Part 2 of the interview with Takumi Kato, who has been engaged in marketing work at leading companies such as Mitsubishi Electric and Honda Motor Co., Ltd., and is currently engaged in numerous studies on “ethical consumption” as a full-time lecturer at Meiji University’s Faculty of Commerce. Bullet.
Last time, we asked them to explain the concept of ethical consumption, the background to its trends, issues such as green washing, and the structure of successful brand concept examples.
In this second part, he will talk about the role of marketers behind successful initiatives in areas such as HR tech, and the importance of brand concepts in marketing.
Let’s take a look together at what the role of marketers is in successful companies, and what tips Japanese companies can use to survive in the global battle.
The marketer’s mission is to create value that is conveyed to general consumers, from elementary school students to the elderly.
–In the first part, you talked about how the presence of marketers who connect experts and consumers is the key to the penetration of ethical consumption. How many experts like Professor Kato are currently working on research on brand strategy and ethics in Japan?
Currently, there are still very few people working as
Kato
experts. A major reason for this is the deep gulf between business and research in Japan.
For example, Stanford University, which has been a hub of innovation in the United States, derives about 25% of its university income from collaborative research. Looking at the environment, at the University of Cambridge in the UK, there are research institutes such as Microsoft and Apple right near the campus, so research and business are closely linked. In Japan, on the other hand, the relationship between business and research institutions has been estranged. Particularly in the field of marketing, companies are highly confidential, making it difficult for outside researchers to enter the field. As a result, there is a tendency to focus on after-the-fact data such as sales (POS) data and product usage data.
–I see. In Europe and America, the worlds of business and academia are closely connected, but there is a big difference in that they are separated in Japan.
KatoAlso
, I think that one of the reasons why the values of ethical consumption have not fully penetrated to general consumers is that there is a problem in the way that experts communicate things that are difficult for the general public to understand. I am.
My personal policy is that when communicating a product, service, or technology to people, if it doesn’t reach general consumers, from elementary school students to the elderly, I believe that it doesn’t have enough value. . The first step in a project is not only to avoid technical terms and excessive English, but also to clarify the concept of what value it has for consumers and employees.
Regarding ethical consumption, there are many terms and communication methods that are difficult for the general public to understand, and the current situation is that the value of ethical consumption is not reaching consumers.
–That’s why we need marketing experts like Professor Kato who can plan, design, and embody value for the general public.
KatoNo
matter how objectively excellent the technology is, if it is not recognized as being useful to people, investment will not be attracted to it. Therefore, we need the help of marketers to ensure that excellent technology does not die.
Brand management is not about flashy advertisements or events. Below is a diagram that makes it easier to understand (Figure 1). A concept is the raison d’être of a product or service, and defines what practical and psychological problems it solves for consumers and employees. This is something you will never reach. Given the technical and social constraints, a perfect state with no problems is basically impossible. Brand management is a steady journey that takes you step by step from your current location toward that concept.
However, we believe that simply making a product look better on the surface without the actual technology and activities to back it up is not true marketing. Even if it is accepted by consumers, it will be a fleeting fad and will soon be imitated, making it no longer competitive. After all, a brand can only be strong if it has substance such as technology.
Figure 1 Diagram of brand management (provided by Takumi Kato)
A successful example of a PC log collection system that transformed into a “welcomed HR tech” by replacing the concept
–Mr. Kato, you are also conducting joint projects with companies and local governments. Are there any particularly interesting cases?
Kato
: To give you a recent example, we developed a concept for artificial intelligence technology in joint research with NEC. Masanori Koizumi, a senior professional in the company’s corporate business development department, also recognized the importance of concepts in leveraging technology, and worked with the same sense of purpose.
Among NEC’s wide variety of technologies, this time it was personal computer log analysis technology. Common uses include detecting employee laziness and mental health problems, but this approach is difficult to gain support from employees. Instead, it is necessary to understand the problems faced by employees and develop a service concept to solve them.
The problem we focused on was “that’s me fraud”. In large organizations, it can become unclear who contributed to the project and to what extent. As a result, people are seen as the driving force behind success, even though they are left to their subordinates. People who don’t even understand the content, but get results by talking smartly. If this situation becomes rampant, employees will be dissatisfied, there will be a high risk of talent loss, and it will be a big loss for the company.
Therefore, we formulated the concept of “detecting the true driving force behind a project.” Employees can focus on their work with peace of mind when they know that their accomplishments will be recognized appropriately. We have demonstrated that this significantly increases employees’ intention to adopt the technology. In other words, rather than trying to push technology over the top, we design value by linking technology with the problems faced by employees.
–This is an episode that clearly shows how important the concept is.
