There is Zhang Xiaolong as a product expert, but why are there so few experts in operations?
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In the field of Internet products, we often talk about Zhang Xiaolong, the creator of WeChat , and call him the product god. We also often talk about Yu Jun, who spawned Tieba, and Ma Huateng, who created QQ. We also talk about the insights of CEOs of excellent products such as Lei Jun , Zhou Hongyi, and Fu Sheng on some products. But when we look back at the operations field, we find that there are very few well-known experts who are generally recognized in the industry. Why is this? After I released the preview yesterday, a user replied, saying that I was an operations god. That really flattered me too much. I am definitely not one. Even being occasionally called an operations master or an operations expert is like treading on thin ice, because I am still quite a long way from being a so-called "operations god." I was just luckier and I encountered more pitfalls first. Now there are some very impetuous institutions and authors who even deify themselves, such as "The Operations Master Teaches You to Master Operations in 1 Hour" and "3 Ways to Go from a Novice to an Operations Master". At least what I am discussing in this article are those industry leaders who can be widely recognized as gods. Why do we talk about it in terms of God? ▎What is God?
When humans cannot explain some phenomena, they imagine the existence of God, believing that God has some unknown power and ability far beyond humans, which influences and controls the world, so they are afraid of, revere, and rely on him. ▎Why do we call some people God of XX? It means that you feel that this person has achieved something that most ordinary people simply cannot achieve. When it is impossible to measure it with your existing knowledge and you are full of admiration and respect for him, you will call him a god. For example, Satoshi Nakamoto designed Bitcoin, a virtual currency that is not controlled by the central bank or financial institutions. The settlement method, encryption method, and mining method behind it are so ingeniously designed that it is truly breathtaking. Such a person is a god-like figure. ▎Why do we call Zhang Xiaolong a god? As the founder of WeChat, Xiaolong’s product philosophy is reflected in the style and iterations of WeChat. Today, WeChat has evolved from a text chat tool to a platform with core functions such as group chat, Moments, official accounts , WeChat Pay, Game Center, and mini-programs that are currently under public beta testing. WeChat has become the App that everyone uses the longest, and has also become Tencent's most important ticket to enter the mobile Internet . Such a large and important platform product has always been restrained in adding functions. The product experience is still quite easy to use and simple. Each iteration of important version functions is extremely forward-looking. For example, voice intercom, shake, QR code, Moments, official accounts, etc. have almost become the product's killer weapons. The operational design of some product functions is also very precise and effective. For example, WeChat red envelopes drive WeChat payments, Shake to attract new users, and Shoot Airplane to drive WeChat Game Center, all of which have become classic cases of low-cost explosions. From the details of WeChat, we can see that Zhang Xiaolong’s understanding of user needs has reached a very extreme level. At the same time, it can also withstand commercial pressures from both inside and outside and ensure the balanced development of commercialization and product experience, such as the gradual opening of WeChat Moments advertising and the resolute crackdown on induced sharing. Xiaolong's 8-hour sharing session "The Product Logic Behind WeChat" within Tencent has also been widely circulated in the circle. Many principles show that he has a deep understanding of products and users. Here is a story he told himself: “I remember Pony sent me an email saying that Shake seemed to be very popular and very good, but did you guys want to further refine it and add all the extensions you can think of, so that competitors wouldn’t have the same function and then add a refinement and innovate again. I replied with an email at the time, very confidently, saying that we had already simplified it to the maximum, and anything he added would only reduce the score, and we had also made it the most natural, the experience that was most in line with nature, so it was impossible for him to surpass us. I said that competitors could not surpass us, because once there was a change, they would have to add something, and adding something was wrong.” Indeed, a great product manager is not good at addition, but at subtraction. He deserves to be called God. However, in the field of operations, there are very few people like Zhang Xiaolong and Steve Jobs who are recognized as gods. Is it really difficult to operate well? Not really. There are actually a lot of people who are good at operations. Why are there so few gods of operations?
