What is the biggest discount you have ever seen in a supermarket? 5% off the entire bill? A rebate of 5 yuan for every 50 yuan spent, with a maximum of 15 yuan?
Now, the marketing department staff of Leya are discussing this issue: in order to cope with the opening of Yongzheng, how much promotion do they need to strike the other party?
"Yongzheng's opening discounts are always between 95% and 98%." "This time it should be about the same," said a supervisor.
Another manager said: "However, we have to admit that Yongzheng's shopping environment and service quality are better than ours. Our store has been open for seven or eight years, while theirs is a new store with good decoration. Moreover, they have done a good job in improving the quality of their salespersons."
"We need to focus on the store display, cleanliness, and the quality of the sales staff in the near future." "They're doing promotions, so we'll do promotions too," "The customers around here are used to buying from us, I don't believe they can steal all our customers," someone said.
...
Everyone discussed it at length, and Mu Hanxia recorded it carefully and quickly. She used to look up to them from below, but now that she was among them, she realized that these cadres of Leya were all quite pragmatic and experienced. Before long, they had discussed many practical and feasible measures: strengthen the requirements for the cleanliness and beauty of the supermarket, conduct a high-intensity professional training for the salespersons, and recently focus on the quality of fresh products. Some products that were usually tolerated will not be allowed on the shelves from tomorrow...
She occasionally looked up and saw that Meng Gang was also listening quietly. He would make a decision on the spot for some opinions; for others, he would not comment, or directly question the pros and cons. His opinions were always concise and clear, and he also fully took care of the faces of his subordinates, and everyone was convinced.
Finally, the marketing manager said, "President Meng, I think we should set it at 95% off, and do it during the week of Yongzheng's opening. Our daily turnover is about 2 million yuan, and it will cost more than 1 million yuan to do it for a week, which should be enough."
Meng Gang thot for a moment and agreed.
After all, in any market, it is easier to defend than to attack. With the same discount and the same product, customers are of course willing to go to the one they are used to. That's why so many people and so many companies are trying to be the first in a certain field. This is called first-mover advantage.
Mu Hanxia's home was not far from the supermarket, but it was in a village in the city.
In the evening, she got off the bus and walked along a bumpy dirt road, covering her mouth with her hand to avoid eating too much dust. After passing several ruins of demolition, she arrived at a dilapidated and old tube-shaped building.
Many people have moved away from here, and most of the buildings are empty. There are still some people living here, such as Mu Hanxia.
Her home was on the sixth floor, the top floor. She climbed the stairs nimbly, and after opening the door, she threw her backpack down and collapsed on the sofa.
"Oh..." she sighed, a long sigh that sounded like joy and sorrow.
After a while, she got up and looked at the portraits of her parents placed side by side on the mottled white wall. The sky was already dark, and the room was dim. She stared at them and began to talk to herself: "Mom, I'm awesome. Today our General Manager Meng promoted me to assistant of the marketing department. From now on, I'll be a formal office worker, not a salesperson."
"Thinking about it, I'm not that much worse off than my classmates who went to university. Their grades were not as good as mine before."
"It seems that my luck is not always bad, it is slowly getting better."
"I must go out for a good meal tomorrow to celebrate. "Mom and Dad, I'll burn some paper money for you. Your daughter is a white-collar worker now and not poor anymore."
"Why did you all leave? I miss you so much." She started crying as she spoke. She cried for a little while, then wiped away her tears and lay on the bed in a daze.
She recalled the scene at the meeting today. She had no opportunity or qualification to speak at such meetings. But she thot of Lin Mocheng and the harsh words he had left behind, and she felt that something was wrong.
She suddenly remembered that the people in the marketing department had mentioned that Lin Mocheng had graduated from Columbia University in the United States.
Columbia University was also one of the universities she had dreamed of attending. This thot flashed thru her mind, and Mu Hanxia's heart moved. She got up and went to the computer, and opened QQ.
"Monkey, are you there?"
Monkey was one of her high school classmates, and is now studying in New York City, where Columbia University is located.
It was almost midnight when Monkey, who was on the other side of the ocean, came online. "I'm here, old class monitor. Why did you think of contacting me today? Is there anything I can help you with?"
Mu Hanxia smiled slightly and replied: "Can't I contact you if I have nothing to do? How have you been recently?"
Monkey: "I'm doing great. You know me, I can thrive anywhere!"
Mu Hanxia: "Haha, good for you! I have something to ask you about a person named Lin Mochen, who graduated from Columbia University."
Monkey: "I don't know him... was he in our year?" "He should be a few years older than us."
"Although I don't know him, since the class monitor has asked, I will go thru fire and water to find out. "Don't worry, it's all in the Chinese community, and I have friends at Columbia University, so I'll ask around first."
Mu Hanxia: "Thank you, thank you!" She sent another big smiley face.
After a while, the monkey replied: "Class monitor, how are you doing now?"
Mu Hanxia also paused for a few seconds before replying, "I'm doing pretty well!"
Monkey immediately sent a little man dancing and gesticulating, and Mu Hanxia couldn't help but laugh as she looked at it.
==================
The next day, Mu Hanxia was officially transferred to the marketing department.
Actually, the work place was just changed from downstairs to upstairs, but the content was completely different. In the clean and quiet office, everyone was busy in front of their computers, or in meetings, or running to supermarkets and suppliers, everything was in good order.
The manager gave a brief introduction of Mu Hanxia to everyone and then asked her to work with a senior colleague. The older sister assigned her simple tasks such as organizing and photocopying. Mu Hanxia was humble, diligent, obedient, and had a sweet mouth, but she was not obsequious and spoke humorously. After a day of working together, not only the eldest sister, but also other colleagues felt that this new little girl was quite smart, and did not have the clumsy air of some salespersons, and was quite likable.
In the evening, the junior staff member Mu Hanxia left work on time. Today, she must ask He Jing out for a big meal. The two girls took a bus to the nite market by the river, ordered a large pile of barbecue, and drank beer. Finally, the two of them ate until their bellies were round and their waists were thick, and they leaned against each other on the river beach, looking at the stars.
"Hey..." He Jing looked at Mu Hanxia askance, "Tell me honestly, how much has your salary increased to now?"
"Adding up all the bits and pieces..." Mu Hanxia chuckled, "It's more than double what it used to be."
"Wow!" He Jing exclaimed, pretending to punch her in the face. "You're asking for a beating! Why did you have to say it?"