Have you been swept up by the hottest movie of the past few days too~

If you haven't heard about it yet, then let me tell you. Since Dying to Survive was released on July 5, its box office has already shot straight past 1 billion yuan.

Its reputation has been equally explosive; Douban has already published its reviews, and the score is as high as 9.0. As Yanmen dealers, what should we take away from all this?

When Old L眉 approaches the down-and-out Cheng Yong and pitches him the miracle-drug business, Cheng Yong begins with all the confusion and uncertainty of someone who has never started a business before: he deeply distrusts the whole idea, and he is on his guard.

But once he is backed into a corner and decides to start this business with Old L眉, he investigates thoroughly:

- Is the product reliable (does it really have the same efficacy as the genuine drug)?

- Does the demand exist, and is it urgent?

- Are the profits attractive?

- Is there a sales channel?

Only when all four questions got a "yes" did he decisively commit to action. The sales-channel point rested on nothing more than Old L眉's single promise, "I'll sell it for you," which is admittedly a bit hasty 鈥?but at least the urgency of the market demand was clear enough.

So Cheng Yong set off on his Indian adventure to nail down the supply and become the general agent for all of China. Everything he did at this stage, in fact, was carried by one firm belief 鈥?a clear market demand 鈥?as he crossed the river by feeling for the stones.

And then in India he made some pleasant discoveries:

- Profit and demand confirmed. After finding the manufacturer, he discovered that the miracle drug he assumed cost 2,000 to acquire actually had a wholesale price of only 500 yuan. What's more, the very first price he set after returning home was ten times that 鈥?5,000 yuan. The profit margin was nothing short of exorbitant, and it was still far cheaper than the genuine article at 20k a bottle. Market demand exploded just the same.

- He obtained the manufacturer's first general agency for China. The supply problem was solved in one move.

Next came the selling. And this is where he actually ran into trouble, because he lacked salespeople who could get inside the patient community 鈥?that is, sales channels.

So after a first round of thankless cold selling hit a wall, he groped his way along and gradually found a few crew members: a pole-dancing woman raising a daughter with cancer on her own; a church priest who every day receives a large batch of cancer patients hoping for salvation; an agile, hard-up but fierce and hard-working young man with bleached hair; plus his most steadfast partner, the one with the most unshakeable entrepreneurial will 鈥?L眉 the Orange.

The first major breakthrough in opening up the market for them was a KOL 鈥?namely, the owner of the patient group that the pole-dancing woman knew.

Each of them could reach their own precisely targeted demand group (that is, the many patients who trusted them), and each had an extremely strong personal stake and pulling power of their own. This is a textbook example of highly successful KOL marketing.

Of course, it succeeded also because the demand was simply too urgent. A matter of life and death outweighs everything. Of course your product may not have such a powerful demand and market backdrop 鈥?but please still try to develop something people actually need, and then work hard to reach your precisely defined target audience. The logic is that simple, yet there is a great deal that must be done.

As the business was hitting its stride, they went to sit in on what looked like a "peer's" user brainwashing session 鈥?actually hosted by Academician Zhang, who sells counterfeit drugs. Clearly this competitor's core product was inherently inferior to theirs, yet it could still shamelessly run marketing with no bottom line at all, conning people with near-miraculous skill. In any case, getting to know your competitors always lets you see yourself a little more clearly.

Use user feedback to validate your judgment about product market demand

Beyond the in-depth voices of the leaders among the users 鈥?for instance, the elderly woman patient who says so movingly at the police station, "I've dragged my family down, but I want to live. Please, sir, stop investigating the miracle drug"; or the feedback from Old L眉's wife (an employee family member);

Then there is the feedback from the general public 鈥?that is, as things were on the verge of collapse, when the pole-dancing woman opened up the QQ group for nationwide proxy purchase of the miracle drug, the explosive flood of demand in the QQ group. This is also one of the film's biggest tearjerker moments 鈥?so many people struggling on the edge of life and death, waiting bitterly for a glimmer of hope.

By this point, of course, Cheng Yong in the film has already turned from a "businessman" into a redeemer full of remorse and compassion.

If you look at this in terms of promoting your own product, this step counts as a fairly complete step toward closing the loop on demand: hypothesize demand 鈥?put a minimum viable product on the market 鈥?get initial feedback 鈥?validate the demand 鈥?adjust strategy 鈥?hypothesize new demand... This is the complete logic of lean startup.

I believe that by now everyone has gained some understanding of the marketing strategies hidden inside Dying to Survive, this crowning work of a film. So what marketing can we Yanmen dealers do right now by riding on this movie?

Marketing suggestions:

• Riding the trend:

  Trend-riding communication 鈥?use posters that latch onto the film's classic lines or character moments to spark resonance and sharing;

  Trend-riding for followers 鈥?because the topic is controversial, you can voice your own views and use the moment to win followers;

  Trend-riding to boost customer stickiness 鈥?organize "members only" screenings, create discussion topics within social groups, and strengthen your bond with members;

• Promotions:

  Give away or raffle movie tickets with a qualifying spend;

  Echo the "sky-high price" angle with discounts

  Brand image communication:

  Brands built on strong value for money can put out an H5 or short film along the lines of "Break the sky-high prices 鈥?the ideal life isn't that expensive";

  Build an ad around a similar "industry sky-high price" comparison (suitable for internet and emerging brands);

  Learn from Jiangxiaobai: create similarly quotable lines, turn them into beautiful images, help the public express itself, and hand out social currency;

• Crossover:

  Announce a crossover "critical illness" fund for users, helping your member customers and increasing stickiness;

  Team up with other brands on a joint initiative;