Turning a B2B Car‑Dealer App into a Service‑Oriented Platform

Project Overview

The service‑upgrade project for the "CheShangTong" product targets B‑end car‑dealer users in 58.com’s used‑car market. The series will cover four perspectives—service transformation, brand upgrade, result measurement, and theory tracing—this article focuses on service transformation from an interaction viewpoint.

Business Context

CheShangTong provides end‑to‑end functions for second‑hand car dealers, including vehicle acquisition, dispatch, management, promotion, business opportunities, and interaction. The goal is to upgrade these capabilities into a cohesive service platform that supports the broader "big‑member" ecosystem (e.g., ChaDoctor, Youxin Auction, 58 Finance).

User Research

Field visits were conducted at Beijing’s Huaxiang and Xinfadi used‑car markets (two days) and phone interviews with dealers from other cities. Eight participants—large‑scale dealers, individual dealers, online operators, and acquisition specialists—were interviewed, revealing diverse, role‑based user types and core functional preferences.

Marketing‑oriented

General‑purpose

Tool‑oriented

Insights were mapped to user roles, core function distribution, and usage frequency, forming a demand pool for further development.

Problem Identification

Through framework analysis, UI walkthroughs, and data observation, the following major issues were uncovered:

Personal Center : Confusing tab + side‑pull layout; low entry rates.

Home Page : Redundant messages, inefficient search, weak extensibility; low usage of key modules.

Vehicle Source : Complex structure, high management threshold; users mainly view rather than manage.

Publishing : Need to improve success rate and information quality while supporting new publishing strategies.

Opportunities : Low‑efficiency middle page; minimal user interaction.

Marketing : High cognitive barrier, weak conversion; requires scenario‑driven logic.

Service‑Upgrade Solution

The redesign adopts five service dimensions: data, tool, content, marketing, and connection.

1. Core Function Scenario Integration

Replace side‑pull with a tab‑based structure to support business expansion.

Embed marketing logic directly into vehicle, data, and personal‑center pages.

Eliminate low‑conversion opportunity middle page and provide real‑time management prompts.

2. Data Service Upgrade

Introduce a dedicated "Data Second Floor" for advanced analytics and display key metrics on the home‑page header.

3. Tool Service Upgrade

Consolidate core tools (e.g., "Gold‑Hammer") into scenario‑based tabs, expose service capabilities such as auction listings, and enrich status and real‑time data displays.

4. Content Service Upgrade

Transform the bottom information flow into a content recommendation zone, adding community and peer‑circle feeds to enhance content quality.

5. Marketing Service Upgrade

Integrate vehicle‑management and data scenarios with marketing promotions.

Combine vehicle and shop management to foster a service mindset.

6. Connection Service Upgrade

Merge chat, messages, calls, and opportunity links into a unified messaging module, laying groundwork for future operational extensions.

Result Measurement (CES)

The redesign’s impact is evaluated using Customer Effort Score (CES). A pre‑test on the old version collected 352 valid responses, revealing that roughly half of users found the app effort‑saving, while a third felt it was labor‑intensive. Prioritized improvements target high‑weight, high‑effort services such as publishing, communication, marketing, and opportunity handling. A post‑test will compare the new version once stable.

Future Work

The next installment will discuss brand upgrading, and a dedicated session on theory tracing will introduce the CES methodology in depth.

Key Visuals