▎Reason 1: Success is more attributed to product managers We often attribute the main credit for a company's success to the CEO or product manager. After all, they are the initial initiators and designers of the product, and they largely determine the direction and development of the product. The part that operations involve is pushing existing products to users, and subsequently continuously creating user value through content, activities, etc. There is a lot of operational work behind the scenes that users cannot feel, or even if they feel it, they don’t find it amazing. Some copywriting operations have been revised hundreds of times before they are finally concise, vivid and full of tension, but the copywriting is directed to the product, which is to praise the product. If the praise is good, it also means that the product is good. The fundamental purpose of writing good copy is to make users feel that the product is good. If the copy is only written to make users feel that the copy is good, but they forget what the product is, this kind of copy is also a failure. A user who has experienced the convenience of offline WeChat payment will marvel at the convenience that the simplicity of WeChat payment design has brought to life, but will not see the bloody competition between WeChat and Alipay in offline merchant operations. Reason 2: Operational success depends on many factors There are many factors required to successfully operate a product, including product characteristics, timing, environment, capital, luck, etc. This means that even if an experienced operations expert has achieved great success in operations, other factors must be met. Denny, the CEO of Le Pure Milk, a popular new yogurt brand, has turned Le Pure yogurt from a small startup brand into a hit product. Those who pay attention to its operations will find that its operational capabilities are really very strong and there are many things worth learning. If he had been assigned to market Sanlu milk powder, he might have achieved some results, but it would definitely not have been as big as it is now. Without some unique features of the product and room for operation, many operations could not have been carried out. Even if they are all experts, the possibility of success if they change a product is very different, so it is not easy to form a general consensus in the industry. If the operation is done well, sometimes people may think that "it is because his product itself is good, so it is easy to do." Of course, we must also admit that a good product is indeed a necessary but not sufficient condition for good operations. I also often say that good operations cannot save a bad product. If the product itself is very bad, the operation will not be successful. Reason 3: Short operating history and rapid changes The position of Internet product operation has not been around for long, and there was no such position as operation in the current sense before. To be worthy of being called a god, one must have one's own values and methodology, and must undergo the test of a long period of time. Although product managers have only been around for a short time, some systematic execution standards and knowledge frameworks have gradually emerged, but the summaries in the operations field cannot keep up with the rapidly changing practices. With the rapid changes in the Internet environment, the operations themselves are also constantly changing: forum blog marketing 8 years ago, Weibo marketing 5 years ago, and H5 marketing 2 years ago are not as popular now, and many of the previous methods are no longer effective. Liu Keya, Wang Zijie and others who were very famous for blog marketing in the past are now rarely heard of by new operators, and the number of readers of their own WeChat accounts is also pitifully small. In addition to regular public accounts, other content distribution channels are emerging, such as Toutiao , Yidian Zixun, Zhihu columns, etc., and their gameplay is very different from that of public accounts. If you don't keep learning, you will soon fall behind. The operation history is still too short, and the masters still need to go through more tests. Reason 4: Different operating areas have different capability requirements The capabilities required to operate products in different fields vary greatly. If an operator who is very good at operating social products switches to operating an O2O product, it will definitely take a long time to figure it out. Even for the same type of products, the operating methods will be very different under different product atmospheres and temperaments. For example, Baidu Tieba and Zhihu, which both have a large number of users, have very different operating methods and core capabilities. In addition, in some companies, operations include the responsibilities of marketing, public relations, customer service, and business. If we also take into account miscellaneous tasks such as photo retouching and material preparation, the ability model required for operations will be even more inconsistent. In this case, we prefer to say that he/she is very good at a certain aspect, such as a copywriting expert, a ground marketing guru, an event king, or a social media expert, rather than easily calling him/her an operations god. Self-media guru Luo Zhenyu announced on his WeChat Moments today that the number of followers of his WeChat public account has reached 9 million. He previously planned a 22 million auction for Papi Jiang ’s advertisement, which went viral on WeChat Moments. But would you call him the God of Operations? Inspiration for operators Since there are few masters in operations, what is the inspiration for operations practitioners? ▎Revelation 1: It is important to choose the right company and team. The development of operational talents is so related to the product. It is very important to choose a good team. This choice is even more important than hard work. ▎Revelation 2: When doing operations, you should also learn more about the product. Future operations must be user-centered. Operations that do not understand products and users have no future. Understanding product operations and understanding operational products will be the most popular professions in the next era. ▎Revelation 3: Master the underlying methodology and core skills Think more about the deeper rules and essence, find the underlying methodology, instead of just pursuing individual techniques to increase followers. The abilities you choose to cultivate are those that are still popular after platform changes, such as writing copy, understanding needs, and planning events. ▎It seems that product managers are more important. Should I continue to do operations? In an era of increasingly fierce competition among product homogeneity, the importance of operations will only increase. For example, in the O2O field where competition has accumulated, there is not much difference in the product experience when you buy a group purchase voucher with Meituan and Nuomi. The core competition is actually the operational strength of the two teams. At this time, it is you and me as operators who decide the life and death of the two companies. Some people may think that the operation salary is not high, but this is just because the operation is not done well enough. In a company, the department that is most willing to invest money is usually the operations or marketing department, because user growth and revenue realization are mainly driven by this department. This is why search advertising companies like Baidu can generate over 100 million yuan in revenue every day. So please rest assured that excellent operations can bring very good material returns. Conclusion This article is only a personal opinion, and it is intended to stimulate discussion. If you have different opinions, you are welcome to discuss. I hope that the discussion in this article can help you see some ways for the career development of operators and achieve better development in the future. Although Zhang Xiaolong and Steve Jobs are hailed as product gods, they did not succeed instantly from the beginning. They developed their skills bit by bit through hard work. It was only after they reached middle age that their products began to gain wider recognition and were then canonized. Although we may not all be able to become gods, there are ways to grow. If you practice diligently, you can gradually get better. Mobile application product promotion service: APP promotion service Qinggua Media advertising The author of this article @飞鱼船长 is compiled and published by (APP Top Promotion). Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting! |
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