Building the marketing and PR team for the tablet POS “Smart Checkout”
Company Name: Smartech Corporation
Industry: IT Service
Business Description: Development and provision of tablet POS system
Interviewees: Dr. Yamamoto – President and Representative Director
Tomoki Kawakami – General Manager of Marketing Department
Interviewer: Mr. Yusuke Kamimura, ShapeWin
Growing from 400 stores to 25,000 stores in 3 years. The strategy behind creating the marketing and PR team for the tablet POS “Smart Checkout”.
This is a case study of a successful proposal in conducting PR, prioritizing clear media insights over a subjective approach to “assertive PR”.
Fuji Evening News published the interview with the president of Smartech Corporation on the front page. Also, TV Tokyo’s WBS featured this interview. The president of the company Mr.Yamamoto calls the “proper distance” as the key in developing the PR and marketing department from scratch.
Please tell us about “Smaregi” developed by PRAGRAM.
Mr. Yamamoto, President and Representative Director
This is a POS cash register service using the iPad and iPhone. Pragram is a software manufacturer that develops and provides applications for Smart Cash Register.
Until now, a dedicated terminal (POS register) was required for the checkout in a store, and the cost for that was high. We were able to cut the price down by using a general-purpose computer (and/or iPad) instead of the highly expensive terminal. In particular, POS registers from electronics manufacturers cost from 500,000 yen to 2 million yen per store just for the initial installation, while SmarRegi can be installed at about 150,000 yen to 200,000 yen.
Mr. Kamimura
I think that Smaregi is one of the best in the POS tablets market, which has been booming since about 2011. What do you think is the secret behind this success?
Mr. Yamamoto
It is the naming.
(Everyone laughs.)
Mr. Yamamoto
I think it is also because we set the functional requirements for a POS cash register from the beginning, especially for retailers and apparel stores.
Mr. Kamimura
The predecessor of Pragram was a design company. So, how did you develop Smart Cash Register?
Mr.Yamamoto
Since the days of the web production company, we split into a programmer`s team and a design`s team. The programmers worked on full-fledged business systems such as bank systems and real estate property searches. Being part of the team, I once worked on a POS system project for a drugstore.
Mr.Kamimura
Does this mean that you also built up the know-how for developing POS registers for retail stores at that time?
Mr.Yamamoto
The cash register was made not by a shop`s website but by a shop`s system that knows a lot about POS. Design ability is also a core factor: since around 2007, design elements such as Ajax and Adobe Flex became essential. People started to demand UI/UX as an extra to functionality.
Mr.Kamimura
Indeed, Smaregi would not have been created without a design company that also undertakes full-scale system development.
Hire ShapeWin for PR and Marketing Consulting
Mr.Kamimura
We have been working with you since April 2013 for PR and marketing support. What was the best part of working with ShapeWin?
Mr.Yamamoto
The scale of the company has grown now. Retrospectively, it was helpful to have PR and marketing support when the scale was small. I felt that way, especially in the early days.
Mr.Kamimura
You started with what you had got and promoted your business with the resources available at that time.
Mr.Yamamoto
When we requested the consulting support, we did not expect to receive all the PR and marketing services. We tried to keep the initiative and eventually do the work by ourselves. Having the support in consulting and advisory, I feel how my company grew along with the PR and marketing functions. I am glad that we could work together at the proper distance.
Prominent PR Strategies and Marketing Suggestions
Interview for TV Tokyo’s “World Business Satellite
Mr.Kamimura
In the beginning, you received support not only for PR but for all the marketing. Could you please share some memorable proposals?
Mr. Yamamoto
For example, there was a proposal for annual scheduling based on seasonality. Until then, the only way to do PR was to use the new functions evolved by the development team as a story.
Then, we learned how to take a more strategic approach.
Correcting Press Releases
I think we started from supporting press releases, which are the basis of PR. I corrected the press releases many times.
Mr. Yamamoto
The creators are always proud to say, “I made it! Yes!”
So, I appreciated receiving an objective view. For example, the correction of writing the headings was easy to understand, which helped a lot.
Mr. Kamimura
I remember well correcting the press release about free initial cost.
