In this article, we spoke with Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare Direct Co., Ltd. about the background behind their implementation of “BOTCHAN Payment” and the results they have seen since its introduction.

Within the “Regain” brand, which offers designated quasi-drugs and Foods with Function Claims, improving the CVR had become a critical challenge, but it was difficult to achieve fundamental results with conventional measures. In search of a new approach, the company decided to implement “BOTCHAN Payment.”

At the time of introduction, we saw certain results compared with the regular cart, but because we operated it for a long period without running the PDCA cycle, sufficient optimization was not achieved. However, once we began implementing a full-scale PDCA cycle, the CVR more than doubled year on year. As a result, BOTCHAN is now regarded as an “irreplaceable presence.” We asked in detail about the reasons for this and their outlook for the future.

wevnal Inc. “BOTCHAN Payment” FCS Sota Shindo, CS Yuta Tachikawa (hereafter, collectively referred to as “—”)
To begin, could you please introduce your company’s business and yourselves?

Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare Direct Co., Ltd. Direct Marketing Department, Healthcare Section, Section Manager, Mr. Taku Morimoto (hereafter, “Mr. Morimoto”)
Our company is positioned as the mail-order business entity of Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare.

Within that, I am in charge of the acquisition area for the “Regain” brand, which handles products such as designated quasi-drugs, Foods with Function Claims, and Nutrient Function Foods.
Specifically, I manage a wide range of activities from new customer acquisition through to the profitability of the business, focusing primarily on web initiatives while also combining offline measures tailored to each target segment.
Because many health food products are aimed at older consumers, we also make use of offline media such as infomercials, newspaper ads, and insert flyers, implementing marketing initiatives that are appropriate for each target audience.

— Thank you very much.
Please tell us about the challenges you faced before introducing BOTCHAN, and your impressions when the solution was first proposed.

Mr. Morimoto
At the time, improving our CVR (conversion rate) was a key challenge, and we were looking for initiatives that could deliver a significant impact.
We were running A/B tests on creatives and implementing various technical improvements, but market conditions had a strong influence, and those efforts alone were not enough to fundamentally improve CVR. Therefore, we decided to introduce “BOTCHAN Payment” as a measure that we expected would deliver greater results.

— Thank you very much!
Please tell us about the story leading up to the implementation.

Mr. Morimoto
At the time, we had already implemented another company’s chatbot, and we introduced your company’s chatbot as well in order to verify the differences.
As a result, we found your chatbot to be more convenient and a tool whose effectiveness we could clearly see, so we have now standardized on BOTCHAN!

— Thank you very much!
How has it been since you actually implemented it?

Mr. Morimoto
At the time of introduction, we were able to generate a strong impact even compared with a standard cart.
However, because we operated it for a long time without improving the user flow or creatives and without running a proper PDCA cycle, we were not able to optimize it sufficiently. Looking back, I think there was an element of complacency where we felt that simply having a chatbot in place meant we were already taking adequate measures.

Later, through discussions with agencies, production companies, and people involved in the D2C industry, we realized that “improving the chatbot is the key to increasing CVR.”
In particular, we came to understand that continuously running the PDCA cycle and making fine adjustments is what leads to results. With that in mind, over the past six months or so we have been working closely with your team, conducting tests once a week—and, when needed, twice a week—and steadily driving improvements.

Products for recovering from fatigue, such as Regain Triple Force, tend to be affected by seasonality, yet despite December being the most challenging period, we were able to more than double the CVR compared with the same month last year.
By conducting thorough testing during this difficult period, we are now in a position where we can expect even stronger results heading into the peak season.
Through these improvements, we feel that the CVR baseline has been established and that we are in the process of building an environment that is more conducive to generating conversions.

— Thank you very much.
As you continue to run A/B tests and identify winning patterns to roll out more broadly, how is BOTCHAN currently evaluated within your company?

Mr. Morimoto
As the results of “Regain Triple Force” have improved, the internal evaluation of BOTCHAN has risen significantly. In particular, the fact that the impact of our initiatives is clearly reflected in the numbers is highly valued.
We have also heard surprised comments such as, “I didn’t realize we could run the PDCA cycle this quickly,” and we strongly feel that these efforts are actually leading to tangible results.
Going forward, we plan to roll this out more broadly and expand the use of BOTCHAN across more brands and initiatives.

— Thank you very much!
What kind of entity is BOTCHAN?

Mr. Morimoto
BOTCHAN has now become an “irreplaceable presence” for us.
We often receive various proposals from competing companies, but in the end, what matters most is how easy the solution is to operate and the quality of our relationship with the person in charge.
In that respect, BOTCHAN offers an excellent fit and smooth collaboration with its representatives, and has a structure in place that enables a fast and reliable PDCA cycle.

As a partner who runs alongside us toward the same goals, we hope to continue exploring better initiatives together and maximizing our results.

— Thank you very much!
Please tell us what you expect from BOTCHAN and our customer support going forward.

Mr. Morimoto
Going forward, I would like us to work together on new ideas and create innovative case examples. I see great value in our building new winning patterns ourselves.

With that in mind, there are three things we expect from everyone at BOTCHAN and in CS: sense, speed, and execution capacity. Regarding speed, we are not only referring to how quickly you implement initiatives, but also to the agility with which you proactively seek out information. As for sense, a creative, forward-looking approach is essential; without it, we believe it will be difficult to generate new case examples.

In addition to the technical improvements made so far, I would like to actively take on new challenges going forward.

In addition, we would like you to continue strengthening stability in operation and startup speed.
This is an extremely important point not only for BOTCHAN but for all systems. We would be pleased if you could keep enhancing these two areas to deliver an even more comfortable user experience.

— Thank you very much!
Do you have anything specific you would like to try, or any ideas you have in mind?

Mr. Morimoto
That’s right.
I believe that once we are able to integrate a survey function into BOTCHAN itself, the range of possible applications will expand further. For example, if we can build a mechanism that branches scenarios based on responses within a survey article, we can design the optimal flow for each user, which I think will enable more precise communication. We have not been able to test this yet, but if we can configure scenarios this flexibly, I believe it will also lead to optimizing user pathways.

In the future, I believe it will be extremely interesting if we can leverage AI to make optimal proposals tailored to users’ reactions and attributes.

In particular, since there are many products under the “Regain” brand, it would be ideal from a list management perspective to have a mechanism that can propose the most suitable products for each user.

— I will continue doing my best so that I can contribute even more to your company.
Lastly, please share a message for other companies that are facing similar challenges.

Mr. Morimoto
That’s right.
At the time of implementation, we tended to think of it as “once it’s installed, the job is done,” but we have come to realize that real results come from continuously running the PDCA cycle and making ongoing improvements.
Since introducing BOTCHAN, we feel that we now have an environment where we can work together with your company to explore the most effective way to operate it. In particular, your proposals that draw on a wealth of past cases and know-how have been extremely valuable, and the ability to accelerate the speed to results is a major strength.
One of BOTCHAN’s key attractions is that you continue to work alongside us even after implementation, helping us address our challenges. For that reason, we would strongly recommend it to other companies facing similar issues.

— Thank you very much for your kind words.
Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today.

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If you would like to confirm whether BOTCHAN can be implemented in your organization, or if you would like advice tailored to your situation, please feel free to contact us with your questions or inquiries.

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