A complete breakdown of Watsons’ private domain operations

With the fading of traffic dividends and the continuous changes in the retail industry, many companies have begun to launch digital transformation businesses, and Watsons is no exception.

In 2020, Watsons launched full-link private domain operations . Despite the impact of the epidemic, we can still maintain good sales results.

Currently, Watsons’ online digital transformation business has a turnover of more than 500 million yuan. It has more than 4,100 stores and 65 million members in more than 490 cities in mainland China.

So how does Watsons operate its private domain? The following still follows our methodology, namely the steps of IPization - connection - activation - stratification - repeat purchase - fission, and also the analysis of super users.

1. IPization - Analysis of IP Characters

Now that the metaverse is very popular, virtual humans have ushered in a new trend, and various brands have begun to launch their own virtual IP images. Before the concept of the original universe emerged, Watsons was well aware of the importance of IP and launched its first virtual idol spokesperson "Watson Wilson" as early as 2019.

This is an image created by Watsons after data research and analysis that suits the preferences of brand fans. Today, this virtual IP image has been deeply rooted in people's hearts and has become an important image for Watsons' promotion in various channels.

Watsons virtual spokesperson: Qu Chenxi

In addition to virtual human IP, Watsons has also created many employee IPs. As a key role in linking users into the private domain, the image of each employee is crucial.

Watsons has multiple IP numbers, such as Qu Xiaoxi, Qu Xiaoxi, Qu Xiaoxi, Qu Xiaomei, etc. The positioning of each IP is not much different overall. Let’s take the employee WeChat I added as an example to analyze it:

• Avatar : Cartoon image of Qu Chenxi;
• Automatic welcome message : Send the community QR code as soon as possible and inform the community of the benefits included, so that users can grasp all valuable information in time;
• Contents of Moments : The main contents are welfare activities, product recommendations, etc.

2. Connection - Analysis of Omni-channel Traffic

Offline, Watsons guides users to add friends through store guides, and online with the help of application tools such as "Enterprise WeChat + Official Account + Mini Program + Community + Live Broadcast" , it gradually imports the platform's public domain traffic and offline traffic into the private domain traffic pool.

In the layout of self-media platforms, a lot of effort has been put into operations on short video platforms such as Video Account and Douyin. In addition, the influence on Xiaohongshu should not be underestimated. Whether it is koc planting grass or user active promotion, it has brought huge traffic to the brand.

1. Offline stores

Watsons' offline stores are a huge source of traffic. As of now, Watsons has more than 4,000 stores nationwide, covering nearly 500 cities in the mainland. Guide users into the private domain through shopping guides and activity display boards in stores.

2. Own private domain platform

1) Official Account

Watsons has many official public accounts, among which the main account "Watsons Service Assistant" has more than one million active fans. The content of the tweets includes rewarded interactions, product recommendations, discount interactions, etc.

After following the official account, the private domain adding entrance will be pushed. The specific path is: automatic reply message from the official account - receive benefits - add a beauty consultant - beauty consultant sends a community link - enter the community.

2) Mini Programs

Watsons has many mini-programs, which mainly undertake the functions of shopping malls and memberships, and also divert traffic to offline stores.

3) Watsons app

Currently, there is not much difference in functions between apps and mini programs, with mall functions being the main focus.

3. Mainstream new media platforms

1) Video Account

Watsons officially has 5 video accounts, which are responsible for different content such as brand promotion, product recommendations, recruitment information , etc. The homepages of several major accounts have entrances to add public accounts and corporate WeChat, which can be directly added to the private domain and then further guided into the group.

In addition, live broadcasts will be regularly broadcast on the video account, mainly focusing on selling goods.

2) Xiaohongshu

There are more than 240,000 notes related to Watsons on Xiaohongshu, covering a very wide range of products. The official account "Watsons" currently has 309,000 followers. It will do some fan operations and traffic diversion, and the main notes are mainly product recommendations and event introductions.

3) Tik Tok

Watsons has established a huge account matrix on Douyin, with the total number of fans of several major accounts exceeding 2 million. The main video content includes situational dramas, brand promotions, and product recommendations . Several major accounts will start live broadcasts, mainly to promote products.

4) Weibo

Watsons also has many accounts on Weibo, including brand accounts, sub-product accounts, IP accounts, etc. Among them, the number of fans of "Watsons China" has reached 2.97 million, and the main content is event promotion and product recommendation.

4) bilibili

The current number of fans on Bilibili is 26,000, and its main content is brand promotion and dance videos. The style is in line with the youthful tone of the platform, but the content has not been updated for a long time.

3. Promoting Activity - Analysis of Community Operation

In the private domain, community is the most common and effective scenario for promoting activation. According to statistics, Watsons has more than 5,000 communities , and has made detailed divisions into different types of communities, such as welfare groups, live broadcast groups, etc.
Take the “Watsons Global Good Product Testing Lab” community as an example.

1. Welcome message

When users join the group, an automatic welcome message will be triggered immediately, informing them of the community benefits and group rules, allowing users to feel that this community is operated by a dedicated person, and the users will be guided to the mini program to place orders.

2. Group Announcement

The group announcement will inform users of the welfare activities for the week, let users know how to participate, and increase user participation rate.

