Strong commitment that filled the gap left by having no marketer in-house. Consulting and hands-on work, together to the next stage.

Industry: HR services specialising in the tax accountancy sector
Employees: 14
Challenge: lack of marketing resources

Mitsukaru Inc., which runs recruitment and M&A support businesses specialising in nationally qualified professions, had no marketing staff in-house and was concerned about its lack of know-how in digital initiatives. In the past it had signed outsourcing contracts with several firms and individuals without getting satisfactory results, and at one point reportedly decided to cancel them all at once.

In response to the CEO’s wish to drive digital marketing forward quickly and powerfully, NowVillage began working with the company in June 2022. This time, we asked Mr Jonouchi, Representative Director, about the background to asking us for digital marketing support, the results, and what he expects from us going forward

Resources spent on building relationships with many vendors, without the results they wanted…

― First, could you tell us your role and what the company does?

I’m Yo Jonouchi, Representative Director of Mitsukaru Inc. We founded the company in August 2020, with recruitment and M&A support specialising in nationally qualified professions as our main businesses.

― What are your current marketing goals?

We aim to hit the target figures in our business plans for both B2B and B2C. The main metric is the growth rate of new registrations on our job site.

At present we mainly ask NowVillage for three things: planning and running our own YouTube channel, nurturing, and writing articles for SEO. We only started YouTube recently, and they are helping us run it with the goal of reaching 10,000 channel subscribers in the first year.

For nurturing^*1, we are aiming for a 1.7% increase in total registrations. New customers are steadily increasing, so it’s a figure we think we can reach if users who have been with us for a long time start taking CE interviews again. Then there’s article production for SEO. Aiming for top rankings, we leave everything to them in one go, from keyword selection through planning, writing and management.

*1: A business term meaning customer development. Examples include nurturing prospects until they are ready to buy, and nurturing existing customers into repeat customers.

― Before coming to us, what methods were you using in digital marketing?

As for YouTube, I had done my own research and felt that (this field) was a blue ocean, so I wanted to start straight away. But when it came to actually doing it, we had nobody in-house who could handle everything from video planning to direction, editing and channel management.

I approached various vendors, but the more people involved, the higher the communication cost, which was a problem. And even after struggling to build those relationships, we didn’t get the results we wanted. That was when I learned about NowVillage. When I heard a little about them, they said they could also handle communication with outsourced vendors on our behalf, so I thought I’d like to ask them to do various things. I think the timing of their proposal was good too.

They understand the company’s situation and propose what we want done before we ask

― What was the “deciding factor” in choosing NowVillage?

At first, the introduction from an acquaintance counted for a lot. Through an acquaintance I trust, I had the opportunity to meet Mr Imamura (NowVillage CEO). That person recommended them, saying, “Jo-kun (Mr Jonouchi), you should leave it to them.”

When I talked with Mr Imamura, partly because both companies are start-ups, I felt we understood each other’s company situation deeply. Another big factor was that Mr Chikuma, who still looks after us, said, “Please let me do it. I’ll commit fully.”

― Please tell us about the effects of introducing NowVillage’s services, both qualitative and quantitative.

Until then I had been spending my own time dealing with various vendors, but since we started working together I’ve been able to hand over much of that work. Being able to concentrate on designing the upstream part of marketing, which is what I should really be doing as CEO, made a big difference. Quantitatively, our YouTube subscribers have grown by nearly 750, so rather than being satisfied with where we are, I hope we can keep growing it.

― Please tell us why you have continued working with us for one year and three months so far.

The biggest reason is probably that there’s no stress in communication. Until then, whichever company we worked with, I felt, “They don’t understand our company.” NowVillage, on the other hand, understands us deeply and, on that basis, proposes what (we) want done before we ask. It’s no exaggeration to say they work like our own employees.

We ask them for both consulting and hands-on work. Their level of commitment is in a different league

― How do things stand with your marketing now, and what do you expect from NowVillage going forward?

On the marketing side, my impression is that we’ve been able to put into action the bare minimum we planned when we founded the company. Even so, if the finished state of our marketing is 100, we’re still at about 30. I note down upcoming tasks in a notepad every week, and honestly they’re nowhere near done. I have about 500 tasks right now (laughs). From NowVillage, I’d like the same fast-paced planning and operation as before, and since we will need marketing initiatives to scale the company further, I hope they will build that part together with us.

― We’d be glad to support your initiatives for scaling too. What do you see as our distinguishing features?

I’d say it’s that we can ask them to handle digital marketing entirely, from planning through to operation.
Sometimes I even think we could outsource to the whole (NowVillage) team. As for Mr Chikuma, who looks after us, I’d almost like him to come and join us.

― We’re honoured. Finally, what kind of companies would you recommend NowVillage to?

I’d recommend them to start-ups like us that have no digital marketing staff in-house. Also companies that have someone responsible for marketing but can’t keep up with the detailed parts (the hands-on work).

For start-ups, speed is everything, isn’t it? If you choose an outsourcing partner that won’t commit, that becomes a bottleneck, sales don’t grow, and lots of companies go under. NowVillage handles both marketing consulting and the hands-on work, so they’re a great fit for companies at our (start-up) stage.

To put it boldly, rather than assigning a marketing person through an intermediary agency, I think you’re better off going with NowVillage. Their level of commitment is in a different league.

― Thank you very much.

---

Mitsukaru Inc.
Website: https://mitsukaru-corp.co.jp/
Industry: HR services specialising in the tax accountancy sector
Employees: 14

---