Now that online shopping has become the norm, D2C businesses are facing the challenge of acquiring more customers and securing sustainable, ongoing sales.
This time, we spoke with Mr. Nishimura and Ms. Sudo from BELTA Co., Ltd., which operates primarily hair care brands within its D2C business, about the challenges they faced before introducing “BOTCHAN Payment” and the results they have seen since implementation.
The interviewer was Hayato Wako, Leader of the Customer Success Team.
BELTA Official Websitehttps://belta.co.jp/
━━ To begin, could you tell us about Berta’s business, your products, and your sales channels?
Our company operates a D2C business, with a primary focus on hair care brands. We mainly sell through e-commerce, and have recently begun wholesale as well. Our brand concept is “Nurturing your life stages together with you,” and in the area of hair care we place particular importance on “self-esteem.”
For example, gray hair has a psychological impact that goes beyond its effect on appearance, so we offer products designed to support that aspect.
━━ Thank you very much. What kind of team structure does your company use to run the business?
At our company, we organize our work in teams by brand.
As the manager of a hair care brand, I handle a wide range of responsibilities, from product development to promotion and CRM. In addition, Sudo works in the hair care division not only on design production, but also on analysis and direction. Only two of us, Sudo and I, are directly involved with “BOTCHAN,” but we also have other members, including those in charge of ad operations and CRM, as well as the CS team.
━━ I see, thank you very much.
I understand you cover a wide range of areas, but I would like to focus my questions on the parts related to BOTCHAN.
To begin with, which aspects do you consider most important in the CRM domain?
In our CRM activities, we place a strong emphasis on collaboration with the call center and the customer support department.
In meetings with CS, we obtain qualitative information, and through data analysis we visualize quantitative information. We work every day to reflect customer feedback and requests in product development and advertising.
━━ I’d like to hear a bit more detail about how we work together with Customer Support.
"BOTCHAN Payment" CS Leader Hayato Wako
Yes, we leverage feedback from customers collected by Customer Support (CS) to improve our products and enhance our services.
For example, we gather comments that arise through daily use, such as concerns about “bathroom staining when using color treatment,” and address each of them individually.
In communication between CS and customers, we continuously consider how to both prevent customer churn and deliver value that meets the expectations of our loyal customers.
While this is a given, we recognize that concerns and expectations are different, and we aim to provide optimal services and products by incorporating customer feedback in a well-balanced manner.
━━ I see. Thank you.
Was there any particular reason that led you to start exploring the surrounding areas of the chat form?
Yes.
At first, because chat forms were becoming a trend, we thought we should follow that movement, but since we were not able to focus on the EFO area, we ultimately decided not to implement it. After that, we used another company’s chat form, but we were considering switching.
Our candid impression when we first met wevnal and received their proposal was that, unlike other tool providers, they showed a much stronger commitment to support. We had a very positive view of how they took the time to understand our challenges and needs, and then came back with concrete proposals.
━━ Thank you very much!!
Were there any points you struggled with up to implementing “BOTCHAN”?
There were no particularly challenging points. As I mentioned earlier, communication was smooth, and we were able to proceed to implementation without stress. Compared with other companies’ tools, I also felt that the introduction was easy.
━━ That makes me happy.
I would like to hear about any aspects of creating the scenario for “BOTCHAN” that particularly impressed you.
Also, how were the design and results of the initial A/B tests?
The speed from implementation to improvement and then to stable operation was extremely fast, and there were numerous case studies across the industry. From these, we were able to quickly identify concrete solutions to the challenges Belta wanted to address.
In our A/B tests, we evaluated not only improvements in CVR (conversion rate) but also conducted tests from the perspective of LTV (lifetime value). Specifically, we verified the impact of changes such as the timing of coupon application and modifications to the questions.
As a result, by clearly indicating when coupons would be applied and revising the questions, we succeeded in increasing the CVR by 138%. We were able to achieve this impact because BOTCHAN is flexible and highly customizable, and provides an environment where A/B testing can be carried out with ease.
By using BOTCHAN across multiple products, we were able to delve deeper into internal and external feedback, and routinely set KPIs, assess current performance, and implement improvement actions. This PDCA cycle, together with smooth communication, led to the successful adoption of BOTCHAN.
━━ Thank you very much.
Our company originally operated an advertising agency business, so we have a deep understanding of advertising and take pride in our ability to make proposals that consider the entire customer journey. We are therefore pleased to hear your praise for our support.
No. We do not use simple indicators such as the number of new acquisitions per day to judge whether something is selling or successful. If you increase advertising spend, the number of acquisitions will go up. However, when looking at LTV, I believe that whether this leads to long-term profit depends on the “value we provide.”
━━ I see.
I would also appreciate it if you could share your fundamental strategies from the launch phase through the expansion phase, as well as the key metrics for new customer acquisition.
In the launch phase, we focus on product design that allows for a higher acceptable CPO and on highlighting the appeal of the business to increase media awareness. In the growth phase, we aim to maximize LTV through CRM initiatives and thereby raise the allowable CPO.
As LTV increases, the allowable CPA also rises, which enables us to test new advertising channels.
During the subsequent expansion phase, we manage acquisition and asset-building initiatives separately, taking into account the balance between CPO and CRM.
In terms of advertising operations, we avoid spreading ourselves too thin by focusing our efforts on selected channels and initiatives. While strengthening our in-house advertising operations structure, we also place importance on bringing external expertise into the company.
━━ I see, thank you for the detailed explanation. I’m learning a lot as well.
Please let us know if there are any points you expect from “BOTCHAN” and our customer success going forward.
I would be pleased to see improvements in the usability of the admin panel and its integration with other tools.
The user experience at the time of purchase is constantly evolving—for example, we have already seen a shift from simple forms to chat-style forms. At wevnal, you are also introducing innovative features that leverage AI such as ChatGPT, and we look forward to seeing you lead the way in improving the customer experience.
━━ Yes, we will work on improving the points you mentioned!!
Finally, please share a message for companies that are considering implementing “BOTCHAN.”
The chat form is a key element in the customer’s purchase journey at the phase where psychological and operational burden is highest, and where emotions are most affected. To minimize stress and workload along the journey, it is important to take the surrounding UX seriously—for example, improving the speed of the landing page and the display speed of the chat.
━━ Thank you very much. I look forward to your continued support.
BELTA Official Website https://belta.co.jp/
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If you would like to confirm whether your company can implement the BX platform “BOTCHAN,” or if you would like advice tailored to your situation, please feel free to contact us with your questions or inquiries. A specialist consultant will respond to you.
