From “traffic harvesting” to “asset appreciation”: How does SM’s “fan thinking” increase user lifetime value by 10 times?

At a time when traffic costs are soaring and user retention is difficult, how enterprises can shift from “traffic harvesting” to “asset appreciation” has become the key. By analyzing the fan operation strategy of a well-known entertainment company, this article reveals the secret of how it can achieve a 10-fold increase in user lifetime value through user stratification, emotional currency, and lifecycle management.

According to the 2024 Enterprise Marketing Report, the cost of customer acquisition in the consumer goods industry has soared by 127% in three years, but the average user retention period has been shortened to 8 months. The CEO of a chain restaurant brand bluntly said at an industry forum: “We spend 200 million yuan a year on promotion, and 90% of the new users only spend once, just like building a castle on the beach, and the tide is gone.” This vicious circle of “traffic harvesting” essentially treats users as “traffic units” for one-time transactions, rather than “assets” that can increase in value in the long term.

However, SM Entertainment has taken the opposite path: its group aespa has only debuted for 3 years, and its core fans spend more than $800 per year, which is 10.3 times that of ordinary entertainment users; Super Junior has been in the market for 18 years, and 37% of early fans still maintain annual spending habits, and the user life cycle far exceeds the industry average of 3-5 years. What’s even more subversive is that SM’s user repurchase rate is as high as 71%, which means that 7 out of 10 users will actively continue to spend – an amazing set of data in any industry.

The secret of SM is by no means as simple as “idol aura”. While other entertainment companies are still relying on song shows to brush up exposure and limited albums to boost sales, SM has already reconstructed the rules of the game with “fan thinking”:It does not pursue “one-time sell-out”, but allows users to go from “buying albums” to “ordering bubbles”, from “watching concerts” to “participating in song voting”, and even spontaneously defending the brand and creating secondary content.This ability to turn users from “consumers” into “brand co-builders” is precisely the “counter-common sense growth answer” that enterprises need most at present – after all, the ultimate competition in all industries is the competition for the lifetime value of users.

Chapter 1: Decoding SM’s “User Asset Appreciation Formula”

SM Entertainment’s ability to increase user assets is essentially a set of operational formulas that can be disassembled and replicated: user stratification× emotional currency, × lifecycle management. This formula allows its user value to snowball and continue to magnify rather than decay over time.

1.1 From “traffic funnel” to “value pyramid”: the underlying logic of hierarchical operation

The user operation of traditional enterprises often falls into the “funnel dilemma” with unified promotions to cover all users, resulting in high-value users feeling “no privileges” and low-value users feeling “high threshold”. SM has built a “three-level value pyramid” to allow users of different levels to get their place while continuing to leap upward.

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At the bottom of the pyramid are “peripheral fans” (about 60% of total users), who stay reached through free content (e.g., music videos, variety shows, social media feeds). For example, aespa’s practice room footage released on YouTube often has more than 10 million views per post, and although these users do not consume directly, they are the “tap water” of brand communication. The middle tier is a “paid member” (about 30%), which obtains exclusive benefits through the KWANGYA CLUB membership system (annual fee of about $120): advance ticket purchase, artist live broadcast playback, member-only merchandise purchase rights, etc. The data shows that the spending power of this group of users is 3.8 times that of peripheral users. At the top of the pyramid are the “core co-creators” (about 10%), who can participate in concert playlist voting, album concept solicitation, and even artist itinerary suggestions, such as Super Junior’s “E.L.F JAPAN” members who voted on the encore song for the Japan tour, which contributed more than 50% of the user value, and the churn rate was only 2.3%.

The implications of this layering logic for enterprises are that 80% of resources should be directed to 20% of high-value users. After imitating this model, a beauty brand found that users with “annual consumption of more than 5,000 yuan” were pulled into a separate group and provided “new product trial feedback rights”, and its repurchase rate increased by 47%, much higher than the 12% of all users.

