In the United States, many times commercial creativity is fantastic, and 99% of them are waste, but as long as one bets right, it is possible to create a wealth legend.

For decades, the American business community has been filled with all kinds of legends and anecdotes, inspiring and encouraging all generations of literary entrepreneurs.

Mark Randolph was in Silicon Valley when he graduated, but he was in charge of the mail order business at CherryLane Music.

To put it bluntly, the so-called mail order is to market product in the form of direct mail advertisements. This marketing method has existed as early as the 1980s.

In fact, Mark Randolph himself didn't think the idea of ​​mail-order personalized shampoo was outstanding, so he didn't mind exchanging ideas with Tao Yushu and finding a better idea from Tao Yushu.

The reason why Tao Yushu wanted to chat with Mark Randolph was that he felt that this person had a careful observation of things, had a very clear explanation of various problems, and had a strong ability to seize opportunities.

This ability seems inconspicuous, but it is actually very rare.

For example, when mailing video tapes, Tao Yushu knew that Mark Randolph must have seen the trick, but there are many people with observation skills, and few people who can really seize opportunities.

For some people who do not have strong execution and are not decisive enough, it is easy to miss the opportunity to communicate with themselves.

Tao Yushu believes that if Lin's Pictures really enters the videotape rental industry in the future, Mark Randolph is a talent worthy of recruitment.

The idea of ​​mail order video tape is not very clever, especially under the existing industrial structure, such a thing cannot be done without big capital, so Tao Yushu is not worried that Mark Randolph would plagiarize this idea.

Mark Randolph was greedy for Tao Yushu's creativity, but he didn't know that Boss Tao was looking for him.

"Next, it's time for me to hear what you think." Mark Randolph said expectantly.

"no problem."

Tao Yushu explained the creativity of the mail order video tape and also thoughtfully provided Mark Randolph with some current industrial situation.

After hearing this information, Mark Randolph frowned and thought for a long time before finally saying, "There seems to be too many difficulties for this idea."

"What about?"

Tao Yushu, who was interested in taking the exam, asked naturally.

"The biggest benefit of this creativity is that it solves the pain point of users returning the next day and eliminates users' late payment fees."

In the United States, videotape rental time is only 24 hours. After this time, the videotape store will charge a late payment fee.

Blockbuster's revenue last year was nearly US$4 billion, of which the late payment fee was as high as US$640 million. This shows the power of this "overdue".

"But this advantage is not obtained out of thin air, but sacrifices the efficiency of the video tape and the potential latency fee.

This can certainly give you an advantage in the competition, but whether this advantage can be smoothed out and the interests of the sacrifice are still unknown.

As you said, the videotape rental industry in the United States currently has Blockbuster, a behemoth of Blockbuster, whose stores cover almost all Americans’ 15-minute drive.

The price is uniform, it provides a large number of film sources, and it has the latest Hollywood blockbusters.

It has huge advantages in terms of cost and channel.

Mail order, postal rental - be bolder, just say that the latest online shopping is better now, the benefits are obvious, and it can save a lot of manpower and material resources in terms of channels.

Store rent, labor, water and electricity can be saved, but the loss and risk of mail are also not low.

The key is how many customers are willing to wait for a videotape?

Everything is within your reach after driving for ten minutes, which is more convenient, faster and more secure.

The most critical node in this model is the efficiency and security of postage. How to ensure that the videotape is handed intact to the customer in the fastest time is the key to success or failure."

Speaking of this, a hint of clarity flashed in Mark Randolph's eyes, "I understand why you just said 'tomorrow'. 24 hours, this number is largely the limit of patience for customers.

If customers are willing to choose mail, there are only three situations: one is the low price, the second is the exclusive source of films, and the third is the lack of time.

We won’t discuss the price and film source for now. No matter how busy the customers are, they will never be able to take time. For most people, being busy is temporary.

24 hours is obviously a more reasonable psychological expectation.

"I don't have time to go to the audio-visual store today, so just mail order, it will be here tomorrow." If this efficiency can be achieved, it is very likely to attract a group of customers.

I think about it, how should I do this? It seems that a warehouse can be built.

Mark Randolph's spirit was completely immersed in the conception, but after a while, he showed a depressed face again.

"This idea may not work. Price and film source are difficult problems. We cannot compete with Blockbuster. This model may be difficult to expand.

And it is easy to be copied. If it is a giant like Blockbuster, they have huge amounts of funds to support large-scale marketing, which can destroy our early advantages without any effort.

What a pity..."

Mark Randolph's tone was full of regret. Before he knew it, he had perfected this idea in his mind, and even regarded himself as part of it.

Unfortunately, the business model not only depends on itself, but sometimes also on external circumstances. A gentle applause sounded, and Mark Randolph raised his head.

Tao Yushu said with admiration: "Mr. Randolph, your business thinking is really impressive."

