Generate leads for maximum profit with minimum number of people| Endline Corporation
Mr. Keiichi Yamamoto, President, Endline Corporation
Generate leads for maximum profit with minimum number of people
Endline Corporation
| Location | 2-3-36 Tenjin, ibb fukuoka Building 4F, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka |
|---|---|
| Establishment | September, 2004 |
| Business Activity | Design and planning of banners, banners, and displays |
| URL | https://www.endline.co.jp/ |
Please introduce your company
Mr. Yamamoto: We are a company that mainly provides promotional goods such as banners, drapes, banners, and signs to help our customers attract customers. What sets us apart from conventional sales promotion goods production companies is that we offer "proposals that commit to results. What sets us apart from conventional promotional products production companies is that we offer "proposals that commit to results," which means that we not only provide promotional products, but also focus on supporting activities with an eye to the customer's sales. Our target is small and medium-sized companies nationwide, with a focus on Fukuoka where our head office is located.
【Challenges】Why did you decide to implement marketing automation (MA)?
This sales activity would become a business challenge. When I did a Google search for our company name, the word "junk mail" appeared in the suggestions. Now that I think about it, it was probably because we were sending e-mails to completely unprospective customers. It was a fruitless measure for the amount of effort we put into it, so we started looking into MA (Marketing Automation) tools as a way to approach our customers more efficiently.
Actually, we had known about the existence of MA tools before, but we thought it would be difficult for our company because of the high cost of implementation alone, several hundred thousand yen.
【Selection Points】Implemented as it looks easy to use and it was so true!
The reasons to choose BowNow?
Mr. Yamamoto: One of our employees had heard about BowNow. We checked it out because it was a tool with a good reputation, and found that it had a free plan, and even the paid plan was in the tens of thousands of yen range. We thought this would be easy for our company to implement.
Another deciding factor was the fact that we knew the Startia Group, which provides BowNow. They used to be a sales company, but before we knew it, they started developing and providing their own marketing tools, and in just a few years, they have grown to boast a large number of implementations. The fact that they had not grown as a marketing company from the start, but rather as a vendor that had shifted from sales to marketing and was succeeding, made me feel close to them, so I contacted them.
When they gave us a presentation, I felt that the tool looked easy to use. For example, other companies' MA tools have a scenario function, but we had doubts about the flow of creating our own scenarios and running the PDCA cycle. I thought it would be impossible for the employees of a small and medium-sized company, who are busy with their work, to create scenarios and monitor the responses of leads in a limited time. In this respect, BowNow had no scenario function and a simple structure, so I thought it would be easy to use.
There are a lot of tools that management thinks are good to introduce, but they just add more work for the front line, and they end up not being used anymore. However, I thought that BowNow is a tool that meets the needs of the field. In fact, one of our marketing staff said, "I think we can use this.
【Measure and Usage】What small and medium-sized businesses should do with the coronavirus disaster and what they hope to achieve with BowNow
BowNow was introduced in May 2020. It was a time when business was stagnant due to the spread of the new coronavirus. Why did you decide to introduce BowNow at this time?
Mr. Yamamoto: Our sales have also been affected by the spread of the new coronavirus infection. However, as a manager, I am concerned that companies that are not prepared for this kind of situation will not be able to survive after the corona disaster. That is why I saw this as an opportunity to change our marketing system and introduced it.
With more and more companies working remotely or taking a leave of absence, there are many companies that can't find a staff member for telephone sales. Even in these situations, web marketing has the potential to capture leads. In fact, we have seen an increase in inquiries since late May, and we are feeling the effects of the introduction. Without MA, it would be difficult to achieve these kinds of web marketing results.
Has the organizational structure of sales and marketing changed before and after the introduction of BowNow?
Mr. Yamamoto: Yes. Originally, there was only one person in charge of marketing, but with the introduction of BowNow, we have increased the number of marketing staff by one, and we are planning to increase the number to three by assigning a new graduate. We are aiming to become a company that can maintain a high level of profit per employee even with a small number of people, and we would like to use BowNow to generate leads efficiently.
I plan to have new graduates play a role in chasing down leads from white paper downloads, etc., and turning them into deals. I am hoping that the new graduates, who have no sales experience and no connections with customers, will be able to gain experience in following up with customers through BowNow and be able to implement the PDCA cycle.
【Customer's Voice】Rural areas will have the advantage from now on! Small and medium-sized companies are the ones who need to introduce and utilize new tools.
Any message for companies that are considering it?
Mr. Yamamoto: I believe that smaller companies in rural areas need to be more proactive in introducing new tools and automation.
For example, if online sales become more common, there will be more opportunities for local companies to get jobs in Tokyo. Since there is no need to set up an office in Tokyo, local companies with lower fixed costs will have an advantage. In this case, MA tools such as BowNow will be useful in acquiring new customers.
It would be a shame to think that MA tools are only for large companies or that they are unnecessary for small local companies. There are many small local companies that are among the best in the country, and there is a good chance that they can expand their business by adding a tool like BowNow. That's why I think it's the small local companies that should introduce new tools.
The new tools will also help in increasing employee retention. In a sales company like ours, it is very difficult for one person to handle a large amount of work, from developing new business to negotiating and following up with existing customers. If you ask new graduates to do this, it will be too much work and may lead to early turnover.
By introducing MA tools and dividing up the work to be done by the system, you can create more time for human resource development, improve employee motivation, and increase the retention rate. Although it is essentially a tool to attract customers, it can also be a tool to increase employee satisfaction and solidify the management foundation, so smaller companies with insufficient manpower should definitely consider it.
