Internal marketing of Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, Ieyasu and other Sengoku warlords [Learning about marketing from historical greats, Part 4]

This series is written by Kenji Morioka, a small and medium-sized business consultant and author of “Success and failure of Sengoku warlords through SWOT analysis”, in which he explains the strategies of Sengoku warlords and historical greats. In Part 4, we will explain the “internal marketing” practiced by Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Internal marketing is a marketing method used by companies toward their employees, and refers to the overall process aimed at improving organizational strength. The purpose is to create a virtuous cycle that improves employee loyalty, improves organizational performance, and improves

customer loyalty

.

What kind of leadership did the three great Sengoku heroes demonstrate to improve their organizational strength in order to unify the country and maintain peace during the Sengoku era? Let’s learn hints that lead to modern management and marketing techniques from the internal marketing of people in the world!

Let’s take a look at Oda Nobunaga’s choices and judgments from a marketing perspective [Learning about marketing from history’s great figures, Part 1]

A Sengoku daimyo struggles to maintain the motivation of his vassals.

Did you know that the hierarchical relationship during the Sengoku period was much looser than expected?

It is often thought that once the head of the family gave an order, the vassals would act without regard for their own lives, but in reality the relationship was not that strong.

It is said that it was not until the Edo period that a strong bond of loyalty began to form between the head of the family and his vassals.

Until then, the relationship was based on a contract, similar to modern employment relationships.

In return for the favors given to them by the head of the family, such as territory, vassals are given servitude in return, and this is a much drier relationship than one might imagine.

During the Sengoku period, when the weakest survived, as a survival strategy for samurai, it was not at all cowardly, but rather a natural right, to defect to an enemy who offered favorable conditions.

As a result, they often switched sides to the enemy, and sometimes even used force to exterminate the head of the family.

Also, contrary to the popular image, Sengoku daimyo did not have absolute power, but only had power at the level of being the representative of the group.

For example, the Shimazu family has the image of being the strongest in the Sengoku period, but it is said that the head of the Shimazu family owned only about 20% of the approximately 210,000 koku territory before the Taiko Kenchi. The power of the head of the family to speak was commensurately limited.

For this reason, the feudal lords of the Sengoku period took various measures to avoid being abandoned by their vassals, taking into consideration the expectations and intentions of each.

I think this is similar to how modern companies struggle to maintain employee motivation and focus on internal marketing.

What is engagement? Thorough explanation of the meaning in marketing

What is internal marketing?

Internal marketing is a marketing method aimed internally within a company.

This method involves taking measures to increase employee satisfaction, which will lead to improvements in the quality of service to customers, which will be reflected in improved customer satisfaction.

Recently, it has been attracting a lot of attention along with fan marketing.

Sen Rikyu and Furuta Oribe’s fan marketing that alarmed Hideyoshi and Ieyasu [Marketing to learn from history’s greats, Part 3]

Internal marketing has the following effects and benefits:

1. Improved productivity and work efficiency

As employees become more proactive about their work, productivity and work efficiency can be expected to improve. As a result, you can expect to increase sales and reduce costs.

2. Improving corporate image and brand power

A positive attitude of employees gives a good image to customers, whether B2C or B2B. This also leads to improved branding of companies, products, and services.

3. Reducing the cost of recruiting human resources

 In the current situation where the labor shortage is accelerating due to population decline, this is an extremely important factor in preventing employee turnover and in recruiting new employees.

It is said to be effective for companies that operate in B2C, such as retail and service industries, but it is thought to have the same effect in B2B as well.

The disadvantage is that it is not directly related to sales. Internal marketing is only meant to strengthen the core of an organization.

There are various methods of internal marketing, such as optimizing the organizational structure. Among them, the following are representative ones.

1. Improve compensation and benefits

 A generally easy-to-understand method is to improve the treatment of employees. Increased motivation to work can be expected by increasing the understanding of the relationship between work and remuneration. However, it is said that there is an upper limit to this.

2. Spread the organization’s philosophy and vision

 The top of the organization clarifies the philosophy and vision for the company’s operations, and works to spread it throughout the company. By understanding the direction you are aiming for, you can expect to improve your job satisfaction.

3. Increasing employees’ motivation to contribute

 Strengthening engagement leads to an increase in employees’ motivation to contribute. To achieve this, we give responsibility and authority to our employees. Increasing autonomy leads to increased satisfaction.

4. Create a system that allows for self-actualization

 Self-actualization is considered the most advanced of human desires. We support our employees in what they want to do and what they are aiming for. We support your growth by assisting with training and qualification acquisition.

5. Optimization of organizational structure

 It is also important to create a system that allows employees to work efficiently and with less dissatisfaction. This includes a hierarchical structure that is optimized for work flow, and the placement of the right people in the right places.

