stjorthotic Chapter 54 Strike While the Iron Is Hot
Chapter 54 Strike While the Iron Is Hot
The day after the Xichuan University New Year's performance, on New Year's Day.
At 8:30 a.m., Lin Feng was still sleeping in his dormitory when he received a call from Manager Chen of the mobile company. Lin Feng sat up and leaned against the headboard to answer the call.
"President Lin!" Manager Chen's voice was excited. "The data is in! Last night, with the on-site guidance at Xichuan University and subsequent promotion, by 8:00 AM this morning, the 'Lilac Flower' ringtone had 12860 new subscribers in a single day! In just three days, the total downloads have already exceeded 20,000."
The mobile company's data department was alarmed; this is our highest single-day increase record for any single song!
On the first day of the new year in 2004, the download volume exceeded 20,000 in three days, which can be regarded as a great start.
Lin Feng quickly did some mental calculations.
20,000 downloads, at two yuan per download, would generate 40,000 yuan in revenue.
According to the agreement reached between Xunji Audio and China Mobile, China Mobile is responsible for providing the channel and after-sales service, and will take 30% of the channel fee, which is 12,000 yuan.
The service provider "XunJie Audio" is responsible for providing content and promotion, and takes 70%, which is 28,000.
The revenue sharing ratio between the content provider Lin Feng's "Fengchi Digital" and Xunji Audio is 32%, which is 8960 yuan.
Lin Feng and Tang Lei split the money 50/50, each receiving 4480 yuan.
"Congratulations, Mr. Lin, and congratulations, Tang Lei! Our first step has hit the mark perfectly!"
"Thank you for your hard work, Manager Chen."
"What's so hard about it? It's because your song is good." Manager Chen smiled. "The data is still rising. I hope 'Lilac Flower' will continue to be a hit."
"Absolutely!"
After hanging up the phone, Lin Feng got out of bed and started getting dressed when his phone rang again. It was Manager Zhang calling.
"President Lin, congratulations! 'Lilac Flower' has had a fantastic start! Our leadership is extremely satisfied and will increase promotional resources! Our distribution channels are now fully operational. Starting next week, 'Lilac Flower' will be available for download in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces, and we'll quickly expand nationwide!"
"Congratulations, Manager Zhang! You made the right bet this time! Our cooperation went smoothly, keep up the good work!" Lin Feng's lips curled up slightly.
I've caught the wave of the trend of ringback tones.
During the New Year's Day holiday, Lin Feng made a phone call home.
The person who answered the phone was her mother, Li Huilan.
"Xiao Feng, how have you been lately? Do you have enough money?"
Lin Feng's eyes darted around: "...barely enough to get by."
The mother sighed, "Your father has been talking about you a lot these past few days. He's saying that with the New Year approaching, he's wondering how your business is doing and that you shouldn't come back looking embarrassed."
Lin Feng smiled and asked, "What's he muttering about?"
"They say your business ventures are unreliable, and taking the civil service exam is the safest bet. They're telling you to come back to your hometown soon."
Lin Feng chuckled on the other end of the phone.
The voice of Lin Guofu, the father, came from the other end of the phone: "Whose call is that?"
"Little Wind".
The father didn't say anything, but Lin Feng heard him approaching.
After a while, the father's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Have you lost all ten thousand yuan yet?"
Lin Feng said, "No."
The father continued, "You're still young and don't know how hard it is to earn money. Doing business requires working from dawn till dusk, and you still don't make much money in a year. You made a bet with me before, promising to earn 100,000 yuan in four months. You were a bit impulsive. I only ask that you don't lose it all. Don't try to tough it out when you encounter difficulties. If things really get tough, come back. You can still take the civil service exam."
Lin Feng said, "Thank you for your concern, Dad... I'll be back for the Spring Festival."
"You little brat, you won't give up until you're absolutely certain, huh? Come back early for the Spring Festival."
"Alright! I'll come back when I've made enough money."
The phone hangs up.
Then, Lin Feng called Wu Wenjie in Shenzhen.
