Growing at 300% year on year. Leave web marketing to the professionals and focus on core work.

Growth Management Consulting Inc., which provides management consulting to small and medium-sized businesses (subsidy application services, coaching, business planning and more), was struggling with the declining acquisition efficiency of the Google Ads it ran in-house.

The company was also in an unprecedented growth phase, growing at a pace of 300% year on year, and wanting to focus on its core work, it was looking for a partner it could trust with its web advertising.

Through a fortunate connection, the company began working with NowVillage in February 2023.

We spoke to Mr Ueno, Representative Director, and Mr Kato, Director, about why they asked NowVillage for digital marketing support, what it has achieved, and what they expect from us in future.

Worsening efficiency, plus the busy season in the core business. Looking for someone to take it all on

― Could you tell us your positions and where you work? 　

Ueno: I’m Ueno, Representative Director of Growth Management Consulting Inc., which provides management consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

Kato: I’m Kato, a director of the same company. Pleased to meet you.

― Before you came to NowVillage, what marketing problems did you have?

Ueno: Before working with you, we were running search ads ourselves.

But the numbers we were getting at first gradually declined over time. On top of that, we discovered that money was just draining away without producing any leads. “We know we need to improve how we run it, but we don’t know where to start…” That situation went on for a while.

Then the busy season arrived for “subsidy application services”, one of our main businesses, and we simply had no time to spend on advertising. To focus on that core work, we reluctantly decided to pause the search ads for a while.

But when things calmed down and we restarted the search ads, efficiency was even worse than before we paused… We agreed, “We really do need to ask professionals.” That’s how we came to be looking for a partner who would take on everything to do with our web advertising.

― What led you to ask NowVillage for digital marketing support?

Ueno: It started when an affiliated company introduced us, as a firm that provides digital marketing support. To be honest, we were considering one other company too, but the proposal (from NowVillage) was so easy to understand. That was the deciding factor, and we started working together.

Why, when and what: a proposal with a story was the deciding factor

― What did you value in our proposal?

Ueno: Our request at the time was quite unusual: we set out our annual budget for web marketing as a whole up front, and asked for all the necessary costs, including production, running costs and fees, to fit within it.

Even so, NowVillage’s proposal was very logical, working steadily through about seven phases with the goal of ultimately strengthening closing.

The story of what would be strengthened, and in what order, was very easy to follow, and being shown that right at the start really struck a chord with us.

Kato: I couldn’t join that meeting, but when I later looked at the proposal Mr Ueno shared with me, I found it very easy to understand. What to do and when, in order to achieve the goal, was broken down in detail, and because we could see it all in one overview at the start, it was easy to picture concretely what the work ahead would look like.

― What results have you seen from working with NowVillage?

Ueno: One is that we could hand over the whole job of running our ads, so we can now focus on our core work. In a business like ours, many clients (who want to apply for subsidies) come to us through referrals from existing connections, but we needed to think about generating leads through other channels, not just referrals.

We see growing direct orders through web marketing as one of the essential pieces of our business growth, so we want to keep putting effort into it.

Kato: Beyond web marketing, you also actively support us with hiring, training and sales, and with questions about advertising for clients who want to apply for subsidies, which is a huge help.

They respond so quickly! We value being close enough to discuss anything, any time

― Where are things now, and is there anything you expect from NowVillage in future?

Kato: If you can support it, I’d like to ask for more help on the “sales” side. However many leads we get from the web, they don’t become profit unless they turn into actual orders, so we want to strengthen that sales part more.

Also, just as an example, if there were a service like “We have a telemarketing team! We’ll do it for so much per call!”, we might well ask you to do that with us too.

― What would you say is distinctive about NowVillage? 　

Ueno: Above all, you respond quickly! We really appreciate that. In a good way, we feel close to everyone, and you’ve built a relationship where we can easily ask for advice at any time, which helps us a lot.

Kato: You’re flexible and positive about everything. In fact, we consult you quite a lot about things other than web advertising, such as systems, don’t we?

― Finally, what kind of company would you recommend NowVillage‘s services to? 　

Ueno: Thanks to you, if we can keep up this pace, we expect to achieve three times last year’s annual revenue this financial year. Being able to hand over our web advertising, so that our staff could focus on core work, is one of the reasons. At the moment you mainly support us with search ads, so I’d definitely recommend you to businesses in sectors where search ads are effective.

Kato: Ultimately, I think I could recommend you to any industry. You’d be ideal for companies that lack marketing know-how, companies that want to start a new business, or simply companies that haven’t had time to get started on web marketing.

You’d also suit companies that want to test-market a new product. (NowVillage) respond quickly and have strong analytical skills, so I think you’d get a fair amount of information at an early stage.

Finally, a word about our own company (Growth Management Consulting): if you want to start a new business, or want to upgrade systems or invest in equipment to solve problems in your existing business, do consider applying for a subsidy. When you do, we’ll support you all the way!

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Growth Management Consulting Inc.

Website: https://gromana.com/

Industry: Consulting

Services: Subsidy application services / Liaison with financial institutions / Executive coaching / Business planning