Compared with other platforms, Zhang Siyu felt that ACG Community was practically the most conscientious platform of them all. A membership fee of fifteen yuan a month was barely the price of a breakfast~
In order to retain users as much as possible and preserve ACG's reputation, she had almost rejected all investment advertisements. She had also kept launching new activities, doing her best to let users experience A Company's sincerity.
Looking across the entire online platform industry, whether it was film and television platforms or other kinds of platforms, Zhang Siyu dared to guarantee that no platform was more streamlined than A Company.
There were no pop-ups, no advertisements, and A Company would not even push any content to its viewers, much less maliciously bundle software with its programs.
Aside from the account-opening assessment being rather 'inhuman,' Zhang Siyu genuinely could not find a single flaw in A Company.
In her heart, this was a perfect video platform!
But even so, it seemed that the users still were not satisfied. They believed that charging money meant the company was just lining its pockets.
"Heh heh, did I make things too simple-minded~?"
Zhang Siyu leaned wearily against her chair, her tender, pale fingers rubbing her temples. Her expression held a hint of self-mockery.
Even when buying a pound of cabbage at the market, people haggled for ages. She had gone straight out with such a huge discount, making her actions seem somewhat foolish and childish.
The biggest taboo for a merchant was revealing their bottom line right from the start. A Company's decision to introduce the lowest possible payment plan... had been somewhat rash.
After a long while, Zhang Siyu wearily rose, printed out the files on her computer, and slowly headed toward Fang Zheng's office.
"Knock, knock, knock~"
"Come in!"
Zhang Siyu entered Fang Zheng's office and saw, as soon as she stepped through the door, that he seemed to be troubled by something.
"Director Fang, this is the feedback from A Company users regarding the Membership System. I think you should take a look. The situation is somewhat... bad."
Zhang Siyu no longer had the energy to wonder what exactly was troubling Fang Zheng. She placed the documents in her hand on his desk, pressed her lips together, and stood to one side.
Seeing Zhang Siyu's poor complexion, Fang Zheng cast her a puzzled glance. Then he picked up the documents from the desk, and the more he read, the deeper his frown became.
"Are we charging too much?"
"Fifteen yuan a month. There isn't a more conscientious service anywhere online."
"Then have we given the audience a poor viewing experience?"
"I can guarantee that there aren't any advertisements or pop-ups on A Company!"
"Then do the users think our works aren't worth paying for?"
Zhang Siyu did not answer. A Company currently had two works: one was Star Dream, which the audience had directly raised to the altar, and the other was the rising star Akame ga Kill!
At present, Akame ga Kill! was airing to great acclaim. Judging from its premiere results, Akame ga Kill! was definitely a good anime in the eyes of A Company users.
Akame ga Kill! had premiered at seven yesterday evening, and until now, not a single person had said that the work was not worth paying for.
Zhang Siyu and Fang Zheng knew perfectly well what Akame ga Kill!'s quality was like. Its premiere results alone were enough to show that, so it was nowhere near as unbearable as Fang Zheng had suggested.
Zhang Siyu told Fang Zheng her earlier thoughts. She felt that the greatest mistake in launching the Membership System this time had been making it too affordable. They had not considered their own future at all, nor had they thought about what they would do if the audience refused to buy it.
It was just like the current situation. Their Membership System was clearly the most affordable anywhere online, yet the audience still refused to accept it. Whether for the company's cash flow or any other reason, they could not lower the price any further.
After listening to Zhang Siyu, Fang Zheng was silent for a moment before slowly shaking his head.
Of course, Fang Zheng understood Zhang Siyu's thoughts. He was not unfamiliar with this tactic at all. It was a very common marketing method.
These past two days had been rather hectic, so the updates had been slow. Failed Author kneels and apologizes!!!!
Some people might not understand this kind of maneuver by online platforms, but if it was put another way, everyone had definitely experienced it before.
It was the shopping carnival on Taobao. Before the carnival began, businesses vigorously advertised their products' discounts, and quite a few even boldly proclaimed that they would sell everything at a tenth of the original price.
Seeing such enormous discounts, many users were tempted and willingly paid.
But was that really the truth?
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, especially when it came to these shrewd merchants. They absolutely would not make deals at a loss.
Many users only paid attention to the merchants' discount rates, but few noticed that, during the period before the carnival began, the products of those merchants who had made grand proclamations were quietly rising in price.
The users seemed to have gotten a bargain, but in the end, they spent every bit as much as they would have otherwise. They might even have paid a little more than usual.
Genuinely loss-making clearance sales were rarer than one in a thousand!
With such a small trick, many users willingly spent their money and even smugly believed that they had gotten a bargain.
The same principle applied perfectly to the current situation. It was merely a different way of phrasing it.
If they followed what Zhang Siyu had just said and set the membership fee high, users would definitely be unwilling at first. Then, they could claim to be 'considering the audience' and launch a 'bloodletting' sale.
That way, they could not only win a wave of goodwill and become a 'conscientious' company in the users' eyes, but also make the users spend less money, allowing them to rake in huge profits.
But Fang Zheng had not done that!
"Siyu, I don't blame you for having this idea, but if I could do it all over again, I would still make the same choice."