Sengoku feudal lords also had many vassals, and in order to maintain and expand their organizations, they took internal measures similar to modern internal marketing methods.

Self-actualization using tea ceremony by Nobunaga Oda

The general impression is that Oda Nobunaga was able to smoothly embark on the project of unifying the country because he inherited all of his father Nobuhide’s legacy.

However, Nobunaga inherited only about half of his father’s legacy, and built up the organization on his own, mainly through new and mid-career recruitment. In modern terms, it seems that the environment was similar to that of the second generation of a small to medium-sized business.

Therefore, in order to maintain and improve the motivation of his vassals, he takes measures that can be thought of as modern-day internal marketing.

At that time, in terms of remuneration and benefits, letters, territory, and money were the mainstream. In addition to these, Nobunaga also gave tea utensils to be used at tea ceremonies as a special reward.

Around this time, in Kinai, the cultural center of Japan, practicing the tea ceremony became a kind of status, not only for court nobles and townspeople, but also for samurai.

A famous anecdote is that Kazumasu Takigawa, a vassal, requested tea utensils from Nobunaga instead of land as a reward. In exchange for the tea utensils, he was given the province of Ueno, which is modern-day Gunma Prefecture, but it is said that he was extremely disappointed.

Nobunaga is also taking measures in terms of the organization’s philosophy and vision. They protected Yoshiaki Ashikaga and supported the restoration of the Muromachi shogunate, and used the “Tenkafubu” seal on their letters to show the organization’s vision both internally and externally.

Nobunaga made the cause of his activities clear to his vassals and outsiders. By the way, according to recent research, Tenkafubu does not mean unifying the entire country, but rather means spreading peace in the Kinki region.

In addition to these, competent vassals were appointed as regional commanders, giving them great authority and responsibility, and entrusting them with the strategy of conquering each region. I guess you could call it an area manager in modern times.

Lastly, related to the tea utensils we receive as compensation, we are also taking measures for self-actualization. As a reward, Nobunaga offered his vassals the right to hold a tea party.

It is said that hosting tea parties was a hobby of cultural figures at the time, and those who had this right were envied by those around them.

In fact, the number of people who were granted this permission was limited to Nobutada Oda, Mitsuhide Akechi, Hideyoshi Hashiba, and Sadakatsu Murai. Nobunaga’s use of tea ceremony to control his vassals in this way is called Ochato Goseido.

However, it may be ironic that Nobunaga was killed by Mitsuhide, who had approved of the tea ceremony, and that Hideyoshi took over power.

Part 2: What is the difference between business strategy and marketing strategy? ~What is the essence of a good strategy~ Kao Hirosawa series

Reference link:

Ochayu Omasedo

(Wikipedia)

Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s use of the principles and vision of the Toyotomi government

Although Toyotomi Hideyoshi inherited Nobunaga’s policies, he also used many unique methods to unify the country.

In particular, because they rose through the ranks as farmers, they have no vassals from their ancestors, and are struggling to secure talented personnel and maintain their organization.

In terms of rewards, we will give appropriate territory to those who are capable and cooperative. Tokugawa Ieyasu, Mori Terumoto, Uesugi Kagekatsu, and others were granted large fiefs worth over 1 million koku.

He also gave appropriate fiefdoms to outstanding bureaucrats such as Mitsunari Ishida and Nagamori Masuda. This is a reward that would have been unimaginable in the Tokugawa Shogunate. They are trying to increase their motivation by giving them appropriate territory and to draw out their loyalty to the Toyotomi government.

In terms of their desire to contribute, top bureaucrats such as Mitsunari are entrusted with the role of guiding local daimyo. Hideyoshi, like Nobunaga, gave great authority and responsibility to those he deemed capable.

The official rank bestowed upon him by the imperial court was given to his vassals. We aim to improve satisfaction by granting high-ranking official titles that were previously available only to court nobles.

And we are leveraging our philosophy and vision. As if to carry on Nobunaga’s will, he tried to control the feudal lords of the Sengoku period using the cause of Tenka tranquility (a peaceful social situation throughout the country under the orders of the Son of Heaven).

Also, the military commanders who were subordinate to the Toyotomi family were able to feel legitimacy in their actions because of this cause. In today’s world, you might imagine that you are participating in a highly social project.

Perhaps as a result of this, Hideyoshi’s project to unify the country proceeded smoothly. Many of the Sengoku warlords may have grown tired of the era of war and were looking for an era of stability.

However, Hideyoshi’s new vision of tranquility (Editor’s note: seihitsu = quiet and peaceful) for East Asia, including China, set by Hideyoshi after the unification of Japan caused great trouble within the Toyotomi government. will be left behind.

In order to realize this reckless vision, the vassals were exhausted from two expeditions, and their dissatisfaction with the compensation and organizational structure piled up, leading to them splitting into two factions and starting internal conflicts.

