Take a page out of Alibaba’s marketing book

Red Credit Cards and Dollar Note in the Jeans Pocket - LargeWe just received a coupon we can use to take 15 RMB (about $2.50) off of a purchase on Alibaba’s Tmall or Taobao, but it’s only good on 11/11 — Singles’ Day. Last year Alibaba made headlines when shoppers spent an incredible $5.75 billion on Ali’s sites in a single day.

With Alibaba now listed on the New York Stock Exchange the value of another massive day of spending will be seen not only in profits, but also in a stock boost. Indeed, the stock boost has already started with investors expecting sales to reach $8.2 billion on Singles’ Day this year.

Alibaba does a great job of using this day to generate sales and headlines, and there’s an excellent growth hacking lesson to be learned here.

What can you do to set a fire under your users to get them spending money on your site? Or maybe for you it’s all about signups, or something else — how can you use the calendar to give them a nudge? Can you follow Ali’s lead and use that to generate press coverage?

Increasing customer retention with discount cards in China

It had been a hectic week, and my back was not happy about it. My shoulders had locked up and my upper back was screaming. I decided to go to the spa across the street, a respectable chain with locations throughout Shanghai, for a 90 minute massage. They don’t offer the cheapest massage in the area, but it’s one of the best, isn’t shady, and is reasonably priced.

After my massage I stumbled to the front desk to pay; I was so relaxed it was hard to walk straight. With my defenses down, they decided to make the pitch I hear with surprising frequency in China: “Would you like to pay 3000 RMB today for a prepaid discount card, then we can give you 20% off this and future massages.” I gave my usual response, “Maybe next time.”

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Monetizing apps in China – The Freemium model

There are many challenges facing web and mobile startups in China, including an incredibly dynamic market, keeping your staff from leaving you for one of your competitors and taking your Intellectual Property with them, and copycats that will appear within days of you gaining any interest from consumers or the press. But even if you are able to overcome these challenges and are able gain traction with your mobile or web app, it can be very difficult to get Chinese consumers to pay for your product or service.[1]

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