Hosted "Offsite Meeting Spring 2024-1" for Knowledge Sharing Among Community Managers

Background of the event

Hello. My name is Miura, and I am in charge of public relations. We recently held a two-day "Off-Site Meeting 2024 Spring" online. The purpose of this meeting is to exchange information and share knowledge on community management and user communication policies among companies, and we regularly invite people who are in charge of community management.
On the first day, four persons in charge from four companies attended the meeting.

List of participating companies Kadoya Sesame Mills IncorporatedMr. / Ms. CO-OPDELI CONSUMERS’ CO-OPERATIVE UNION./ Mr. Pasco Shikishima Corporation/ Mr. ROHTO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.*Alphabetical order, titles omitted in the following text.

The moderator for both days will be our advisor, Mr. Shinya Mizuno. Mr. Mizuno was previously involved in digital marketing at KAGOME CO., LTD., and in the advertising department, he managed the community site "&KAGOME" as a "Nakanohito", and is a leading expert in corporate community management. He is a leading figure in the management of corporate communities.

Shinya Mizuno Senior analyst, ITR CORPORATION. / Representative, Mikke Tech .LLC At KAGOME CO., LTD., he worked in the information systems division and the advertising division. He has been promoting digital marketing utilizing the website Social media as well as building information systems such as supply chain management. In the advertising division, he operates the community website "&KAGOME" as a "Nakahito" (a person in the middle). Currently, he is engaged in IT market research at IT-R Corporation, writes about customer engagement with a focus on corporate communities, and provides consulting services to companies. and "With Corona Era, the Frontline of Community Co-Creation, a Step Ahead. He is the author of "The Latest Digital Marketing Guide for Future Business" (MDN Corporation).

This year's discussion will focus on two topics, How to leverage your community. and "Issues of community management in your company". and "Issues of community management in your company".

Theme1.-Community Utilization

The discussion was led by asking each company what activities they are currently conducting on their community sites and how they are utilizing them. First, we asked about the main activities of Kadoya's community site, "Kadoya Sesame Labo.

Kadoya Oil Company representative: Kadoya Oil Company has been in business for more than 165 years, but we have only just started our community site.
We are very happy to be able to communicate with our members through the community site and to see the excitement among them. In the future, We would like to carry out various activities based on the branding of Shodoshima, the place of our establishment. Shodoshima, where the company was founded. We are also very pleased to see that our members are getting excited about the new brand of Shodoshima, We are also working on joint creation of menu planning We are also involved in menu co-creation planning and other activities based on our cafe "goma to" in Jiyugaoka.
Branding of Shodoshima, the place where the company was founded

 

Mr. Mizuno: The place where Kadoya Seiyu was founded is Shodoshima, and it would be interesting to look at it from that regional perspective. Do you have any examples of how fans in the area where the company was founded have strong roots?

Shikishima Baking Company representative: This is different from where we were founded, but Pasco's bread is made from "domestic wheat," with a particular emphasis on wheat from Hokkaido. As part of our corporate project, we are running a Hokkaido tour gift campaign for customers who purchase our domestic wheat bread. The Hokkaido tour includes a visit to the fields where the wheat used in our products is grown.

Rohto representative: Since long ago, our company has often been featured on local Osaka TV programs, so I feel that we are seen as an interesting company by the local people.
We also held "Cocolort Fes 2023" last year, inviting approximately 1,200 members. Since our products are delivered to customers via drugstores, we don't have much contact with customers in actual stores. Therefore, we decided to hold this event because it would be an opportunity to have direct contact with them.
Although most of the participants were local Osaka members, we were happy to see some enthusiastic members who came from Tokyo, even though they had to pay for their own transportation to and from the venue.

Mr. Mizuno: So you held a large scale event. Have others of you held such events?

Shikishima Baking Company representative: In our case, we conduct factory tours and Pasco Library tours for 20 to 30 people each. Also, like Rohto Pharmaceutical, we have highly enthusiastic members who come from far away despite having to pay their own transportation expenses.

Coop Deliche representative: Coop Deliche is an organization of 7 prefectures in Tokyo, and we hold events for tens of thousands of people in each prefecture every year. We are also planning to hold a real event as Coop Deliche.

Rohto representative: I mentioned earlier that we held "Cocolort Fes 2023" last year. At that event, we had employees from departments that normally do not have much contact with members participate in introducing products and running various hands-on booths as staff on the day. In fact, there were employees who said, "This is the first time I have had contact with customers. However, One of the major results of the event was that direct contact with members led to inner branding and increased motivation within the company. One of the major results of the event was that it led to inner branding and increased motivation within the company.
In the post-event questionnaire, we received many employee-centered comments from members, such as, "The employees were very lively," and we also received feedback that the corporate image was improved and the level of positive perception was increased.
Since the event was held for the first time last year and received a favorable response, we are considering holding a similar event this year.
Cocolote Fes2023 Live Report

Mr. Mizuno: I believe that members are often pleased with projects in which employees appear, but I would like to hear from you what kind of response you get from members when employees appear.

Kadoya Oil representative: The interaction between members and employees at the event was well received by our company as well. Since they share a common interest in sesame seeds, members enjoy talking with each other. We also get a lot of feedback on our community website when our mail-order representatives introduce mail-order products. After reading the article, we receive positive comments such as, "I've always been curious about this product. I'd like to try it." We receive many positive comments, which lead to actual purchases.

