"Mr. Dai, it's bad! The sales of our products have plummeted. The agents are urging us, saying that a product that is almost identical to ours suddenly appeared on the market, but the price is 30% lower than ours!" The sales manager's anxious voice came from the other end of the phone, like a thunderclap exploding in Dai Shiya's ears.
Lin Feng's words were interrupted. He frowned slightly, a little unhappy, but when he saw Dai Shiya's pale face, he realized the seriousness of the matter and did not say anything to interrupt her.
Dai Shiya took a deep breath, tried to calm herself down, quickly ended the call with the sales manager, and then immediately called the marketing department to ask them to find out the situation of the low-priced competing products as soon as possible.
In less than an hour, the marketing department's investigation results came out. Just as the sales manager said, there was indeed a product on the market that was very similar to theirs, and the product was produced by their competitor, the Zhou Group.
"Mr. Zhou is going to kill us all!" Dai Shiya slammed the documents in her hand on the table, her anger almost swallowing her.
"It seems that the trouble you are facing is more difficult than I thought." Lin Feng, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke. He pushed his glasses and a gleam of light flashed across the lenses. "How do you want to deal with it?"
"What else can we do? Start a price war with them! Don't they want to seize the market with low prices? I will fight you to the end!" Dai Shiya said while gritting her teeth, her tone full of determination.
However, her idea was strongly opposed by other family members.
"Nonsense! If we start a price war with them, we will only lose more!"
"That's right! Zhou Group is very wealthy, how can we compete with them on price?"
"Shi Ya, you are still too young and too impulsive! I think this matter is still..."
Facing the doubts and opposition from her family members, Dai Shiya felt extremely powerless and frustrated. She knew that what they said made sense, but could she just watch President Zhou hand over the market they had worked so hard to build?
At this moment, Wei Qing, who had been silent all the time, suddenly spoke: "Shiya, don't worry, maybe we can change our thinking..." She walked to Dai Shiya and whispered a few words. Dai Shiya's face gradually changed from anxious to thoughtful...
"But..." Dai Shiya wanted to say something, but was stopped by Wei Qing's eyes.
"Don't rush to make a decision," Wei Qing turned to look at the family members and said firmly, "We still have time." Wei Qing's voice was not loud, but it was like a tranquilizer, gradually quieting down the originally restless meeting room. Everyone looked at her curiously, waiting for her "clever plan".
"Mr. Zhou's price war this time was indeed brilliant, but it is not flawless." Wei Qing walked to the center of the room and looked around at everyone. "Instead of competing with him on price, why not find another way and start with product differentiation."
"Product differentiation?" Dai Shiya muttered to herself, and a flash of inspiration came to her mind. "You mean, upgrading the product?"
"That's right!" Wei Qing snapped her fingers. "We can make technological innovations for existing products, add some features that Zhou Group doesn't have, or improve the user experience of the products. In this way, even if our prices are low, consumers will choose us because of the advantages of our products."
After hearing Wei Qing's suggestion, everyone in the family nodded in agreement.
"But," Dai Shiya frowned, "research and development takes time, and right now our market share is still decreasing. By the time new products are developed, I'm afraid the market will have already been taken over by President Zhou."
"Time is indeed our biggest enemy," Wei Qing also understood the urgency of the matter, "so the top priority is to try to stabilize the existing market share and buy time for the development of new products."
"I'll go talk to the dealers and see if I can keep them stable." Dai Shiya made a prompt decision.
However, the reality was even more cruel than Dai Shiya had imagined. She went to all the cooperating dealers, but found that most of them had signed exclusive agency agreements with Zhou Group and could no longer sell their products.
"Mr. Dai, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that the conditions offered by Mr. Zhou are too generous, and we have no choice!" An old dealer who has cooperated with the Dai family for many years explained helplessly.
Dai Shiya's heart was filled with bitterness. She knew that it was not the dealers' fault. The business world was like a battlefield and everyone wanted to maximize their profits. However, she was unwilling to give up the market she had worked so hard for.
After returning to the company, Dai Shiya told Wei Qing about her experience of hitting a wall.
"It seems that traditional sales channels are no longer feasible..." Wei Qing pondered for a moment, "Shi Ya, it's time to open up a new battlefield!"
"New battlefield?" Dai Shiya looked at Wei Qing in confusion.
Wei Qing walked to the computer, opened a web page, pointed at the dazzling array of products on it and said, "Internet!"
"You mean, online sales?" Dai Shiya instantly understood what Wei Qing meant.
"That's right! The online platform is not restricted by geographical location, has a huge user base, and has relatively low costs. It is currently the most suitable sales channel for us." Wei Qing's eyes flashed with confidence.
