HENNGE is developing various digital marketing measures with the aim of acquiring new inbound leads. In addition, in order to acquire more leads, they are also simultaneously implementing outbound measures such as cold calling. For the leads they gathered, sales representatives would quickly arrange appointments for initial visits, but after the initial visit, leads that were deemed to have a low probability of becoming projects were rarely followed up on. Due to the nature of the product, the percentage of leads that became projects was around 10%, and in fact, 90% of the leads were left unused and accumulated as “dead leads”. The company, which was aware of the issues and possibilities in this situation, turned its attention to a new approach method that combined video content and MA tools.

Measure 1: Utilizing existing content

In this situation, the company’s attention was drawn to the seminars it held several times a month. Hiroaki Mizutani of the company’s Cloud Sales & Marketing Division says, “The idea came from the simple concept that if we recorded the seminars and made the minimum necessary processing as video content, wouldn’t it be much easier to mass-produce content than to create white papers and web content? In fact, once we had decided on this policy, we were able to quickly put together a large quantity of content with a small amount of resources.” Because the seminars themselves were well-planned and well-developed for customers, they were able to produce a large quantity of high-quality content by making effective use of them, and at the same time, they were also able to solve the problem of human resources.

Measure 2: Automate distribution and accumulate insights

Once they had built up a library of recorded seminar content, HENGE needed to get it to the right audience. When considering a platform for distributing videos, the company’s main requirement was that it should be able to link with the MA tool “Marketo”. The company had also introduced Salesforce.com for CRM, so they also placed importance on being able to link with that. “If you just want to distribute videos, then a free video distribution platform will do, but by tracking who has watched how many videos and storing that data in a database, you can use it to your advantage in various activities. We looked for a platform that would make this possible and also allow us to develop it quickly.” If too many resources are taken up by sales activities, it will have an impact on the closing rate for high-quality deals. Therefore, a new dedicated inside sales team was set up to re-approach the 90% of leads that had been abandoned, and the MA tool “Marketo” was introduced as a system that would enable them to approach customers at the time they needed. In addition, by using videos, they are not only tracking each lead’s web browsing history, but also the viewing history of the video content they have mass-produced this time, such as “who has watched how much? they are able to determine when, to whom, and with what kind of conversation to approach each lead. The company places particular importance on the length of time spent watching the videos. Based on the hypothesis that leads who spend a certain amount of time watching the videos are highly interested in the service and have a strong desire to purchase, they prioritize making calls to leads who have watched more than 50% of the videos they have provided.

“However, it was difficult to get the top management and employees around the world to share the same vision. We were looking for a new system to convey messages more deeply and in a timely manner to employees who directly interact with customers” (Mr. Igaki)

Using video to appeal to the emotional side of the viewer

This is why the company turned its attention to video. Omron currently uses Brightcove’s Video Cloud as an internal communication tool. By uploading video content to the cloud, they have achieved secure video distribution. Because it is compatible with multiple devices, employees can view videos on their PCs or smart devices anytime, anywhere.

Mr. Igaki cites “the ability to enhance the appeal of content” as one of the benefits of video. “Even with static content such as text and photos, you can convey who is speaking and what they are saying. But with video, you can add an emotional element. You can deliver content that appeals to the hearts and minds of viewers, including things like the strength of the voice, facial expressions, gestures, and background music” (Mr. Igaki). He thought that it would be effective in promoting understanding of intangible things like brand value, because it is easy to convey subtle nuances.

Why did they choose Video Cloud from among the many services available? In fact, Omron had previously been using satellite broadcasting to deliver video. However, in this case, they needed to have their own infrastructure, which required a considerable management cost, and because it was not possible to connect with overseas offices, they recorded the video on DVDs and mailed them out.

“With a cloud service, you can use the functions as a service without having to build your own infrastructure. We also adopted it because we valued the fact that it allows you to quickly send information both domestically and overseas, and that it supports both live streaming and on-demand viewing,” says Mr. Igaki.

Another thing that became possible after starting to use Video Cloud was the analysis of video viewing conditions. It is possible to analyze things such as the total number of accesses and which parts are being viewed in detail, so the results can be used in the production of the next content.

Mr. Igaki explains, “For example, we have found that the number of views increases when employees appear in the videos, and that we can prevent people from leaving by adjusting the timing of scene changes, so we are able to use this information to create more effective content.”

Towards an information transmission platform that seamlessly connects the inside and outside of the company

Currently, the company regularly distributes top management messages in three languages (Japanese, English and Chinese) to its bases around the world. In addition, the company also distributed a series of videos for two years from fiscal 2017, when the current medium-term management plan started, to deepen understanding of the plan’s content. Furthermore, the company holds an event on its anniversary of founding, which is positioned as a day to “return to the corporate philosophy and reflect on its spirit once again,” and the event was also broadcast live. Compared to the time when the intranet was text-based, the number of accesses to the intranet has increased significantly.

“Another reason for adopting Video Cloud was to integrate internal and external (external-facing) communications. We want to accelerate our efforts in this area in the future,” says Mr. Igaki.

In today’s world, where the technologies and know-how required for business are becoming increasingly diverse, it is becoming more difficult for a single company to provide the products and services that the market demands. The approach of promoting research and development in collaboration with multiple partners is becoming more common, and this is expanding the scope of companies with which strategic policies should be shared.

Mr. Igaki says, “We want to use Video Cloud as a weapon to accelerate collaboration and open innovation both within and outside the company.”
Omron aims to further enhance its brand value through reforming internal communication. The company’s approach using cloud services will provide important hints for many companies.