Shikishima Baking Company representative: We held an event called "The Largest Sandwich Making Lesson" with the largest number of participants in the world. This event was a corporate project, but we also invited about 50 community members. Also, we distributed leaflets to all participants, Some of the general participants who saw the leaflets distributed to the attendees registered as members of the community, which is an example of how real events and the community can work together. This is an example of how real events and communities are linked. Invitations to factory tours and the PASCO Library are also popular. The ability to communicate directly with Shikishima Baking Company employees is the main attraction, and many members participate in these events every year. In a post-event survey, one member said, "It was fun to actually talk with the employees.

Mr. Mizuno: Talking about "interaction between members and employees," Coop Deli's delivery staff is exactly between Coop Deli and its members, so interaction is taking place there as well.

Coopdeli representative: We are a closed organization and our relationship with customers is different from that of general distribution, but we are based on the idea of engaging with customers on an equal footing. Our organizational culture is based on We value "chatting" as part of our organizational culture. We believe that one of our strengths is that we value "chatting" as part of our organizational culture. We value communication through conversations between groups or individuals and our delivery staff.
Let's bring this on-site chatting online! That was our concept when we launched Coop Deliche. Avoiding a high-profile theme, We wanted to create content that would be easy for people of all ages to join in the conversation. We try to avoid topics that are too difficult to discuss, and instead provide content that allows people of all ages to easily join in the conversation.

Mr. Mizuno: I understand that you value "chatting" as part of your organizational culture, and I think everyone else is thinking of reflecting that kind of organizational culture and corporate culture in the community as well. What are your thoughts on this?

Kadoya Oil representative: I can sympathize with the impact of organizational climate and company culture on the community. Our company culture is calm, which started on Shodoshima Island, and has been loved by the local community. I have the impression that many of our members are also relatively calm.

Rohto representative: Our head office is in Osaka, but a high percentage of our community members are from the Tokyo metropolitan area, which has a large population. However, we do sense a high level of enthusiasm among local members. At regular roundtable discussions, local members actively offer suggestions and opinions, and in such situations, I sometimes feel the regional characteristics of the community.

Shikishima Baking Company representative: We have a corporate philosophy of contributing to society, and I feel that our members understand our corporate culture. We feel that our members understand our corporate culture and are very sympathetic and supportive of our efforts. Recently, we collected point donations to support the Noto Peninsula earthquake relief efforts, and 120,000 yen worth of points were collected and donated to "Save the Children 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake Emergency Children's Aid". This initiative was realized based on a suggestion from a member who wondered if it would be possible to provide support to the affected areas through comments, postings, and inquiry forms.
Report of Point de Donation Results

Mr. Mizuno: The corporate culture and company DNA are also important in the community. By creating opportunities for direct contact with employees, we can show them the true size of the company. We heard various examples of how each company utilizes its community. Listening to everyone's stories, I was able to share new methods of utilization and learning, as well as gain new insights. I hope that everyone will make use of the information to revitalize their own corporate communities.

Theme2.-Concerns about community management in your company

Mr.Mizuno: The next theme is "concerns about community management" from a different perspective within your company. Since community site management is different from pure PR activities, there are some people within the company who question how much it contributes to sales promotion and other aspects. Therefore, we would like to ask how to obtain internal cooperation, how to obtain internal approval, and how community activities and collected feedback are returned to the company.

Shikishima Baking Company representative: We ask our members to fill out questionnaires or conduct group interviews to help us in product development. We return the feedback of these members back to the company, and there have been cases where such feedback has been incorporated into actual products.
On the other hand, we also need to make people understand more about the value of community sites within the company. At the start, we worked to increase the number of members, but now we are focusing on revitalizing the community. As for internal cooperation, we are continuing our efforts to deepen understanding and expand our network of contacts within the company through active internal sales and participation in employee events.

Coop Deli representative: In the Sample Lab, we are giving back to the sales floor the many comments we gather from our monitors. Starting this year, we are thinking of conducting group interviews with the winners and aiming to circulate beyond the voices. We would like to make the Coop Deliche a place where we can hear not just "it was delicious," but also how they incorporate the product into their daily lives, and the real voices of those who continue to use the product, together with the manufacturers. We would like to start a new step forward from our chats.
Sample Lab

Kadoya Oil representative: We are facing the issue that there is still not enough understanding of the community within the company. Therefore, we are making efforts to proactively share within the company the activities of the Sesame Lab and the voices that are being gathered.

Rohto representative: We are receiving an increasing number of requests to use the members of our community site as a panel survey for our brand representatives as well. As a community representative, we want our customers to like our company and brand. We hope that this can be tied to future product development, but we feel that we need to be creative so that we are not biased toward surveys. We want to give back to the company, but we also want our customers to like our company and our brand.

Mr. Mizuno: From time to time, we are asked by community managers whether it is a burden for members to be asked to complete surveys, but I don't think it is a bad idea to ask them to do so. I believe that members want to be involved in some way with the community and the products of the company. Too much is not good, but I believe that the members like the products and the companies, so they are happy to participate.

Participant's voice

Finally, here are some comments from those who participated in this off-site meeting.

As I listened to the conversation, the current issues facing our company became clear to me. I also got the impression that everyone was proactively holding events, so I felt that we would like to plan events involving the entire company to make our community site more exciting.

I am glad that I was able to listen to the stories of other companies operating community websites. I would like to continue to enjoy the operation of the site in the future."

I learned a lot about the difficulties and successes you all had in running the site, which will be helpful to me in my future operations. We will use what we learned today in our community."

I learned a lot from today's discussion, as each company had their own problems and solutions. I would like to visit your community more often in the future and use it as a reference.

Organizer's Postscript - Reflections on Offsite Meeting Spring 2024-1