"Hey? Brother Lin! I bet you should have been looking for me by now!" Wu Wenjie laughed.
"Hey Jay, how's it going with the Lilac Commemorative Edition MP3 manufacturer?"
Wu Wenjie said, "Boss Chen has seen the final design drawings you sent, and the mold making went smoothly. The production line has been debugged. Have you seen the photos of the prototype? Are you satisfied? Do you want me to send it back to you so you can see it in person?"
"I've looked at the pictures, and there's nothing wrong with them. There's no need to send them back; it's too time-consuming. Just keep an eye on them for me."
"The prototype is of good quality; I've personally inspected it. Now, Mr. Chen from Xinfeng is just waiting for your confirmation on mass production. However, the quantity you need is quite large, and he's a bit hesitant, worried about unsold inventory."
"Stockpiling?" Lin Feng chuckled lightly. "Brother Jie, tell Boss Chen to relax and go all out on production. I need to see the first batch of 5,000 units as soon as possible. Send the first 500 units urgently, even by air, the sooner the better. I'll arrange the payment right away."
On the other end of the phone, Wu Wenjie took a breath: "Five hundred units expedited? Brother Lin, that's quite a sum... Alright! I'll talk to Boss Chen right away! As long as the money's in place, he definitely won't say a word! Just wait for good news!"
"Keep a close eye on quality, Brother Jie, that's fundamental," Lin Feng concluded with a final instruction.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things for you!" Wu Wenjie patted his chest and assured him.
The supply chain in Shenzhen was energized, and Lin Feng's side was not idle either.
Tang Lei's popularity at Sichuan University prompted him to strike while the iron was hot and make his MP3 players sell like hotcakes again.
The New Year's Day holiday wasn't over yet. On January 2nd, Suzhou Evening News worked overtime to produce a new version of the promotional poster.
The poster features a heartfelt photo of Tang Lei during a performance, against an abstract backdrop of lilac clusters, with a striking "GG" message below:
"Carry the emotion with you! The Lilac Commemorative Edition MP3 is coming soon." The logo of Fengchi Digital Studio and the MP3 pre-order hotline are printed in the corner.
In addition to the school's own campus forum, Lin Feng had Su Wan post the electronic version of the poster on the BBS forums of several major universities in Chengdu, including the music section and the digital market section.
The poster received a good response after it was released. The thread at Xichuan University has already grown quite long, with everyone asking when they can receive the goods. There are also many inquiries from other schools.
Online promotion is low-cost and fast-spreading—this is the first step. He wants to make the lilac-themed commemorative MP3 player a hit in the student market across Chengdu's universities.
Next, Lin Feng hired some part-time college students at various universities. Xu Qiang was in charge of overseeing the process of posting the posters that Su Wanxin had made in prominent locations at universities such as Sichuan University, Sichuan University of Finance and Economics, Sichuan Normal University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, and medical schools.
This includes dormitory areas, canteen entrances, bulletin boards, and other locations; each school's main campus must cover at least ten points.
Xu Qiang was eager to get started; he enjoyed this kind of work involving external liaison and market expansion.
On the other hand, Lin Feng specially opened a mobile phone account as a hotline number for ordering.
Wang Peng and Li Hao took turns answering the calls, while accountant Liu Qian was responsible for managing the accounts of Fengchi Digital Studio.
Lin Feng paid each of them a salary based on the part-time wages for college students at the time. The salary varied depending on the position, ranging from 800 to 1,500 yuan per month, with bonuses calculated separately.
Everyone was full of energy.
Three days later, posters for the lilac-themed commemorative MP3 appeared on the bulletin boards of more than a dozen universities in Chengdu.
At the entrance of the cafeteria of Xichuan Normal University, two girls stood around looking at the poster for a long time.
"An MP3 player endorsed by Tang Lei? And with his autograph?"
"I pre-ordered it for 200 yuan, and the balance is 499 yuan... It's not expensive, but I don't know if the quality is good."
"I heard it comes with a high-definition audio version of 'Lilac Flower,' I'd like to order one."