Polycom Japan
Polycom Japan Co., Ltd.
Business content: Sales expansion, marketing, and support business for products related to communication such as audio and video
Business content: Sales expansion, marketing, and support business for products related to communication such as audio and video
記事公開日：2022年05月19日
Marketers at foreign-affiliated companies are thinking about achieving results efficiently with a small number of people. In order to meet the high expectations required, we challenged unique measures with ITmedia Inc., and the results far exceeded expectations, such as acquiring high-quality leads at a low unit price and achieving a high CTR from advertising content to our site. I got Poly. In addition to the content of these efforts, we will introduce the company's ideal relationship with media companies.
For more information on advertorial article this page
| Introduction of background and issues |
・Looking for a unique project that would allow me to obtain high-quality leads even with a limited budget. ・Necessary to deal with not only awareness-raising measures but also team issues that prioritize lead acquisition. ・Create a case study article that my company's sales demand |
|---|---|
| Implementation details |
Placement of advertorial articles in "ITmedia Business Online" |
| Effect of use |
・ By high-quality monitor recruitment articles, we were able to achieve lead acquisition nearly five times as expected. ・ With the cooperation of two monitor companies, we were able to produce excellent case studies. ・ By collecting highly accurate leads along with the results of the questionnaire, we were able to smoothly connect from follow-up calls to business negotiations. ・ A new way to use advertorial article was seen as a mechanism to achieve both awareness expansion and lead acquisition. |
In 2018, Plantronics Inc. of the United States integrated Polycom. The combination of Plantronics, a well-established headset maker, and Polycom, which has developed video conferencing solutions equipped with numerous audio, video, and conferencing technologies, is a global initiative that promotes meaningful connections and collaboration among people. It has evolved into a communication company and announced the "Poly" brand in 2019.
Seiko Ishihara (Marketing Manager, Marketing Department) is the marketer for the B2B division at the company's Japanese subsidiary. Ms. Ishihara, who works as a member of the APAC (Asia Pacific Region) Revenue Marketing Team in Japan within a marketing organization, is required to achieve high numerical targets within a limited budget, and "expands awareness. The challenge is how to allocate investment to measures that are expected to be effective while covering a wide range of areas such as "lead acquisition" and "closing."
So why did Ms. Ishihara decide to place a advertorial article ITmedia Inc. on ITmedia? We talked in detail.
● New marketing challenges brought about by covid-19 disaster
――The organizational structure changed in 2020, and you are working on various measures as a so-called “one-operator marketer”. Has there been any change in marketing activities due to covid-19 disaster?
Ms.Ishihara: That's right. Until now, measures aimed at end users who experience our products have depended on real events and trade shows. Entering the covid-19 disaster, it became impossible to take such highly accurate lead acquisition measures at all, and the issue of "how to acquire good quality leads online" was born.
――We often hear that it is difficult for foreign-affiliated companies like yours to take measures to increase awareness because demand generation is important. Did you have such an issue?
Ms. Ishihara: We have similar issues. You can't spend money on measures that aim to increase awareness, but increasing awareness is also important for expanding the top of the funnel. Therefore, we are looking for greedy measures that aim to increase awareness together as much as possible while taking measures for demand generation.
――We often hear that it is difficult for foreign-affiliated companies like yours to take measures to increase awareness because demand generation is important. Did you have such an issue?
Ms. Ishihara: We have similar issues. You can't spend money on measures that aim to increase awareness, but increasing awareness is also important for expanding the top of the funnel. Therefore, we are looking for greedy measures that aim to increase awareness together as much as possible while taking measures for demand generation.
● What was obtained by a challenging project that abandoned the commitment to commitment
――Under such circumstances, we had you put up a monitor recruitment and a advertorial article of two case articles on "ITmedia Business Online". Please tell us the reason why you chose ITmedia Inc. and how you came to publish it.
Ms. Ishihara: I already had a relationship with ITmedia when I joined ITmedia Inc., so to be honest, I don't remember the first reason (laughs), but the goal of the measure I want to do and the sense of money match. I have the impression that the cost performance is good. Also, this was the first time I tried to plan a monitor recruitment while I had a long relationship.
As I mentioned earlier, there is a problem that it is difficult to secure the expected number of leads just by placing a advertorial article of commitment (lead acquisition guarantee).
Therefore, I always tell the sales staff of ITmedia Inc., "I would like you to tell me if there are any unique measures." Therefore, the proposal was a challenging one, "First, we will publish a recruitment article for monitors, and then we will produce case studies for two companies from among the applicant companies."
In fact, there has always been a voice in our sales team saying, "I want a case study of a new product." However, there are not many companies that can cooperate in the production of case studies, and I received suggestions for things that could not be realized, and I thought, "This is good!".
――However, since the monitor recruitment is not a lead acquisition guarantee type, there was no guarantee that the desired number of leads would be collected. Did the APAC team disagree?
Ms. Ishihara: The APAC team not only said, "I want to publish a advertorial article," but also said, "Since there is a request from sales to" create a case, "I want to create a case through article placement." .. The purpose is not only "lead acquisition" but also "case creation". He explained that while responding to requests from sales, it will also be a measure that can respond to marketing issues. Although it is not a guaranteed type, we were able to gain the understanding of the team by telling the expected number of leads, as well as expecting case production and awareness expansion.
Ms. Ishihara: I already had a relationship with ITmedia when I joined ITmedia Inc., so to be honest, I don't remember the first reason (laughs), but the goal of the measure I want to do and the sense of money match. I have the impression that the cost performance is good. Also, this was the first time I tried to plan a monitor recruitment while I had a long relationship.