1.2 How does “emotional currency” replace “price war”? SM’s premium creation method

While most companies are still relying on “full discounts” and “discounts” to stimulate consumption, SM has already built a premium ability with “emotional currency”. This “emotional currency” is invisible and intangible, but it can make users willing to pay for products that are higher than the market price.

aespa’s debut mini-album “Savage” is priced at 48,000 won (about 240 yuan), which is 40% more expensive than girl group albums of the same genre, but it sold out immediately after its release. The secret is that the album contains a “fan-exclusive voicemail” – scan the QR code on the inside page to hear the 30-second thank-you message recorded by the members in a private tone. SM’s internal data shows that users are 62% more willing to pay for peripheral products with “emotional added value” than ordinary products. More typical, the Bubble subscription service allows users to pay $4.99 per month and only receive fragmented text or voice messages from artists (no substantial benefits), but it has created a miracle of annual revenue of 398 million yuan. The essence of this behavior of “paying for emotions” is that users pay for the psychological needs of “being valued” and “treated exclusively”.

Compared with the “price war dependence” of traditional enterprises: a chain coffee shop has launched a “second cup at half price” all year round, resulting in users only spending during promotions, and the brand’s premium ability continues to decline. SM’s implications are that emotional currencies cost much less than price subsidies and can create barriers to competition. When users have an emotional identification with the brand, price sensitivity will naturally decrease – this is the business logic of the luxury industry, which has been successfully grafted into the mass entertainment field by SM.

1.3 Data confirmation: 10 times the growth path of SM user LTV

The 10-fold increase in user lifetime value (LTV) is not an accidental result, but SM’s precise operation of each node in the user lifecycle. In the case of EXO fans, the path to LTV growth is clear:

  • First contact period (0-3 months):Attract users to “enter the pit” through free MVs and variety shows, at this time, the user value is only the traffic value of the “follow account”. SM will push “newcomer guidance packages” (such as member growth stories, classic stage collections) to convert “passers-by” into “potential consumers”, and the conversion rate at this stage is about 28%.
  • Consumption activation period (3-12 months):When users purchase albums or merchandise for the first time, SM will simultaneously trigger “post-consumer care” – send customized thank you emails, unlock exclusive avatar frames, and guide them to join the member community. According to the data, users who participate in the community have a 3 times higher repurchase rate than pure consumers, with annual consumption of up to $300-500.
  • Deep binding period (1-3 years):Users start to subscribe to Bubble and buy concert tickets, and SM increases stickiness through “rights and interests upgrades”, such as the higher the membership level, the higher the priority of ticket purchases, and the more opportunities to participate in offline activities. At this stage, the annual consumption of users exceeds $800, and they will spontaneously share their experiences on social platforms, bringing an average of 2.3 new users.
  • Co-creation precipitation period (more than 3 years):Core users have entered the “brand co-construction” stage, participating in album voting, support planning, and even anti-blackness for artists. This part of the user’s annual consumption is stable at more than $1,000, and the churn rate is less than 5%, becoming “living brand equity”.

In contrast, most enterprises stop at the “first consumption” that is, the user life cycle is broken, and SM’s case proves that user value is not linearly decay, but can be achieved exponentially through operations. The key is to shift from “selling products” to “business relationships”, so that each life cycle node becomes a springboard for value appreciation.

Chapter 2: SM’s 3 “fan thinking” tools can be directly reused by enterprises

SM’s fan operation does not rely on the special logic of “idol aura”, but transforms “strangers” into “loyal supporters” through a set of dismantling tool systems. These three tools have direct reuse value for retail, technology, service and other industries, and the core is to solve the problem of “why users choose you, remember you, and can’t do without you”.

2.1 Tool 1: “Identity Symbol System” – Let users take the initiative to “stand in line”

Human beings need “identity” far more than the need for product functionality. SM’s most exquisite design isCreate an exclusive symbol system for each group, so that fans can change from “consumers” to “circle members”, and are even willing to actively spread for “identity tags”.

Taking aespa as an example, its fan name “MY” (meaning “most precious friend”) is not a simple title, but a core symbol that runs through all interactive scenes: the official APP names the fan community with “MY”, the concert screen loops the animation of “MY and aespa”, and the members will say “I also prepared a surprise for MY today” during the live broadcast. This high-frequency exposure makes “MY” a social business card for fans – posting on forums with the #MY# tag, buying support items printed with “MY”, and even marking “aespa MY” on the social account profile, essentially declaring “I belong to this group” with symbols.

More importantly, the “Exclusivity and scalabilityEXO’s fan “EXO-L” has its own “planet code”, and each fan corresponds to a unique numerical ID. Super Junior’s “E.L.F” has the “royal blue” cheering color, and the “blue ocean” formed at the concert has become a unique visual symbol. These symbols both give insiders a strong sense of belonging and an intuitive sense of “this is an organized group”, thus arousing curiosity or awe.