3. Community SOP

Take the SOP of a community for one week as an example

• Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday: Daily product recommendations are released at 3pm and 8pm every day. Wednesday: The winners of the previous activity and the preview of the next activity are announced at 7pm.
• Thursday: Tea party preview at 12:00 am, official start of event at 2:00 pm;
• Friday: A preview of the Dare to Try Day will be given at 3pm, warm-up will begin at 6pm, and the event will officially begin at 7pm.

4. Layering - Refined Retention Analysis

Watsons has different retention methods for new customers from different channels.

1. Official Account

For new users who follow the official account, the way to retain them is to introduce Watsons benefits and push coupons from the mini program.

2. Community

When adding new customers to corporate WeChat, employees will directly invite users to join the group to receive benefits, and users can directly experience Watsons’ welfare benefits. This will create an expectation mentality, so users will not delete WeChat easily, which can effectively improve user retention rate.

3. Mini Programs

Watsons has set up new customer benefits at the top of the mini program homepage. When new customers visit the mini program, they can easily receive the new customer benefits, which directly facilitates purchase transactions within the mini program.

5. Repeat purchases - analysis of multiple channels to guide repeat purchases

The most critical part of the private domain full link is repurchase. Like most brands, Watsons also guides repurchase in various channels. Take the following platforms as examples:

1. Official Account

After following Watsons’ official account, the mini program mall link will be sent immediately to guide users to make purchases. Guidance for placing orders can also be found everywhere in the menu bar.

2. Mini Programs

On the homepage of Watsons’ mini program, there are windows such as the new user area, group buying area, and recommendation area to attract users with different needs to place orders.

3. Community

In Watsons’ private community, content promoting products and introducing benefits will be sent to guide users to place orders.

4. Weibo

On Weibo, Watsons will guide users to place orders through various event introductions and product introductions, especially on special days like 520, when the frequency of sending messages is particularly high.

5. TikTok

On Douyin, Watsons will guide users to place orders through video content and live broadcasts. In addition, users can also join fan groups and be guided to repeat purchases in the group.

6. Xiaohongshu

In the notes about product recommendations, Watsons will also guide users to place orders in the comment section.

6. Fission - Disassembly of the Fission Mode

Based on its huge private domain traffic, Watsons will carry out some simple fission gameplay, rationally utilize private domain resources, and achieve the effect of attracting new customers and repeat purchases. Take the public account fission and mini program fission as examples:

1. Public account fission

The most common way for public accounts to split is to attract users to share and participate by offering prizes or benefits in tweets. For example, you can invite 7 friends to help you unlock the privilege of purchasing products at a low price, and add the concept of environmental recycling to enhance user participation enthusiasm.

2. Mini Programs Split

The splitting of mini programs is even simpler. There is a special group buying area on the homepage of the mini program. By inviting users to participate in the group buying, they can get the right to buy at a low price. This not only brings in new users, but also enables new orders, repeat purchases and N purchases.

7. Super User System Disassembly

Currently, Watsons has a membership system on mini programs and e-commerce platforms. The mini program includes a membership card level system, stored-value cards and a membership points system, while the e-commerce platform only has a simple points system.

1. Mini Program/app membership system

The membership system within the mini program is relatively complete and complex, mainly consisting of three parts: membership card system, stored-value cards and membership points.

1) Membership Card <br />There are 4 types of membership cards: 30-day trial membership card, fan card, green card and black card. The specific rights and benefits are shown in the figure below.

2) Points system

Points are mainly obtained through consumption. Different membership levels obtain different points in different proportions. Points can also be obtained by signing in. Points can be used for cash, lotteries, and redemption of coupons.

3) eFun card

Stored-value cards are divided into several levels, and the more you recharge, the more you get. They are targeted at users who shop frequently and spend a high amount of money, and can also be used in gift-giving scenarios.

2. E-commerce membership system

E-commerce platforms are also an important source of channels for Watsons. Take Taobao as an example. Watsons has 9.05 million fans on Taobao, but the membership system on Taobao is relatively simple.

Taobao members can join without any threshold, and new members can get a 55 yuan gift package and coupons. The main benefits of membership include monthly coupons, shopping points, exclusive discount prices, etc.

1) Membership points : Users can earn points through consumption and interaction. Points can be redeemed for coupons and physical gifts.

2) Stored-value card: You can recharge shopping credits on Taobao. Recharge 1,000 and you will get 1,050. Recharge 2,000 and you will get 2,150. In terms of the amount, the move is not huge, but for Watsons' die-hard fans, it is still possible to save as much as possible.

It is worth mentioning that Taobao attaches great importance to the operation of the community. Benefits are given when joining the group, and live broadcasts are used to better guide users to place orders.

8. Summary

Here are some highlights and areas for improvement in Watsons’ private domain operations:

1. The private domain traffic entrance of the official account is not obvious , most of them are the entrances to the mini-programs. You can set up a regular window to enhance the traffic effect.
2. The mini program is rich in functions . In addition to the mall, fission, and membership, there is also a "Cat Curling Bar" mini game to enhance the fun.
3. I feel that the membership system is too complicated . It is also difficult for users to use and causes certain troubles to users.