Baixing.com is the first classified information website in China. Simply put, it is the online version of the free information column that everyone often sees. Currently, its monthly traffic has exceeded 1 billion, and it has become one of the three major classified information websites in China. Wang Jianshuo, CEO of Baixing.com, will share his business philosophy.
Localized classified information website
Wang Jianshuo graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and worked at Microsoft. In 2005, he joined eBay Keqiji, which is now Baixing.com. He transformed from a foreign company manager to an entrepreneur and began to participate in the growth and transformation of Baixing.com.
Keqiji was established on March 1, 2005. It is the first classified information website in China and is also the branch of ebay*ECG Group in China. Its business is the online version of the free information columns we often see in our daily lives, which are called online classified ads abroad. In June 2008, it was officially renamed "Baixing.com" - a name that is easier to remember and more localized. Wang Jianshuo said: "Our users are ordinary people, which is also the origin of the name of Baixing.com." Since its establishment, Baixing.com has developed from a few people posting information every day to hundreds of thousands of people posting information every day and millions of people posting information every day. A very large website where people look for information. Through this platform, various life needs are connected, allowing people to enjoy the convenience brought by the Internet. At present, the monthly traffic of Baixing.com has exceeded 1 billion, and it is one of the three major classified information websites in China.
Unique business philosophy
It is reported that since 2005, Sina, Sohu, NetEase, Tencent, Microsoft, and Google have launched their own classified channels. By December 2006, the number of classified information websites in China reached a record high of 2,000. However, after the recession in 2007 and 2008, many websites were closed down. Currently, there are less than 20 classified information websites still operating in China, and only three are left in the first echelon.
The reporter learned through interviews that the reason why Baixing.com has been able to do well and reach today is mainly due to three aspects: First, the sharing of experience stemming from globalization. Baixing.com meets with ECG members from various countries around the world every year to share experiences and lessons learned in the development process. The second is the light company concept with core competitiveness. While competitors have been expanding their staff size, Baixing.com has always insisted on outperforming more with excellence and has maintained a highly efficient elite team of more than 20 people. Third, there is financial guarantee. In addition to its own circulating funds, Baixing.com is also supported by eBay and global Internet investors Mayfield and Benchmark.
In addition, there are three major differences between Baixing.com and other similar websites. Baixing.com has always insisted on providing classified information services. While competitors are turning to group buying, life service yellow pages, community and other businesses, Baixing.com has been focusing on classified information services. Wang Jianshuo said: "Entrepreneurs should not make too many changes in what they want to do."
At the same time, Baixing.com insists on putting user experience first in its design products. It is reported that Baixing.com is considered by the industry to be the simplest and easiest-to-use classified information website. For example, on Baixingwang, users can post information without registering. There was a time when, in order to improve user experience, the homepage of Baixing.com did not have any pictures except for the prescribed picture of the Shanghai Internet Police, and even the logo was plain text. Wang Jianshuo said humorously: "The result of this 'perversion' is that the Internet speed increased by 13% and the number of web page visits increased by 11%."
Another distinctive feature of Baixing.com is that it does not have a sales team. The reporter learned that Baixing.com has always adhered to the concept of returning sales costs to users. Wang Jianshuo believes that when a company establishes a sales team, although the total revenue will increase, the costs will definitely increase, and in the end, they will be passed on to users.
Continuous self-examination of operating model
From the beginning of 2005 to the middle of 2006, it was the first stage of the development of Yuanke Qiji. Considering that offline methods have low technical requirements for users, during this period, Keqiji began to stir up the market by synchronizing "online" and "offline".
But the next year, when hundreds of professional websites and some established Internet companies quickly entered the market, Wang Jianshuo realized that there were enough "educators" in the market, and began to reflect inwardly on "saving energy, strategy is king" and refocused on On the Internet as the carrier.
In its third stage of development, Baixing.com no longer focuses on occupying the Chinese market, but instead conducts in-depth analysis and reflection on the characteristics of the basic business of the American model it copies. Through summary, Wang Jianshuo and his team discovered and solved two core problems: The first is the identification of self-identity, which clarified that online classified advertising is a pure C2C business model different from the Taobao model B2C that Chinese users are familiar with. Baixing.com has locked the keywords "person-to-person" and "meet-to-person transactions" and strictly controlled and deleted business user information around the C2C business concept from product design to content review.
The second core issue is the company's ultimate goal, which determines the operation route of Baixing.com. According to Wang Jianshuo, in 2008 and 2009, Baixing.com had established a "strong" sales team. Although it brought performance, he decided to cancel it six months later and clarified the concept of returning sales costs to users.