When enterprises migrate this tool, they need to grasp three core points:Exclusive name(such as Xiaomi’s “rice noodles”, NIO’s “car owner community”),Visual identity(Membership medals, exclusive colors),Ritual scene(such as the annual user festival). A mother and baby brand designed a “growth companion” identity for users who “spend more than 10,000 yuan a year”, customized physical badges and electronic certificates, and its community activity increased by 58%, and the user’s spontaneous sharing rate increased by 3 times – because people are always willing to pay more for “things that can prove their identity”.

2.2 Tool 2: “High-Frequency Non-Transactional Contacts” – Replacing “Promotional Harassment” with “Emotional Connection”

“Only contact when users need to spend money” is the biggest misunderstanding of enterprise user operations.SM’s user stickiness comes largely from “Non-trading scenarios” emotional penetration – so that users can feel valued even when they are not consuming.

The Bubble tool is a typical case: Artists spend 10-15 minutes every day posting fragmented content, which may be the breakfast photo with the text “I have to work hard today”, it may be the voice between singing practice “I was out of tune just now hahaha”, or even the emo update late at night “I’m a little tired today, but it’s good to think of MY”. These contents do not have any promotional information, but give users the illusion that “idols are chatting with me privately”. According to the data, 73% of users who subscribe to Bubble say they “keep renewing even if there are no new albums” because “this is how to stay connected with idols.”

The contact design of offline scenes is more penetrating:SM holds “SMTOWNWEEK” around the world every year, where fans can participate in artist autograph sessions (lottery required) and undisclosed tidbits screenings for free; At SMT restaurants in Seoul, the menu is printed with handwritten recommendations from artists, and you can hear exclusive voice blessings by scanning the QR code at the table. These “no forced consumption” scenarios make users more willing to pay for subsequent paid content – just like friends are in constant contact, and borrowing money is smoother.

Compared with the “private domain dead group” of most enterprises: “full discount coupons” and “new product launches” are pushed every day, and the user open rate is less than 5%. SM’s revelation is that the value of non-transactional touchpoints lies in accumulating “emotional credit”.Enterprises can design the “3:1 interaction rule”——Every 3 non-transactional content (user stories, brand behind-the-scenes, holiday greetings) with 1 promotional message.A beauty brand sent a “founder’s handwritten wish video” (not templated) on a member’s birthday instead of a “birthday discount coupon”, and the group’s repurchase rate increased by 42% that month, much higher than the 18% of coupons alone – because users knew that “the brand remembers me, not because I spend money, but because I am ‘me'”.

2.3 Tool 3: “Co-creation Incentive Mechanism” – Let users “be more loyal the more they give”

The “sunk cost effect” in psychology points out that it is more difficult for people to give up what they have paid for. SM transforms users from “spectators” into “participants,” using this principle to increase loyalty.

NCT’s “Music Bank Costume Design” event has sparked a craze: fans submit design drafts, the selected works are worn and performed by the members, and designers can also receive “producer certificates” and VIP seats at concerts.The event attracted 230,000 followers to participate, and the final selected fans spontaneously canvassed votes on social platforms, driving the number of views on related topics to exceed 1 billion.

Even more ingenious is the “song voting right”: aespa’s follow-up song selection is decided by fans, and voting requires the consumption of “membership points” (accumulated through consumption or interaction),This allows users to invest both time (studying the song) and “cost” (points), ultimately creating a strong sense of “ownership” over the results.

SM’s co-creation mechanism follows the principle of “low threshold + high honor”:Ordinary fans can participate in voting (zero cost), core fans can participate in design (medium cost), and top fans can participate in planning meetings (high cost), and each level has corresponding “honor feedback” (such as name publicity, physical rewards). Data shows that fans who have participated in co-creation spend 89% more annually than non-participants and will actively defend against negative reviews – just like parents will not tolerate criticism of their children because “this is the result of my participation”.

When a company lands, there is no need to pursue “large-scale co-creation”, you can start with the details: a home furnishing brand asks members to vote for “new product colors”, a bookstore invites readers to recommend “monthly book lists”, and even a software company opens up “function naming rights”. The key is to make users feel that “my opinion can change the brand” – this feeling of “wanted” binds users more than any discount.