The first version of the report highlighted zero initial cost of the Smart Checkout and the price of the starter kit of 100,000 yen or so, which included a printer and other items. I thought it was not enough for an impact and suggested setting the price at 99,999 yen. I sent out a press release that I had made in a “yes, that’s a good idea” kind of way, and it got a lot of media exposure with featuring on TV Tokyo’s WBS.
Mr. Yamamoto
“We received a lot of inquiries through the server.”
Web Marketing as the Next Step After Press Releases
Mr. Kamimura
With TV exposure, awareness has spread to a valuable extent. So, you started to implement web marketing measures, correct?
Mr. Yamamoto
We asked for Google Analytics and Adwords. Other tablet POS companies already had free plans. So, we started offering free plans in the summer of 2014. The importance of web marketing for user acquisition has also gradually increased.
Mr. Kamimura
What do you think of ShapeWin’s web marketing support?
Mr. Yamamoto
I trusted you in most of the selection of keywords for the search and the writing of the ads. I was confident in delegating this work to you because you understood my vision. When Mr. Sato joined the Marketing Department, he also trained me on operating the system. It was helpful.
Media Caravan in Further Boost of PR Activities
In November 2015, we held a media caravan, organized a proposal to clarify media insights, and conducted full-scale PR activities.
Mr. Kawakami, General Manager of the Marketing Department
We appealed to various media for PR activities, such as ECNOMIKATA, Commercial Facilities News, and ASCII.jp.
Kamimura
Yes, we decided to publish a series of articles on reduced tax rates in ECNOMIKATA
Mr.Kawakami
And then there’s Fuji Evening News?
Yamamoto’s solo interview on the front page of the magazine? (laughs)
Mr.Yamamoto
That was an exciting article.
Mr.Kamimura
After the Media Caravan experience, did your perspective on press release creation and PR strategy change from before?
Mr.Kawakami
I realized that a press release should target a particular kind of media to be covered by and a specific audience we want to reach. I realized that PR with a one-side message of “Smaregi ” would not get coverage.
The Challenges in Creating a PR and Marketing Department
Mr. Yamamoto, the PR manager, and Kamimura started the PR and marketing of Smaregi, and now we have a marketing department and a PR team.
Mr.Kawakami
It’s just the beginning
Mr.Kamimura
I think the level of workmanship is unbelievable for an average venture company. We have a person in charge of proactive PR, in-house SEO, and Adwords for web marketing. What was the most challenging part of creating the marketing department and PR team?
Mr.Kawakami
That’s right. While I was groping around, Mr. Kamimura’s presence helped me to get a second, objective opinion.
Mr.Kamimura
I think you also had some concerns about how to set goals for marketing and public relations.
Mr.Yamamoto
We understood that we needed a “yardstick”. So, we created KPIs where there were none, starting with measuring the number of PVs, the number of press releases created and distributed, the number of likes on social media, etc. We are gradually learning how to analyze them.
Future Goals
Mr.Kamimura
Of the 4Ps of marketing (place, price, product, and promotion), I believe that the Product is the most important. If the product is good, then promotion, place, and price will be effortless. What makes Smart Register great is its product, which has been updated many times, and its monetization model, which sells necessities to free users. So, can you tell us about the future prospects of Smaregi?
Mr.Yamamoto
I think it is necessary to keep taking on new challenges in order to maintain the superiority of Smaregi. It’s difficult to do this while maintaining stable operations, but if we can continue to do so we will.
Mr.Kawakami
As for marketing, I’d like to test the effectiveness of current measures and then try something new again. I want to pursue the things that have been considered the high road of marketing and PR and build on that.
Mr.Kamimura
Thank you very much for your time. I am looking forward to future developments.
Mr.Yamamoto, Mr.Kamimura
Thank you very much!
About Smaregi
Smaregi is a cloud-based POS service using smartphones and tablets. A single store can use basic POS register functions for free. For retail and apparel, a paid service that also provides sophisticated inventory management is highly regarded.
Final Thoughts
While discussing the marketing and PR measures we would like to implement in the future, our proposal and implementation of life-size measures that can be implemented with the current resources received a high evaluation. The Smartech team and ShapeWin worked together to achieve mutual goals, and the results were great! We were able to work at a good distance by clearly defining the roles of each person at the beginning. We look forward to the future development of Smartech.
In addition to PR support for obtaining publicity, ShapeWin can help you build your marketing department and train your PR staff. For more information, please contact us.
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