Fang Zheng set down the documents in his hand, a smile at the corners of his mouth as he looked at Zhang Siyu's puzzled expression.
He did not think there was anything wrong with Zhang Siyu's idea. It had nothing to do with scheming, hypocrisy, or any issue of character. It was simply a business tactic.
You use it, I use it, everyone uses it. In the end, this marketing tactic has become commonplace. In the eyes of merchants, it is practically a standard procedure and cannot even be considered marketing anymore.
Zhang Siyu had thought of this immediately after seeing the public opinion online. That alone was enough to show that she was a qualified merchant. Such business acumen was indispensable for a company's management.
"Are you confused?" Fang Zheng pointed at the documents on the desk. "The outcome is clearly unfavorable to us, yet as the chairman, I still chose to follow this path to the end. Do you think I'm foolish?"
Zhang Siyu said nothing. She truly did not know why Fang Zheng insisted on doing this, but the one thing she could be certain of was that Fang Zheng was definitely not foolish!
"But the current public opinion is very unfavorable to us. If we don't control and guide it, A Company could very well collapse completely."
Zhang Siyu pressed her lips together. The current situation was highly disadvantageous to them.
"No. In my view, this is precisely the best opportunity for A Company to rise!"
Hearing Zhang Siyu's words, Fang Zheng gave a mysterious smile. Then he turned his laptop around and gestured for Zhang Siyu to take a look.
"Users aren't fools. They have the ability to distinguish right from wrong. Whether A Company is truly conscientious isn't for you or me to decide. They're the ones who get to say!"
Half-believing and half-doubting, Zhang Siyu bent down and focused her gaze on the forum Fang Zheng had opened.
"This is..."
In an instant, Zhang Siyu's face flushed. Her rosy lips parted slightly, and her originally dim eyes widened. Her beautiful face was filled with disbelief.
Lining their pockets? Screw that!
"I was going to get on A Company today to watch the latest episode of Akame ga Kill!, but the moment I opened A Company, I saw a bunch of people endlessly complaining here. It was so annoying that I couldn't stand it. There are a few things I have to say!"
"First of all, this whole thing started because of A Company—that is, the membership payment system introduced by Big Shot Fang. You idiots shouting that Big Shot Fang is lining his pockets, put your hands over your hearts and tell me: is fifteen yuan a month a lot? Is it?!"
Fifteen yuan a month was completely affordable even for a student. It was not much at all—in fact, one could say it was an utterly down-to-earth price.
Of course, if you're a free user, then just pretend nothing happened.
"Secondly, I thought everyone had noticed this long ago, but now it seems that quite a few people are pretending not to understand. You've been using A Company for quite some time now. Have you found even one advertisement on A Company?"
"No advertisements! Not a single one!"
"No advertisements means that Big Shot Fang's A Company had absolutely no income before this. He was entirely providing benefits for everyone. And even so, some of you still claim Big Shot Fang is lining his pockets? Don't your consciences hurt?!"
"So Big Shot Fang is supposed to create free anime for you for the rest of his life? So all of Big Shot Fang's food, clothing, and daily expenses just blew in from the wind? So his company is supposed to run on love alone?!"
"Where are your faces? I'm just asking, where are your faces?!"
"Lining his pockets? Screw that! If your IQ is low, don't come out here showing off your superiority. You're disgusting!"
After reading the post, Zhang Siyu was completely flustered. She even wondered whether she was so exhausted that she had started hallucinating.
She secretly pinched her thigh.
It wasn't a hallucination!
Then was all of this real?!
Zhang Siyu's expression brightened instantly. She snatched Fang Zheng's laptop and kept scrolling downward, reading the comments beneath the post.
"2333, I was going to curse too, but I was late because I was eating. Someone beat me to it!"
"That angry bro has been officially verified, but all I can say is—beautifully done!"
"Speaking reasonably, fifteen yuan a month really isn't much, okay? Those platforms that push brainless TV dramas all day cost more than this!"
"Damn it, you idiots. If you drive Big Shot Fang to shut down A Company, I'll find you all and fight you in person!"
"..."
After reading the comments, Zhang Siyu raised her head in disbelief and looked at Fang Zheng. "Director Fang, did you anticipate this situation long ago?"
Looking at Fang Zheng's confident expression, Zhang Siyu felt a complicated mix of emotions.
At that moment, she finally understood why Fang Zheng had said that he would still do the same thing if he could start over.
As Fang Zheng had said, times had changed. Users now had the ability to distinguish right from wrong. They knew perfectly well who was genuinely considering them and who was merely being insincere with them.
At this thought, Zhang Siyu gave Fang Zheng an admiring thumbs-up. She could already imagine how explosive A Company's reputation would become.
Just imagine: in an online market filled with false sincerity, what would happen if a company this honest—or one could even say this ridiculously straightforward—suddenly appeared?
After reading the comments on A Company's forum, Zhang Siyu felt much better.
That one-sided public opinion had genuinely made her angry, but at the same time, it had also left her feeling deeply aggrieved.
She had clearly done everything she could to retain the users, yet those users still refused to understand them. It had sent Zhang Siyu's mood plummeting to the bottom.
To ensure the company's normal operations, the membership fee was already as low as it could possibly be. It was impossible to lower it any further.
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