Chapter 3: Beware of 3 imitation traps that “look like gods but don’t look like gods”

After seeing the success of SM, many companies blindly copy forms such as “membership system” and “private domain community”, but fall into the dilemma of “learning from its form and losing its spirit”. The common problem of these imitators is that they only copy superficial actions but ignore the underlying logic of SM fan operations – replacing interest bundles with emotional connections, and replacing short-term conversions with long-term relationships.

3.1 Mistaking “membership level” as “user operation”: a guide to avoiding pitfalls in equity design

A hotel chain launched a “diamond/platinum/gold” membership system, and the higher the level, the greater the discount, and as a result, high-level members are concentrated in the “price-sensitive group”, which consumes more than 10 million yuan of corporate profits every year through discounts. This “level = discount” design essentially turns user operations into an “upgraded version of the price war”, which goes against SM’s membership logic.

SM’s membership benefits are never centered around “discounts”. In the case of VIP members of KWANGYA CLUB,Its exclusive rights include “artist rehearsal live broadcast viewing rights”, “priority purchase of signed album pages”, and “offline fan meeting lottery qualifications” – the value of these rights lies in “scarcity” and “emotional exclusivity”, not monetary discounts. More importantly, SM’s membership level promotion criteria not only look at the amount of consumption, but also include dimensions such as “interaction frequency” and “communication contribution”, such as fans can earn points for sharing artist dynamics on social platforms, which makes it easier for “high-engagement users” to obtain high-level rights and interests than “high-consumption but low-interaction users”.

The right thing to do for businesses is:Let rights and interests return to “emotional value” rather than “price subsidies”.After a sports brand adjusted its membership system, it left the “right to try on new products” and “tickets to designer communication meetings” to high-level users, and the discount was only used as a basic right, resulting in an average annual consumption increase of 35% and a decrease of 28% in price sensitivity.

3.2 Mistakenly taking “private domain plus fans” as “relationship precipitation”: the key to interaction quality

Many companies regard the “private domain fan rate” as a KPI, and a beauty brand even requires shopping guides to “add WeChat for every order”, and finally the private domain users exceed 500,000, but the average daily number of speeches in the community is less than 200, becoming an “advertising push group”. This “emphasis on quantity over quality” operation is in stark contrast to SM’s Bubble – Bubble’s user response rate is 42%, and the core is “content has temperature”.

SM artists never post “album promotions” on Bubble, but share real life clips: aespa’s Ning Yizhuo will complain about “failing to lose weight and eating fried chicken”, and RedVelvet’s Shibuqi will post “photos of sprained ankles in dance practice”. This “imperfect” content brings fans closer because “real” is easier to build trust than “perfect”.

On the other hand, the private domain of enterprises is full of mechanical pushes of “80% off today” and “new tomorrow”, which essentially treats users as “traffic containers” rather than “people who need to communicate”.

For enterprises, the core of private domain is “communication efficiency” rather than “number of fans”.

After a mother and baby brand adjusted its strategy, it required customer service to send 1 “parenting knowledge” (non-advertising) every week, and launched a “Bao Ma Experience Sharing” once a month, although the number of private domain users was reduced from 100,000 to 30,000, but the repurchase rate increased by 60% – less but more effective interaction, far better than the huge zombie user pool.

3.3 Mistakenly taking “traffic scale” as “asset quality”: a measure of user value

An Internet celebrity tea brand indulged in the gimmick of “more than 10 million fans”, but ignored the fact that its user repurchase rate was only 9%, and eventually went bankrupt due to a broken capital chain. This “traffic scale cult” exposes the cognitive bias of “user assets” – the real user assets are not “how many people follow you”, but “how many people are willing to continue to pay for you”.

SM’s user operations are always oriented towards “quality”. Although its total global fan base is not as large as that of some traffic-based entertainment companies, its core fans have a combined “annual consumption + communication value” that is 2.3 times that of its rivals. SM has a “user health formula”:User value = consumption amount× interaction frequency× number of referrals, not just looking at the size of fans. It’s like two stores, store A has 1,000 customers but each person comes 1 time a year, and store B has 300 customers but each person comes 10 times a year and brings friends, obviously store B has higher asset quality.

Enterprises need to reconstruct the user value evaluation system: look less at the “total number of users” and more at “NPS (Net Promoter Score)” and “Annual Consumption Frequency”. When users are willing to actively recommend your brand and are willing to spend during non-promotional times, it truly becomes an “value-added asset”.