I think this internal marketing failure hastened the collapse of the Toyotomi government.

Optimization of the organizational structure of the Edo shogunate by Ieyasu Tokugawa

Ieyasu, who had watched the government run by Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, used the successes and failures as a foundation to carefully and boldly make improvements.

I believe that Ieyasu placed particular emphasis on remuneration and organizational structure. The reason why the Edo Shogunate was able to maintain its system for 260 years may be due to the success of this optimization.

The number of Toyotomi Fudai military commanders who played an active role in the victory at the Battle of Sekigahara has been significantly increased, and many of them have become kunimochi daimyo class.

For example, Kiyomasa Kato lived in Higo Province, Masanori Fukushima lived in Aki and Bingo, Yukinaga Asano lived in Kii, Nagamasa Kuroda lived in Chikuzen, and Tadaoki Hosokawa lived in Buzen.

On the other hand, we have deliberately avoided a large increase in the number of Fudai vassals of the Tokugawa family. Instead, the evaluation is reflected and adjusted within the organizational structure of the Shogunate.

In the Toyotomi government, Tozama daimyos with large fiefdoms were allowed to participate in politics as Tairo, but in the Edo shogunate, Tozama daimyos were not given the right to be involved in political affairs.

Only the feudal lords of the Tokugawa family were allowed to lead politics, and even members of the Tokugawa clan, such as the three Tokugawa families who held large fiefs, were not allowed to take part in political affairs.

Furthermore, the government had an exquisite structure in which feudal lords with large fiefdoms were ranked higher in official rank. Rewards and privileges are clearly separated to maintain each employee’s motivation.

In addition, government ranks, which are limited in number, are separated for use by the samurai class, in order to avoid dissatisfaction among the court nobles.

On the other hand, Fudai daimyo, who were in charge of political affairs, were given appropriate responsibility and authority, and those who achieved results were given additional grants. In addition, by having multiple people in charge, we are reducing the burden while preventing monopolization of power.

In terms of ideology and vision, the shogunate strived to instill in each daimyo a sense of civil rule, which respected the vital activities of the people, rather than governing by force, and achieved peace and peace.

Incidentally, it is said that the purpose of the Fifth Shogun Tsunayoshi’s Edict of Compassion for Living Creatures was to spread respect for life.

However, towards the end of the Edo period, the organizational structure of the shogunate became increasingly unsuitable for the times, and this led to increasing dissatisfaction, especially among feudal lords from large domains and feudal lords who were unable to participate in politics. Then, he began to seek ties with the imperial court.

In order to suppress this dissatisfaction, Naosuke Ii attempted to purge the area under the authority of the Tairo in the Great Prison of Ansei, but the so-called employee satisfaction level exploded, leading to the assassination of the Tairo, known as the Sakuradamon-gai Incident.

After this incident, the organization found it difficult to maintain motivation and eventually collapsed.

Internal marketing from the Sengoku period that still applies today

Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, Ieyasu, and other powerful figures during the Sengoku period used measures similar to modern internal marketing for their vassals in order to improve their organizational capabilities in preparation for the great project of unifying the country.

I also think it is very interesting that there are differences in the measures taken depending on the environment and stage of each situation.

It is difficult to increase remuneration and benefits indefinitely, so it is extremely difficult to balance them with results, just as it is today. Ieyasu’s separation of remuneration and authority within the shogunate may be a method rarely seen in modern times.

Philosophy and vision have recently received renewed attention in modern times, and I believe Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu were also strongly aware of them when leading huge organizations.

Although each group had different scales, they were all acting with the goal of ensuring the stability of the world.

In terms of the desire to contribute, Nobunaga may have surprisingly given the most responsibility and authority to his subordinates. As a result, he was defeated by Mitsuhide Akechi’s rebel army (editor’s note: defeated = killed). It seems that you need to be careful about the balance with your own authority.

In today’s world, where safety in life and daily life can be expected, the spotlight is particularly on the realization of self-actualization.

During the Sengoku period, Nobunaga utilized the culture of tea ceremony and the right to hold tea ceremonies to maintain motivation.

Now that people are choosing jobs not based on salary or remuneration, but based on motivation, there may be some points in which Nobunaga’s method can be used as a reference.

In terms of organizational structure, Ieyasu skillfully reflected the failures of the Toyotomi government and created an exquisite system that allowed the organization to maintain its structure for 260 years. The separation of rewards and privileges is very interesting.

However, it is important to note that no matter how elaborately created, reforms will eventually be necessary.

Looking at it this way, many of the measures used to maintain organizations and control vassals during the Sengoku period have many similarities to modern internal marketing. I think it would be a good idea to refer to these examples of failures in order to improve employee satisfaction.