API (application programming interface), welcomed the various service providers around Taobao development of various application software, a move immediately attracted to include more than 90 companies, including Microsoft. However, Taobao's open and not only to attract third-party service providers that simple.

A meeting in early September, the road Peng met the company's COO Li Ning Guo Jianxin, Li Ning is very optimistic about e-commerce, not only in Taobao and other online shop set up storefronts, while also selling products on its Web site. At the meeting, Jian-Xin Guo Peng confided to the way their anguish, as sales of Li Ning's network spread over different sites and different functions, have great difficulties in management. "Sell not sell goods in the end? How much? Inventory How?" Guo Jianxin not timely informed of the detailed information, he can not even see in a report on Li Ning, the overall analysis and comparison of e-commerce.

Guo Jian is the way of new trouble trying to seize new opportunities Peng. In the road view, Taobao Open Platform, and not just open the software service providers, but also on the heavyweights, and even competitors open. In the U.S., retail giant Target when entering e-commerce trading platform is not built, but chose Amazon's technology infrastructure, the management, trading, payment, assessment, recommendation is to be completed through Amazon.

"For these companies, Li Ning, without such a large infrastructure investment, do not have to develop this environment, maintaining and updating it. User management, transaction management and help achieve the underlying from the Amoy Bora, Powered by TaoBao.com. As you would like to have their own official website, or choose to use Taobao shop elsewhere as you will. I offer highway vehicles, as you pretend to be cargo is your business, where are you willing to do. "Lu Peng explained the case.

Lu Peng attract businessmen Taobao killer is now owned by large consumer behavior data. Today, Taobao day of the data generated by user behavior up to 500G, "such as Taobao you want to open a shop selling glass, for example, you spend 10 dollars, I'll tell you what cup best-selling, what price the most appropriate This is the real place of the user transaction data. "Lu Peng said Taobao user data through research to provide the most professional services to businesses. Present, including Procter & Gamble and other large consumer goods companies to buy Taobao research data.

2.0 Taobao become more plasticity. "Taobao is not in the future to deal with closing costs? Not. Is not closing shop business costs? It may not. Now has a month by advertising flat, advertising alone is not on the list? It may not. This is also an exploration. "Lu Peng told reporters.

All the buyers favor

Taobao's "power" derives from the growth in the number of users, in order to maintain and strengthen this foundation, Taobao's work focus is also inclined to the buyer.

In March 2008 in one night, Taobao, senior director of product development and chief architect of Wang Wenbin, and more than 10 technical staff members are nervously waiting in the office. This night will be the decision "Thousand Island Lake," the key to success of the scheme. "Thousand Island Lake" program is compared Taobao transaction process the entire network for large-scale transformation of the first phase, the buyer had to purchase an Taobao need for cumbersome goods 8 steps in the middle also need to pay the treasure out of the page. Now is different, Wang Wenbin, and technical team prepared six months, plans to shed half of these steps.

Fortunately, the smooth completion of Thousand Island Lake. To August, the third phase of the process of simplification has also announced the successful refund. Wang Wenbin faced with tremendous pressure, two sets of old and new systems are not compatible, once the failure of reform, Taobao will collapse the entire payment system, which he described as "like driving a car for the highway wheels, can not stop."

Alleys are doing all this is to make Taobao buyers have a better user experience. Although Taobao model for the future with uncertainty, but Ma know, the cornerstone of every opportunity to come from the surge in the number of users, to attract and retain more users is the only clear mandate Taobao.

In fact, the first for a long period of time, Taobao's services around the sellers have to implement free policy, the church seller online sales, for the seller to buy Baidu keyword advertising. At that time, Taobao's transaction between the seller and even mainly.

In the United States, Lu Peng is always interesting to hear a case, "to seize the girl, the boys will come." Rare in the networks business when Taobao eyes of the "girls" are the seller, and now the focus of Taobao tilt to the buyer. "Now this girl is the buyer, the buyer Taobao seven to eight million a day, there are 20 million active, such a large buyer groups, consumer purpose is very clear, that is to buy things, then what business do not want to do here business? "Road Peng said," If Taobao important decision to do it the first consideration is the experience of the buyer, the buyer is the most important. "

Taobao's tilt to the buyers is reflected in all aspects of a series of consumer protection, held a variety of promotions, integral activity. In the past, the community is mainly Taobao sellers exchange place, now began to increase Taobao community building and consumer input.

A huge number of buyers for the Ma's strategy of providing large Taobao foundation, but at the same time, let the flow of raging from the old technology platform Taobao overwhelmed. Lu Peng of the most important task is to redesign the underlying structure of Taobao, that this set of services in the past for hundreds of thousands or even millions of millions to meet the needs of users. From the end of last year, Taobao has conducted a series of back-transformation, only the purchase of the server 1, Taobao would increase from less than 8,000 units to 20,000 units. The small two Taobao (Taobao employees unified call) in the past has been one on one, hands-on services used will also be replaced by computers. "Technology and product-driven, this is the future direction of Taobao. Taobao is not operating based company, our operations have been unable to bear such a small amount of two buyers and sellers increase, Taobao to have to face this challenge the time. "Zhang Yi-fen said.

Taobao's executives are more willing to talk about the technical future of Taobao. In the past, mainstream Chinese Internet company, Alibaba Group's technology is not prominent. Technical director, Dr. Lu Peng, a computer background with the United States had built a large-scale projects at Oracle, he was from Silicon Valley, many multinational companies hired technical personnel, he managed the technical team is at an annual rate of more than 100% increase.

Use Taobao search engine, different users arrive at the search results are not, this is Taobao is the implementation of personalized search service, because Taobao through technology can record the registered user's preferences, habits, and browsing history, and then integrated this information to select the search results. The next, each with a different user logs on Taobao, the saw is completely different page.

Taobao is also an open API with the introduction of third-party service Taobao power users, Lu Peng hope that these third-party power to change the "thousands of people side" of the status quo.

Taobao challenge

Fifth in the 20 September Taobao "symposium" on the Feng Qingyang (Ma) led to all the other senior staff Taobao displayed inverted. Inverted World is a new employee into each required course Taobao, can not learn well the inverted within 3 months, will not be able to enter Taobao company.

In the symposium on Taobao nearly 1,400 employees are distributed to the school pointing to the sky, form a large easy to tang 12 "gang", inverted culture, martial arts culture, and Alibaba's "six-pulse Sword" culture, all Ma for the Taobao carefully crafted corporate culture, Ma has even do this with pride, "the formation of such a time when the whole culture, it is hard to be won over. wages higher, he will run back two days."

The rapid expansion of personnel, staff began to feel old Taobao lot of new colleagues into the Taobao difficult to understand and unique corporate culture. "It's there inside diluted culture issue is bigger challenge." Chai, senior manager of Taobao, said Dong.

Not only difficult to integrate into the new issue of the original culture, Taobao also face the problem of corporate culture transformation. With the deepening dependence on the technology, personnel Taobao technology sector growth is much higher than other sectors. According to Lu Peng Introduction, Taobao current technical staff account for Taobao's 20% of total employees, Lu Peng's plan is 40%.

Taobao had been carried on the style of the Alibaba Group. Taobao internal, strong operations, public relations and publicity is the usual advantages of technology sector is not prominent engineer culture. A veteran Internet search technology company CEO did not believe Taobao tilt to the technology, he thought Yahoo's technology to China after Ma's management team is not successful on Alibaba CTO Wu Jiong other search personnel had left the culture of the reasons for the collision. "Technical personnel mouth about the search and others say the search is not is one thing, both difficult to understand each other." He said it was a great challenge.







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