Chapter 4: A 4-step action framework for enterprises to implement “fan thinking”

SM’s “fan thinking” is not exclusive magic in the entertainment industry, but a set of user operation methodologies that can be disassembled and transferred. Enterprises do not need to copy the “support culture” or “virtual idols”, but only need to focus on the core of “user assetization” and follow the following four steps to achieve the transformation from “traffic harvesting” to “value precipitation”.

4.1 Step 1: Map User Assets – Find Your Core Fans

Businesses must first be clear: not all users are worth investing the same resources. SM targets high-value users through a “three-dimensional scoring model”, which can be directly reused – labeling users with “consumption power× engagement× and communication power” to distinguish between “core assets”, “potential assets” and “traffic users”.

  • Spending power:not only look at the amount of consumption, but also look at the frequency of consumption (such as users who consume ≥ 3 times a year and twice the unit price of ≥ per customer, which is prioritized over users who consume a large amount of money at one time);
  • Engagement:Including private domain interaction (community speeches, questionnaire feedback), content browsing (brand tweet completion rate, video viewing time), etc.;
  • Transmission:Measured by “whether branded content is shared”, “number of new users referred”, and “frequency of social media mentions”.

IKEA has used this model to analyze user data and found that although the average annual consumption of the “25-35 year old female mother” group (about 8,000 yuan) is not as high as that of “corporate purchasing customers” (about 50,000 yuan), the participation (62% of offline experience activities, the frequency of community interaction more than 3 times a week) and communication power (41% of the circle of friends sharing IKEA solutions) are much higher than other groups. After 6 months, the cost of new users recommended and converted by this group was 62% lower than that of traditional advertising, and the repurchase rate increased by 37%.

The key to mapping is to reject “one size fits all”: SM will not let EXO’s core fans and aespa’s new fans participate in the same event, and companies should avoid harassing all users with uniform promotional text messages – find your “core 20% of users” to spend resources on the cutting edge.

4.2 Step 2: Design an “emotional value package” – jump out of the quagmire of “price war”

SM’s users are willing to pay for the premium, and the core is that its “emotional value package” design hits the psychological need of “being valued and treated exclusively”.Enterprises can build their own value system from three dimensions, so that users feel that “spending money on emotions, not products”.

  • Functional layer:basic products or services (e.g., SM’s albums, physical goods of businesses);
  • Emotional layer:Exclusive experience (such as SM’s “artist handwritten thank you letter”, enterprises can design “founder’s signature gift box” and “user exclusive number”);
  • Social layer:Circle identity logo (such as SM’s fan name and cheering color, enterprises can design “member-exclusive badges” and “offline event admission bracelets”).

Starbucks’ “Gold Star Member Exclusive Benefits” is a typical case: in addition to accumulating stars to redeem drinks, users who spend more than 12,000 yuan a year can also get “exclusive birthday invitation coupons” (free customized constellation cups), “Coffee Master One-on-One Tasting Session” qualification (limited to 20 places per month), and even have the opportunity to participate in “blind testing of new product development”. The cost of these rights accounts for only 8% of the product price, but the data shows that the average annual consumption of gold star members is 2.3 times higher than that of ordinary members, and they actively share more than 3 million pieces of “member-exclusive experience” content on social platforms, which is equivalent to saving 20 million brand communication costs.

The core principle of the design is “scarcity> cost-effectiveness”: SM’s limited edition peripherals never reduce the price, because once the “exclusive emotional experience” is discounted, it loses its value. Enterprises should avoid turning “emotional value” into “discount gifts”, but let it become a reason for users to “have to do it”.

4.3 Step 3: Build a “high-frequency interaction matrix” – maintain the “temperature” of the relationship

SM’s user stickiness, from “at least 3 times a week” non-trading interactions. If a company only thinks of users when it is promoted, it will fall into the embarrassment of “contact when needed”. The key to building an interaction matrix is “fragmented penetration, scenario-based reach”, which can be divided into three categories:

Daily light interaction:For example, SM’s Bubble daily sharing, enterprises can do “brand behind-the-scenes stories” (such as designer manuscripts, warehouse packaging process), “user story collection” (such as “Celebrate an unforgettable birthday with our products”);

Periodic Activities:1 small interaction per month (such as voting for new product colors), 1 medium-sized activity per quarter (such as offline experience classes, user salons);

Ritual sense node:Users send “non-discount wishes” (such as customized e-cards, founder’s voices) on their birthdays, and invite core users to participate in the “review live” on the brand’s anniversary.