As I mentioned earlier, there is a problem that it is difficult to secure the expected number of leads just by placing a advertorial article of commitment (lead acquisition guarantee).
Therefore, I always tell the sales staff of ITmedia Inc., "I would like you to tell me if there are any unique measures." Therefore, the proposal was a challenging one, "First, we will publish a recruitment article for monitors, and then we will produce case studies for two companies from among the applicant companies."
In fact, there has always been a voice in our sales team saying, "I want a case study of a new product." However, there are not many companies that can cooperate in the production of case studies, and I received suggestions for things that could not be realized, and I thought, "This is good!".
――However, since the monitor recruitment is not a lead acquisition guarantee type, there was no guarantee that the desired number of leads would be collected. Did the APAC team disagree?
Ms. Ishihara: The APAC team not only said, "I want to publish a advertorial article," but also said, "Since there is a request from sales to" create a case, "I want to create a case through article placement." .. The purpose is not only "lead acquisition" but also "case creation". He explained that while responding to requests from sales, it will also be a measure that can respond to marketing issues. Although it is not a guaranteed type, we were able to gain the understanding of the team by telling the expected number of leads, as well as expecting case production and awareness expansion.
↑ The "Poly Sync" family of USB speakerphones that recruited monitors. From the top, "Poly Sync 60", "Poly Sync 40", "Poly Sync 20"
――In the monitor recruitment article, it seems that there were nearly five times as many applications as originally expected.
Ms.Ishihara: That's right. It was just unexpected, and I felt like I was freaking out! Not only the "number" of leads, but also the "quality" was good because we received applications from people of various business types and company sizes. In addition, I am very satisfied with the article itself, not only by recruiting monitors, but also by producing a high-quality article as a product introduction article, such as a normal tie-up article.
――The two companies that will be used as examples were picked up from there. How did you proceed with the follow-up?
Ms. Ishihara : First, I narrowed down the candidates, shared the list internally, and then the telemarketer of our company made a follow-up call and agreed to make a case.
――When recruiting monitors, we also conducted a questionnaire. How was the result utilized?
Ms. Ishihara : This time, we made a follow-up call to a company that did not reach the case, and we communicated based on the results of the questionnaire. I heard that it was easy to have a conversation because it was possible to have a conversation with the customer's issues understood in advance to some extent, and some of them could be made into a project.
Ms.Ishihara: That's right. It was just unexpected, and I felt like I was freaking out! Not only the "number" of leads, but also the "quality" was good because we received applications from people of various business types and company sizes. In addition, I am very satisfied with the article itself, not only by recruiting monitors, but also by producing a high-quality article as a product introduction article, such as a normal tie-up article.
――The two companies that will be used as examples were picked up from there. How did you proceed with the follow-up?
Ms. Ishihara : First, I narrowed down the candidates, shared the list internally, and then the telemarketer of our company made a follow-up call and agreed to make a case.
――When recruiting monitors, we also conducted a questionnaire. How was the result utilized?
Ms. Ishihara : This time, we made a follow-up call to a company that did not reach the case, and we communicated based on the results of the questionnaire. I heard that it was easy to have a conversation because it was possible to have a conversation with the customer's issues understood in advance to some extent, and some of them could be made into a project.
● Corporate marketers and media sales representatives are “Nikoichi”
――Please tell us your frank impressions through this initiative.
Ms. Ishihara:It was a big realization that you can get enough leads as long as the content of the article is enough, even if you do not stick to the lead acquisition guarantee. Until now, it was difficult to take on measures for which the number of leads was not guaranteed, but the fact that we were able to produce results with this new initiative also provided an opportunity to review how to use advertorial article in the future. Also, I think it was great that I was able to discuss with the sales staff ideas that would lead to overall good results everywhere in the series of measures.
Ms. Ishihara:It was a big realization that you can get enough leads as long as the content of the article is enough, even if you do not stick to the lead acquisition guarantee. Until now, it was difficult to take on measures for which the number of leads was not guaranteed, but the fact that we were able to produce results with this new initiative also provided an opportunity to review how to use advertorial article in the future. Also, I think it was great that I was able to discuss with the sales staff ideas that would lead to overall good results everywhere in the series of measures.
--The other day, a page that collects your company's articles was also released in ITmedia Business Online.
Ms. Ishihara : The two articles we conducted as case studies have links to our own website, and the CTR was very good. On the other hand, even if you come to our website, the structure is different from the general corporate website in Japan, so for the first time, it was difficult to access the necessary information at first glance.
However, the website is branded globally and there are many restrictions on refurbishment and new LP production. If you were wondering what was going on, a sales representative from ITmedia suggested, "Why don't you create ITmedia Inc. page'that connects the advertorial content and the Poly website?" I decided to make it if I could make a friendly page. The name Middle Page is also easy to convey to English-speaking people. When I explained, "It connects the'public market'and'our website'," it was immediately understood.
ITmedia Inc., please tell us about your future prospects and expectations for ITmedia.
Ms. Ishihara: Given the limited human resources and budget, it is necessary to raise awareness and acquire a large number of high-quality leads. We always set the hurdles high, and I sincerely hope that ITmedia Inc. sales representatives will continue to propose highly effective and unique measures to achieve them. Let's continue to work together with "Nikoichi"!
Ms. Ishihara: Given the limited human resources and budget, it is necessary to raise awareness and acquire a large number of high-quality leads. We always set the hurdles high, and I sincerely hope that ITmedia Inc. sales representatives will continue to propose highly effective and unique measures to achieve them. Let's continue to work together with "Nikoichi"!
* The information provided is as of May 2022.
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