Kameda's Personal Commerce Strategy "ad:tech tokyo 2022" Report

Introduction

Hello. My name is Ishii, Public Relations and Executive Officer of eLife.
On October 20-21, 2022, we participated as an EXECUTIVE STAGE Sponsor in ad:tech Tokyo 2022, one of the largest marketing conferences in Asia, held at Tokyo Midtown and The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo.
On the 21st, Mr. Sano from KAMEDA SEIKA CO., LTD.and Mr. Kayama from Shopify Japan K.K. held a talk session at the Shopify booth event " Future of Commerce: Key Players in the Industry". Ltd.
We are supporting the construction and partial operation of "Kameda Seika Mail Order Ichiba," the official comprehensive e-commerce site that handles all brands of Kameda Seika, and we were able to hear very valuable discussions.

Introduction of speakers

(From left to right) Katsuhiko Kayama, Senior Account Executive, Shopify Plus, Shopify Japan KK; Fumie Sano, Senior Manager, Mail Order Team, Business Development, KAMEDA SEIKA CO., LTD.

Why Kameda Seika chose Shopify Plus

Kameda Seika's e-commercewebsite, Kameda Seika Mail Order Ichiba ( "Mail Order Ichiba"), has selected Shopify's Shopify Plus as its new commerce platform for the site renewal in September 2022.
Shopify is a commerce platform that enables omni-channel marketing on a global scale by integrating with Social media, such as LINE, Facebook, and Instagram .
Why would a well-established brand in the rice cracker industry, which has a number of well-known classic products such as "Kaki-no-tane (persimmon seeds) from Kameda" and "Happy Turn," engage in full-scale online shopping?
To Kayama's question, Sano responded as follows.

There was an opinion within the company that we didn't need e-commercebecause our products are sold everywhere. However, most of the customers who buy our rice crackers are in their 50s or older. So even if we wanted to appeal to younger customers, such as those in their 20s or younger, they do not buy rice crackers at real stores such as convenience stores and supermarkets. Therefore, mail order was essential for us to go out to where our customers are.

They tried opening a store in an online shopping mall, but found that there were limits to the customer data they could obtain. She reaffirmed the importance of connecting directly with customers through in-house E-Commerce.

Seeking 1-to-1 communication, Kameda Seika chooses Shopify Plus as its platform.
Ms. Sano explains why: ......
It is easy to visualize what status customers are in, so it is easy to understand what is going on.
It is easy to segment customers.
It is easy to analyze and analyze customer data in the shop.
Easily create landing pages and send out promotional emails without specialized knowledge.
......, among others.

Ms. Sano added, "We are grateful to eLife, an official Shopify Plus partner, for their assistance in communicating with our customers online and for their detailed support, including technical support.

Careful and maximum promotion corresponding to customer status

Ms. Sano recalls that when the renewed "Mail Order Ichiba" was finally opened, the company made the utmost efforts to promote the site.
I have been involved in marketing for a long time, so I know how important it is to catch the "first customers" at the time of opening," he says.

What measures did Kameda Seika take in response? ......
The company created a renewal-only assortment set at half the regular price and sold it for one month as the centerpiece of the renewal campaign.
In addition, the company offered a 30% discount on rice crackers, disaster prevention food, bread, and rice on a weekly basis. This provided an incentive for customers to repeat purchases without getting bored.

However, one of the issues that is often cited when renewing an E-Commerce site is the "transfer of existing customers" as well as the acquisition of new customers. It is not uncommon for users of the old site to fade away because they do not want to re-register on the new site. No matter how many new customers you gain, if you lose existing customers, the renewal will be less effective.

In the case of Kameda Seika, the company was also well prepared to deal with existing customers.
The discount coupons issued at the time of registration offered higher incentives to existing customers who re-registered than to new customers.
As a result, the company also succeeded in smoothly transferring existing customers to the renewal site.

Mr. Kayama exclaims, "This is truly a soulful device by the entire company.

Mr. Kayama, who has actually purchased products from Mail Order Ichiba, was impressed by the "consumer's perspective," such as the "Do not put anything on top of this" warning on the box and the first thank-you message he sees after opening the package.

Many of the measures were successful, and "Mail Order Ichiba" was able to attract more customers than before the renewal and meet its goals.

Q&A Session heated up

At the end of the program, a Q&A session section began to answer the questions of the audience participants. Everyone was highly interested in such topics as global expansion and communication issues related to personal commerce, and one after another, heated questions were directed to the podium. Here are excerpts from some of them.

Question: To the extent possible, what is your strategy for future overseas expansion at Kameda Seika?
Ms. Sano: This is a really difficult task, but we would like to consider including the use of overseas shopping malls.

Ms. Sano of Kameda Seika answers questions from participants

Question: What regions will you expand overseas?
Ms. Sano: We are thinking of Europe and the United States first. Our factories are located in Asia and the U.S., and we feel that the U.S. would be very easy to work with, but we are still considering specifics.

Question: Could you tell us about your e-mail communication with customers?
Ms. Sano: About 80% of the customer inquiries that I receive by e-mail, I write a reply to each one. Each customer's situation is a little different, so I change the text depending on the situation rather than just sending a template. By doing so, a log is kept on the customer's personal page, and other staff members can read the correspondence to understand the current situation.

The key is 1-to-1 communication

The lively Q&A session is finally coming to an end. Questions flew about 1to1, which was also the keyword of this personal commerce session.

Question: What do you particularly value in 1-to-1 communication?
Ms. Sano: It's obvious, but I try to leave as little time as possible to respond to you. Also, although it is a small thing, I think it is nice to know that someone is paying attention to you, so I try to read the situation of the recipient carefully from the e-mail I receive, and I make it very important to tailor the text accordingly. After all, at the end of the day, it is people to people, so the analog part is also very important to me.

Here, Sano mentions the greeting card that is included in the box with the product.

I could do without these greeting cards, too, but I value them because these feelings can never be expressed digitally. We change them every month, which is a challenge, but it's nice to get responses from customers like, 'I liked the greeting card,' or 'It's cute.'"
This is exactly what Mr. Kayama admired from the consumer's point of view, as mentioned above.

Mr. Kayama mentioned the importance of the essence of "popularity": an e-commerce site is not run by machines alone; it naturally conveys to customers that there are people behind the scenes communicating with them. Kameda's efforts incorporate exactly this "popular" response.

Through this session, Mr. Kayama was impressed with Kameda Seika, saying, "They are practicing what is important as a brand.

It was a meaningful talk session that discussed the possibilities of personal commerce and the importance of 1-to-1 communication.

After Kameda consulted with us about renewing their mail order site, Mr. Sano chose "Shopify Plus" without hesitation, and after much consideration and preparation with us, they renewed their "Mail Order Ichiba" site.
During this talk session, we also heard that Mr. Sano himself responds to emails from customers, and we were impressed by Kameda's emphasis on 1-to-1 communication.
We at eLifelook forward to supporting them in their future global expansion as well as in Japan.

eLife Achievements
Kameda Seika Mail Order Ichiba KAMEDA SEIKA CO., LTD.