Royal Pet Food’s “Royal Pet Club” operation is worth learning from: pushing “pet behavior training tips” (with veterinarian appearances) on the private domain community every week, holding a monthly “cute pet fashion show” (photos of winning pets will be printed on quarterly limited packaging), and inviting 100 core users to visit the R&D center of the French headquarters every year. The data shows that the average daily stay time of users participating in the interaction has increased from 1.2 minutes to 8.7 minutes, the repurchase cycle has been shortened from 3 months to 1.5 months, and the proportion of recommending relatives and friends to buy has reached 39%, far exceeding the industry average of 12%.

Remember: the purpose of interaction is to “brush presence”, not “force orders”. Just like friends chat often to maintain a relationship, users will only think of you when they need it if they feel that “the brand remembers me”.

4.4 Step 4: Establish a “value growth flywheel” – let users spontaneously “add value”

SM’s ultimate ability is to allow users to change from “passive consumption” to “actively create value for the brand”. The logic of this “user value-added flywheel” is simple: users pay → get rewards→ pay more→ and get a greater return, forming a self-cycle.

Step 1: Low threshold contribution (such as voting, sharing) and return “emotional recognition” (such as public thanks, points reward);

Step 2: Medium payment (such as participating in co-creation and purchasing high-value products), returning “scarce rights” (such as preemptive purchase, offline participation rights);

Step 3: In-depth dedication (such as recommending new users, defending against negative reviews), and rewarding “identity upgrades” (such as “brand ambassador” certification, profit sharing).

The “knowledge city-state” system of the Get APP confirms this logic: users can get “get shells” (redeemable e-books) for sharing course notes, which is an emotional reward for low-threshold efforts; Users who participate in the “Course Syllabus Voting” and “Author Q&A” can become “Content Experience Officers” and give priority to obtaining the trial qualification of new courses (scarce rights and interests paid by moderate); Users who recommend more than 50 new users per year will be invited to join the “Luo Zhenyu Private Meeting” to participate in platform strategy discussions (in-depth identity upgrade). In the end, the platform’s user referrals accounted for 47% of the total number of new users, the customer acquisition cost was 58% lower than the industry average, and the annual ARPU value (average user revenue) of core users reached 1,200 yuan, which was 6 times that of ordinary users.

The core of the flywheel is to “let every effort of users have a visible return” – SM fans are willing to stay up late to play the list because “idols will thank fans when they win awards”; Corporate users are willing to actively communicate because “brands make them feel like participants, not spectators.”

Through these four steps, enterprises can transform SM’s “fan thinking” into actionable actions: first find core users, then bind them with emotional value, maintain relationships through high-frequency interaction, and finally let users spontaneously create value for the brand. It’s not about “pleasing users,” it’s about managing “user assets” in a smarter way — after all, the most sustainable growth always comes from “people who already believe in you.”

Conclusion: From “making money once” to “making money for a lifetime”

When companies are still worried about “how to get users to buy one more time”, SM has already proven with the 18-year user life cycle that true business wisdom is the ability to turn the logic of “making money once” into “making money for a lifetime”.

SM’s fan operation has never been “star-chasing economics”, but the most simple “relationship management”. It tells us: users will not be loyal because “you sell cheap”, but will stay because “you understand him, value him, and need him”. Just like IKEA’s Bao Ma users are willing to pay for “exclusive design services”, Starbucks’ gold star members are willing to renew their “tasting qualifications”, the lifetime value of these users is far from being measured by a single promotion.

For enterprises, the key to transformation is not to imitate the form of “fan support”, but to learn the underlying thinking of SM: treat users as “assets” rather than “traffic”, interactions as “investments” rather than “costs”, and relationships as “cornerstones” rather than “tools”. When you are willing to give up short-term traffic harvesting, patiently cultivate users’ emotional connections, and when you dare to give “brand decision-making power” to users, so that they can change from “bystanders” to “co-builders”, users will naturally repay with continuous consumption, spontaneous communication, and firm support.

After all, the ultimate battlefield in business is never price, but trust. The most touching thing about SM’s story is that it shows us that when the relationship between the brand and the user is deep enough, “making money for a lifetime” is just a matter of course.

The data in this article comes from the Internet, if there is a data errata, please point it out.

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