Mark Randolph smiled and replied, "Thank you. Your idea is really good. There is a certain chance of success, but the problem is also obvious."

"You're right." Tao Yushu nodded, but said, "But if I said that there is a brand new video tape form now, its procurement cost may be half of the VHS video tape, or even lower?"

Mark Randolph seemed to have heard some joke, "Women's land, no matter how advanced the technology is, it will take time to replace mature technology and industry.

At present, the VHS video tape market has been mature. Not to mention replacing it, even if it is a share of the pie, how much time will it take?

Besides, we can purchase it, but can’t Blockbuster purchase it?

Of course, cheap prices are a little more beneficial to us, and the same goes for them.

And film source is also a difficult problem. As you said, Blockbuster has signed exclusive agreements with many major Hollywood companies."

Tao Yushu was not unhappy because of Mark Randolph's doubts, but instead chuckled on her face. Her smile made Mark Randolph feel a little guilty.

He pondered: "If you really have this new technology as you said, there is no chance. The agreement between Blockbuster and Hollywood companies must be aimed at VHS format videotapes, and the new technology must be a new format. This can be avoided, but at most it will smooth out Blockbuster's advantages."

After saying this, he shook his head helplessly, "It's still difficult to make it bigger."

"What if you are given a huge sum of funds now? Can these problems be solved?"

Tao Yushu's problem made Mark Randolph laugh again, "The huge amount of funds? How much? If it is $1 billion, I think everything is not a problem. There is no money in this world that cannot be solved. If it really cannot be solved, it must be not enough."

His words were joking, but Tao Yushu's eyes were serious, "1 billion US dollars is too much, how about 100 million? If there were 100 million, how would you spend this money?"

"100 million?"

Although I thought Tao Yushu was too whimsical, Mark Randolph thought about it and said, "I might first take out $50 million to promote and market the player.

The new video tape you mentioned will inevitably be accompanied by the birth of a new player, or be bolder and simply get the agency rights.

As for the remaining money, you can build a website of $1 million and build a database of $2 million. The cost of purchasing video tapes can be high or low, but I think three or five million in the early stage is enough.

There are still tens of millions to be put into marketing. I think we can do an activity where we buy players and give videotapes to rent.

Well, this sounds really good.

Oh, by the way, there is another pain point."

When Mark Randolph thought of this, he couldn't help but boast about it.

Then he saw Tao Yushu's eyes and coughed awkwardly. He was about to speak when Tao Yushu asked again, "What about then?"

"Then? Of course, we took our PPT to find the suckers in Silicon Valley!

See, man!

A videotape giant that is comparable to Blockbuster is about to be born. Why don’t you give me money?”

Mark Randolph told the joke in a relaxed tone, and then his smile gradually calmed down because Tao Yushu, who was sitting opposite him, was pondering and his expression was serious.

After a while, Tao Yushu looked at Mark Randolph and asked, "Mr. Randolph, are you interested in turning all your imaginations into reality?"

Mark Randolph looked confused, "What does it mean?"

"I will introduce myself. I am the chairman and president of Lin's Film, Tao Yushu." Tao Yushu solemnly re-introduced his identity.

Mark Randolph was confused at first, and then suddenly realized, "Lin! Oh, I know, "Black Man", JetLi!"

Mark Randolph is a businessman with a small career. He is busy with work and rarely pays attention to entertainment news. When he thinks of Lin, "Black Little" and "Jet Li" are the only two impressions.

He shook hands with Tao Yushu again and said in amazement: "I didn't expect to see the boss of Lin's Pictures here."

After his emotions were released, he thought about Tao Yushu's invitation just now again, and he seemed a little confused.

"Video tape leasing is a huge industry in the United States, affecting the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people. We, Lin, have a terminal channel, and this channel cannot be missed.

It is true that there is a giant Blockbuster in this industry now, but if there are giants in each industry, we will not innovate, and this society will be too boring!”

Tao Yushu's tone was calm, but it exuded a sense of courage that came to his face.

"Mark, most people may never have the opportunity to subvert giants in their entire lives. Now that this opportunity is in front of you, do you want to refuse?"

Tao Yushu's tone was like a demonic sound. Even when Mrs. Mark Randol was middle-aged, she would inevitably be excited when she was successful in her career, and she felt like she was crazy about a young man.

"Okay, I'm willing to join!"

After saying this, Mark Randolph regretted it. He had never even understood the situation of the new company, and had never talked about whether to become a partner or a manager.

Impulse is the devil!

Tao Yushu praised: "It's very good! What I admire most is my decisive personality!"

Perhaps seeing Mark Randolph's hesitation, she continued: "Don't worry, the investment in this new company will not be small, and the $100 million I said is not a joke."

After hearing this, Mark Randolph felt a little relieved. A large investment does not mean that the company will definitely succeed, but it can represent the boss's determination.
To be continued...