Reference link
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Kato, T., Kurachi, T., Fujita, K., Yajima, M., Hayami, K., Koizumi, M. (2024). Verification of the concept of utilizing personal computer log management technology to improve employee motivation. Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2102, 69-78. Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-64359-0_6
- https://www.meiji.ac.jp/shogaku/topics/2023/mkmht0000016nki9.html
Once the concept is formulated, there is only verification.
–Once you have formulated the concept, what actions should you take next? Could you please tell me more details?
Reference link:
https://www.cross-m.co.jp/news/release/20240717_pr1/
KatoAfter
formulating the concept, there is only a concept test. However, until now, there have not been enough concept testing services based on scientific knowledge. Therefore, we conducted joint research and development with Cross Marketing’s Customer Solution Division led by Executive Officer Susumu Kamei.
Concept testing is highly confidential in companies, so the desired design findings have rarely been shared. As a result, test designs vary by department and person in charge, resulting in inconsistent test quality and difficulty in comparing each test.
There are four points below.
1.
What should I show? :
In concept testing, presenting the company brand increases the accuracy of market share estimation. No matter how good a product concept is, if consumers don’t know who (which company) is talking about it, it will be difficult for them to make an appropriate decision. If the purpose is to verify the concept itself at the early stage of development, there is no problem in presenting only the concept. However, as development progresses, if the purpose is to estimate market share, a corporate brand should be attached to the concept and verified.
Reference link
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Kato, T., Kamei, S., Ootsubo, T., & Ichiki, Y. (2023). More information is not better: examining appropriate information for estimating sales performance in concept testing. Journal of Business Analytics, 1-15, Taylor & Francis.
https://doi.org/10.1080/2573234X.2023.2167670
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Kato, T., Kamei, S., Ootsubo, T., & Ichiki, Y. (2023). Effective factors for estimating market share in concept testing. Procedia Computer Science, 217, 198-204, Elsevier.
https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2022.12.215
2.
Who should I show it to? :
Concept tests require respondents to imagine the value of a product or service based on limited information. Therefore, it is difficult to judge unless the respondent has a certain level of imagination. As a result, early adopters tend to have higher response accuracy than late adopters.
Reference source
Kato, T., Zhu, Y., Nagata, Y., Kubo, J., Matsue, T., Tanaka., Y., Umeyama, T., Kamei, S. (2024). Early adopters vs. late adopters : Estimating accuracy of concept testing by selecting respondents based on diffusion of innovations. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, Springer.
3.
How should I show it? :
Consumers tend to be attracted to “limited editions”. If we utilize this characteristic in concept tests, response accuracy will be better if the concept is viewed within a time limit (limited) rather than if we are forced to watch the concept.
Reference link
Kato, T., Ohno, T., Takizawa, R., Ichiki, Y., Zhu, Y., Umeyama, T., Kamei, S. (2024). Verification of time setting to improve share estimation accuracy in concept testing . Proceedings of the 2024 American Marketing Association Winter Academic Conference, 1-12.
https://www.ama.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-AMA-Winter-Proceedings_Feb-9-2024.pdf
4.
How should I show it? :
In a research environment, there is no need to pay for purchases, so there is a concern that there may be a discrepancy with actual behavior. Therefore, by introducing a design screen that mimics EC, it becomes easier to feel reality and the answers are more in line with actual purchasing behavior. As a result, the accuracy of estimating market share is higher with a screen design that mimics an e-commerce site than with a regular screen design. The effect is higher for third-party e-commerce sites than for manufacturer brand e-commerce sites.
Referenced by Takumi Kato, Yu Zhu, Yusuke Nagata, Junnosuke Kubo, Moeya Matsue, Yuta Tanaka, Takahiko Umeyama, Susumu Kamei. (2024). Improving the quality of product concept testing through EC screen design – targeting durable consumer goods Verification of the accuracy of estimating market sales share using
Based on these findings, we designed a service that increases the accuracy of concept tests. Concepts tend to rely on intuitive decision-making, so the basis for decision-making through verification is extremely important.
You can avoid wasted investment by estimating customer demand before resources have been committed to developing a physical prototype. Concept testing plays an especially important role in durable consumer goods, where product development requires large amounts of capital. Therefore, it can be said that concept testing contributes to a company’s product competitiveness.
In order to take advantage of Japan’s technological capabilities to compete against the world – we must reaffirm the importance of marketing
–As you have said, the role of a marketer is to accurately design the brand concept. The problem for Japanese business may be that there is a shortage of such marketers and that there are still many companies that are not aware of the importance of marketing.
Kato:
That’s right. There is no doubt that Japanese companies still have world-class technology in many fields. However, the current situation is that there is an overwhelming lack of marketers who can formulate concepts that will lead to increased value.
There are cases where keywords and budgets are presented such as “Do something with big data,” “Do something with the cloud,” “Do something with DX,” or “Do something with AI,” and the project progresses without the marketer. It is seen here and there.
Therefore, if there are marketers who can think of value for consumers, their skills will be put to good use. Technology is for people.