Accelerating new B2C business with marketing automation | B・MORE Corporation
B・MORE Corporation
| Location | Archival STAND, 4-2-36 Ijiri, Minami-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka |
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| URL | https://www.kugulu.jp/ |
BowNow completes the management of customer information, which had been an issue. Streamline step management and document download services to acquire new customers and make business negotiations smoother.
Please introduce your company
Mr. Sekiya: We are mainly engaged in OEM of apparel and production of products for other companies' brands. Up until now, we have always done OEM work for major domestic apparel companies and famous brands.
Now, more and more customers in the apparel industry are selling directly to consumers on an individual basis. As the industry has been depressed by Corona, we have changed our direction and are now strengthening the B2C part of our business.
Last year, we created a website and decided to expand our customer base through small-lot production overseas, mainly in Guangzhou, China, which is one of our strengths.
For small-lot orders, we basically use domestic sewing factories, but the unit price is still cheaper overseas. When general consumers want to sell goods through EC, it becomes a risk if the initial investment is too large. The theme of our company is to lower the threshold and help people who have never made anything before to produce apparel.
Our customer base ranges from those who already have 5,000 to 6,000 followers on Instagram to those who still have a few hundred followers but want to try their hand at apparel e-commerce.
Maybe it's because of the plight of the Corona disaster and the enhancement of EC platforms, but there are also a lot of people from companies in completely different industries from the apparel industry, and they seem to have found us by searching the Internet.
【Challenges before implementation】Challenges in the sales style at limited locations; online sales oriented to increase customer traffic via the Web
Why did you decide to implement MA?
Mr. Sekiya: I had known about Startia from their IR information, but as I looked at their business, I also learned about their group company Cloud Circus, BowNow and MA tools.
In fact, we were facing the problem of managing the information of an unspecified number of B2C customers at that time. At the time, I was overwhelmed with a large amount of paperwork and customer service.
In addition, many of the customers had no experience in apparel, so I had to explain the process of apparel production to them one by one. We couldn't keep up with the follow-up on this point, and we felt we were facing a challenge when we came across MA.
【Selection Points】Seeking a MA tool that provides necessary functions in a simple and easy to use manner
What was the deciding factor for you to use BowNow?
Mr. Sekiya: I learned about MA when I couldn't keep up with the follow-up with my customers, and after looking at several, I decided to try BowNow.
I looked at other companies' tools, but while they had a lot of functions and were very comprehensive, they seemed complicated.
Since I am the sole owner of this business and I have no plans to hire a new dedicated person for MA, I wanted to choose a tool that was easy to use.
【Measures & Effects】BowNow is used for customer step management and document download service. New business takes off by increasing the rate of business negotiations
What kind of measures are you currently using BowNow for?
Mr. Sekiya: First of all, we use the status management function of BowNow to divide our customers into steps and see the progress of each step.
At the timing of an inquiry, we use BowNow to check which part of the process led the customer to make an inquiry.
In the apparel manufacturing process, after receiving an inquiry, we propose the material, and once the material is selected, we make a sample, and then place an order.
With BowNow, we can visualize the status of customers and the number of people per step, which has streamlined the management of customer information. Perhaps because of this, the rate of business negotiations after sending an e-mail is high, and one third of the e-mails lead to a request.
We are also using BowNow for our document download service.
Many of our customers are not familiar with apparel production, and it used to take a lot of time and effort to explain the manufacturing process to them.
In response, we created a "Monozukuri Manual" and made it available for customers to download free of charge.
We also received a lot of inquiries about "rough estimates," so we made a list and documented it.
Customers who came to us from there could start by talking about materials, which made it easy for them to take the next step. BowNow also allows us to see if the customer has downloaded the materials before making an inquiry, which has visibly reduced the time it takes to reply to emails.
What specific results have you seen since you started your marketing efforts?
Mr. Sekiya: Our new business, "kugulu," is starting to look like a viable business on its own.
We launched our first advertisement for "kugulu" in November last year, took a break in January and February due to the Chinese New Year, and started full-scale operations in March. We had originally anticipated demand and were not worried about acquiring new customers, but it has taken off in a shorter time than expected.
The apparel industry was damaged by COVID-19, and everyone is turning to e-commerce sites, but I am looking in a different direction. There are definitely customers who want to make things, so I want to continue to capture their needs.
【Future Outlook】
What would you like to challenge in the future with BowNow and marketing initiatives?
Mr. Sekiya: Most recently, I'd like to create rules for MA.
We are getting a lot of new customers through advertisements, so we want to raise the status of each one.For example, if a customer who downloads a document does not go as far as making an inquiry, we will send them a mail magazine, and if they do not reply, we will send them another mail two weeks later.
Since we have been able to acquire customers with high demand, I would like to create a model for responding to e-mails. Once we get to that point, it won't be so difficult to communicate with customers.
【Customer Voice】BowNow's detailed support will help you learn MA and put it into practice.
Do you have any comments for BowNow or Cloud Circus Inc. in the future?
Mr. Sekiya: BowNow's support has been very helpful.
It was good that the support staff held meetings for us so that we could study the software half-heartedly. If I hadn't had that kind of support, I might have ended up just putting the code in at the beginning.
Can you to give a message to those who are considering to introduce BowNow?
Mr. Sekiya: It's worth a try.
To be honest, I was surprised that there was someone who could support us. I don't think there is any other MA tool at this price that has a person in charge to take care of various details.
Thank you very much!
