1. Group buying mode selection

1. Split the money to join the group

Users only need to pay a group fee of 0.01 yuan to join or initiate a group. After the group buying period ends, the platform will randomly select winners from all successful group buying orders and divide them into first, second and third prizes. If the number of group buying orders is not reached, the group buying fee will be refunded.

Common companies that adopt this model include Pinduoduo and Mogujie. For users, this model has a low payment threshold and high acceptance, and if the transaction fails, they can receive a refund without any loss. This kind of group is a powerful tool for attracting new customers. The initiator of the activity can quickly achieve the goal of social fission, while completing the task of promotion and attracting new customers at a low cost. For a while, all the activities shared in WeChat groups were group activities for 1 cent.

2. Group purchase at a discount price

This type of group buying is divided into individual original price purchase and multi-person group buying at a discount. Users can choose freely according to their own circumstances. The difference between this type of group buying and the 1 cent group buying is that users can get the goods by paying the group buying fee and successfully placing the order, without the need for a random draw.

Common companies that adopt this model include NetEase Yiqipin and Pinduoduo. For users, the payment threshold has become higher, and during the event design process, it is necessary to consider adding an entrance for quickly forming a group (short of one person required to form a group). However, adding more entrances will inevitably reduce the frequency of users' sharing, and the balance between the two needs to be considered.

Before doing a group buying activity, you need to determine the group buying model. The first type is suitable for attracting new customers, and the second type is suitable for increasing sales. In the group buying activity designed by the author this time, the second model was adopted.

2. Determine the basic information of the group purchase

The basic information of group buying activities mainly includes the following elements: products that can be group bought, group buying activity time, number of people in the group, group validity period, group buying price and group buying activity status, etc.

1. Products that can be group-purchased

The most important thing about group buying activities is to determine the product selection first. Once the product selection is determined, other information can be determined. Products suitable for group buying generally have a low average order value of less than 100 yuan, and they are mainly products that are in urgent need and are frequently purchased by users. You can refer to popular categories: seasonal food, cosmetics, accessories, small digital products, etc.

2. Group buying activity time

It mainly refers to the duration of the group buying activity, which can be determined according to the attributes of the product and is generally divided into short-term and long-term. For example, seasonal food can be purchased in a short-term group, while accessories, small digital products and other products can be purchased in a long-term group.

3. Number of people in the group

The number of people in a group is usually set at 3-5 people. The number of people in a group must be considered to determine whether the group can be formed in the end. If there are too many people, more than half of the groups will not be able to form a group in the end. You can cleverly set up "automatic group formation", which means that after a few hours, the group will be formed regardless of whether the number of participants has been reached.

4. Validity period of group

This time is usually set to 24 hours or 48 hours. After the user starts a group, if there is no success in forming a group with other people within this period, the group formation fails and the system automatically processes a refund. If a group is formed within this time, logistics delivery will be carried out.

5. Group price

Group buying activities need to be highly contagious, so the daily promotional prices must be broken and the group buying prices must be reduced to the lowest level to give users enough motivation to attract others to join the group buying.

6. Group buying activity status

There are 4 statuses for the initiator:

• Not started: During the group buying activity, the initiator did not start the group buying activity;
• During the activity: the initiator initiated a group, but the group was not formed within the validity period;
• Already formed a group: The group has been successfully formed within the validity period;
• Timed out: The initiator fails to complete the group formation within the validity period or the group formation activity ends before the group formation activity ends.

There are 3 statuses for the invitee:

• During the activity: the group purchase shared by the initiator was not formed within the validity period;
• Already formed: The group purchase shared by the initiator has been formed;
• Timed out: The group purchase shared by the initiator has exceeded the validity period.

3. Group Playing Process Design

1. Activity Interaction

There are 5 steps to design a group buying activity from the initiator's forward process, as shown in the following figure:

The activity process design is designed around the main line of these five steps, filling in other detailed processes. Our group buying uses virtual goods and does not involve inventory logistics, etc.

The activity that the author is responsible for this time is mainly a group buying activity in the mini program. The author will discuss the process design from the two dimensions of the initiator and the invitee. The specific details are shown in the figure below (there are some shortcomings in the process because it is a process drawn by processon, and the source file is gone and cannot be modified):

Since this was the first time we did a group buying activity, we conducted multiple rounds of testing, and each test revealed problems in the details. Therefore, when doing the interactive process, the scenario must be considered in detail, and both the forward and reverse processes must be experienced.

2.Activity Visual

When a user initiates a group purchase, the product details page will have different statuses (see the figure below). When the user successfully pays, a record of "My Participated Group" and "My Order" will be generated:

No group yet

Active

Already formed a group

Timed out

Group record

Order History

Things to note when designing visual elements on a page:

• The existing activity page has been optimized based on the above picture. A "Invite friends to share benefits" button has been added to guide sharing. The sharing guidance should be carried out throughout the group buying activity.
• Determine the number of quick grouping entrances to be placed on the page based on the price and attractiveness of the product;
• Add elements to create atmosphere, such as countdown, only XX places left, etc., to increase tension; such as cumulative sales, XXX people have tried, XXX are trying, etc., to increase the enthusiasm of the event;

IV. Conclusion

Mini Programs more often reflect the idea of ​​“people are divided into groups”, and carry out segmented operations based on the characteristics of the groups. Users can participate in group buying activities on the mini program and spread the information in various WeChat groups formed due to similar preferences, thereby attracting new users and promoting the product at a low cost. However, this model that relies on "sharing" will seriously damage the user's social currency and make users numb over time.

In fact, "group buying" is just a form. The form is not important. What we should learn is the marketing method behind it and the use of users' psychology of wanting to get a bargain. With a large number of group-buying mini-programs springing up like mushrooms after a rain, this sharing model overdraws social relationships and it is inevitable that some innovative ways of playing need to be explored.

Author: Mollyjing

Source: Operations