"But we know nothing about online operations, and..." Dai Shiya hesitated to speak. She still had many concerns, such as technology, promotion, logistics and so on.
"Don't worry," Wei Qing patted Dai Shiya on the shoulder, "Everything is difficult at the beginning, but as long as we are willing to learn and work hard, we will be able to overcome difficulties and open up a new situation!"
"Okay!" Dai Shiya was infected by Wei Qing's enthusiasm, and her eyes became firm, "Let's work hard together!"
However, what they don't know is that even greater challenges are waiting for them...
"Ding Dong!" A message popped up on the computer screen... Dai Shiya clicked on the message and her face turned pale instantly.
"What's wrong?" Wei Qing noticed something was wrong with Dai Shiya, and moved closer to take a look. On the screen was an article with a sensational title: "Shocking! A certain brand of product has quality issues, and consumers have severe allergic reactions after using it!"
The picture accompanying the article is a photo of a woman with a red and swollen face. Although no names are mentioned, the details of the product description in the article are highly similar to those of Dai Shiya Company.
"It's Mr. Zhou again!" Wei Qing saw through the other party's trick at a glance and said angrily, "How despicable and shameless!"
This malicious smear article quickly spread on the Internet, and consumers who were already wavering due to the price war began to doubt and resist Dai Shiya's products. The sales of the online store plummeted, and there were even a large number of returns and refunds.
"What should we do? If this continues, the brand image we have worked so hard to build will be ruined!" Dai Shiya was extremely anxious. She knew that once negative news on the Internet spread, it would be difficult to control.
"We can't just sit there and wait for death!" Wei Qing made a prompt decision, "We must take immediate measures to clarify the facts and recover the losses!"
A network public relations war has thus begun.
Dai Shiya and Wei Qing contacted major online platforms to demand the removal of false reports, while also issuing an official statement to clarify the facts and publishing product test reports to prove their safety.
However, Mr. Zhou had already prepared for this. He hired a large number of online trolls to spread all kinds of rumors on the Internet and discredit Dai Shiya's company and products. For a time, the Internet was filled with all kinds of information that was difficult to distinguish between true and false, making consumers even more confused and panicked.
"Damn it! He's going to completely destroy us!" Dai Shiya was shaking with anger as she read the comments online.
"Shiya, calm down!" Wei Qing held Dai Shiya's shoulder, "We can't lose our composure. We must find a way to fight back!"
"Fight back?" Dai Shiya smiled bitterly, "What else can we do now?"
"Of course!" Wei Qing's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, "Mr. Zhou doesn't care most about his conscience, but to protect his own reputation and interests. Let's start from here..."
Wei Qing leaned close to Dai Shiya's ear and whispered her plan. After Dai Shiya heard it, her eyes gradually became firm...
"Okay, let's do it!"
Dai Shiya knew that this was a war without the smoke of gunpowder, and also a battle about dignity and future. She had nowhere to retreat and could only try her best to win the final victory.
Late at night, the lights in Dai Shiya's office were still on...
Dai Shiya took a deep breath and suppressed the anger and powerlessness in her heart. She knew that it would be useless to indulge in emotions blindly, and the most important thing now was to find a way to deal with it.
"Mr. Zhou's products are natural and additive-free, and their prices are much higher than ours, but are they really as perfect as he advertises?" Wei Qing's reminder made Dai Shiya's heart move.
"You mean..." Dai Shiya had a guilty conscience and wanted to protect her reputation and interests. "We can find a professional testing agency to test his products. If we can find some problems..." Wei Qing didn't say anything else, but the meaning was self-evident.
"I understand!" Dai Shiya's eyes were firm, "I'll go find someone right away!"
At the same time, Dai Shiya also understood that simply exposing the opponent's flaws would not completely solve the problem. In the long run, she must find the differentiated advantages of her products to remain invincible in the fierce market competition.
"The advantage of our products lies in their cost-effectiveness, but we need to further strengthen product functions and research and development." Dai Shiya analyzed the current situation, "I have contacted several material suppliers, hoping to find better quality raw materials."
However, it was not easy to find new suppliers of raw materials. Large companies looked down on her "small workshop", and small companies could not meet her needs.
Just when Dai Shiya was at a loss, her conscience was awakened and she had to protect her reputation and interests. Suddenly, her cell phone rang.
"Hello, who is this?"
"Hello, Mr. Dai. I heard that you are looking for a new supplier of raw materials?" The voice on the other end of the phone sounded a little strange, but the tone was very confident. "Maybe I can help you."
Dai Shiya's heart moved, and she asked, "You are..."