Chapter 548 - 8 Congratulations, You’re Beginning to Think like Boss Pei (1/2)
<strong>Chapter 548 Congratulations, You’re Beginning to Think like Boss Pei</strong>
June 13th, Monday…
At Tengda Games… Not long after he started work, Min Jingchao went looking for Li Yada and Bao Xu in a hurry.
“Big Sister Li, Brother Bao, something’s wrong!
“Shang Yang Games has a new trick!
“They seemed to have entered into agreements with multiple internet cafes on behalf of IOI’s local server. Anyone who plays IOI at those internet cafes for a certain period would get discounts on their per-hour rates!
“What’s more, it looks like many famous gaming UP Masters have been publishing content about IOI: introduction of new heroes, tutorials for the game, and the like. The game is being publicized on multiple well-known gaming websites as well.
“It looks like they’re giving out cash, just like us!”
Li Yada was stunned. As she ran a search on her own computer, she said, “Don’t panic. When did you say this started?”
Min Jingchao pondered for a moment and said, “Things started looking very different from last Saturday.” Bao Xu, who had been silent the entire time, said, “They worked overtime over the weekend; can we report them to Boss Pei? Can he make them take two days off by force?”
Min Jingchao paused, and then his eyes lit up. “Eh? That’s right. If Boss Pei forces them to take two days off, we will be able to catch up with them, won’t we?”
Li Yada shook her head. “I don’t think so. Shang Yang Games would not make low-class mistakes like that, which would be so easy for us to catch.
“They probably put all of those things in place last Friday and took a break over the weekend as per normal. On the other hand, the UP Masters and internet cafes were free to implement those new measures over the weekend. “That allowed them to time their moves perfectly and get a headstart without breaking the company’s regulations.”
Min Jingchao: “…indeed, our greatest enemies are our own people.”
That’s right. Apart from others working in the same company, who else would think of getting a head start by taking advantage of their regulated breaks over the weekend?
Apart from Brother Bao, who else would think about catching up to the opponents by reporting them for working overtime?
One had to admit that, under Tengda’s regulations, the competition between both departments had become so confusing…
Li Yada continued speaking. “Based on common sense, they probably put this plan into place before they ended work on Friday. Now, they must be reaching out to many more internet cafes and UP Masters to gain a fuller advantage.
“What’s more… from what I just found out, they’re going after the huge chain stores. That means they’re using the most efficient method: partnering with large chain internet cafes and giving them generous benefits. “As a result of that, the higher management of all those franchises would insist that their branches marketed IOI. After all, the more they marketed the game, the more benefits they would get!
“Although only one weekend has passed, we’re already very behind in the competition.”
Min Jingchao’s expression hardened. He had only just found out about this, too. Hearing Li Yada analyze the situation like that made the problem sound more serious than he had imagined.
“Well… What should we do?” Min Jingchao asked.
Li Yada considered for a moment. “Don’t panic. What did Boss Pei teach us? Don’t keep thinking about working overtime and using time or manpower to solve any problem that we run into.
“Just as Boss Pei always says, there must be a better solution!”
Min Jingchao nodded and listened intently.
To him who had much less experience, this was an uphill battle. However, to Li Yada who had seen many ups and downs in her career, any problem could be solved by tapping into Boss Pei’s unlimited wisdom.
Li Yada pondered for some time and then started speaking methodically. “First, money problems can only be solved using money.
“Tengda has gotten this far because it has not been afraid to spend money. There is now a really hot battle in the publicity field. Since our opponents are burning money, we have no choice but to follow suit.
“Set aside all the funds that we can afford to use! We have to compete with them and see who can burn more money! We can buy all the internet cafes, UP Masters, and websites back!
“If this is purely about money, we would have no choice but to use fifty percent of our profits. Tengda Games earns more profits than Shang Yang Games; we don’t have to worry about funding at all.”
The quiet Bao Xu spoke again. “Shang Yang Games cannot be that stupid. They probably know that they cannot afford to spend as much as we can. Perhaps they have a back-up plan.”
Min Jingchao was stunned. “A back-up plan? What other back-up plan could they have? Could they keep asking Boss Pei for more money?”
Bao Xu said, “That’s a very real possibility. What if Boss Pei wants to maintain the dog-eat-dog competition to the end? He wouldn’t want us to defeat IOI so quickly, and so he would definitely offer them more support.”
Shocked, Min Jingchao realized that it was indeed a very real possibility. Li Yada nodded. “That was my second point. “To make sure that we don’t lose everything, we have to work on other aspects as well. We cannot mindlessly burn money.
“To simplify the marketing competition, we are now fighting for marketing resources. Whoever wins the most marketing resources would get the upper hand. Burning money is just one way to fight for marketing resources. On top of that, we can use other methods.
“For example… We could tell stories to those people.”
Perplexed, Min Jingchao asked, “Stories? What stories?”