"There’s no other service with customer success this comprehensive."

The person who offered this as the highest possible compliment was Mr. Yuji Kanai of Global Link Management Inc., a company that develops real estate–related businesses, including real estate investment.

Mr. Yuji Kanai. Global Link Management Inc.
Asset Management Division, Sales Department No. 2, Marketing Section Manager

To help make the relatively unfamiliar concept of real estate investment feel more approachable for more people, we have implemented a chatbot on our corporate website.

Although we did not see results immediately after implementation, we made a series of incremental improvements and ultimately achievedapproximately six times the number of conversions (i.e., closed deals)compared with the initial implementation.

Behind the scenes, there was also thorough support from the customer success team at wevnal Inc., which provided the chatbot “BOTCHAN” to Global Link Management Inc.

In this article, we interviewed two members of Global Link Management’s Asset Management Division who are responsible for marketing: Ms. Kanai and Ms. Koizumi.

Ms. Yukino Koizumi. Global Link Management Inc.
Asset Management Business Division, Sales Department No. 2, Marketing Section, Assistant Manager

We asked about the background and impact of introducing the chatbot, as well as the improvement initiatives that supported it.

(Interviewer: Ishida, Customer Success Team, wevnal Inc.)

The decisive factors in choosing BOTCHAN were the demo and the sales team’s courteous support.

Munemichi Ishida. Customer Success Team, wevnal Inc.

Ishida (hereafter, “━━”)
Thank you for taking the time for this interview today. To begin, could you tell me what challenges your company was facing at the time you implemented BOTCHAN?

Kanai
I used to see it as a challenge to find ways for people to engage with “real estate investment” more casually. There is still quite a high psychological barrier around real estate investment, and I think many people strongly feel it is “something only the wealthy do.” But in reality, for example, there are many salaried employees who are investing as well.

Our mission in the Marketing Department is to get as many people as possible interested in real estate investment. To that end, we provide pathways on our corporate website for requesting materials and hold seminars as part of our initiatives.

━━ While you were facing the challenge that people tended to see real estate investment as something with a high barrier to entry, how did you first come to learn about BOTCHAN?

Kanai
The trigger was that BOTCHAN had a booth at something like a Marketing EXPO held about two years ago. I had already been paying attention to chatbots as a way to make it easier for people to request materials and sign up for seminars.

━━ I see, that’s how it was. When you decided to implement BOTCHAN, did you compare it with other chatbot providers?

Kanai
Yes, we did. After reviewing various service websites and materials, we narrowed it down to about five or six companies that match our requirements and budget expectations.

From there, we proceeded with our review and actually went as far as holding meetings with two companies, including yours. However, to be honest, we ultimately couldn’t identify any significant functional differences.

━━ I see, that’s how it was. Then, what was the decisive factor that led you to ultimately choose BOTCHAN?

Kanai
It would be the “demo” of the chatbot that was customized to our company’s specifications, and the “courteous support” from your sales representative, who explained how to use BOTCHAN while actually using it.

Koizumi
That demo was really easy to understand. Thanks to that, I suddenly had a much clearer picture of how we could actually use a chatbot. We did look at various materials from other companies as well, but to be honest, I couldn’t really get a concrete idea from them.

In BOTCHAN’s case, they created a dedicated demo customized to our company’s specifications. I was genuinely impressed by that demo screen.

At first, after implementation, we didn’t get the results we had hoped for...

━━ Next, I’d like to ask about the results after implementation. However, at the beginning, things didn’t quite produce the outcomes you were hoping for, correct…?

Kanai
Yes. And within that period, for about three to four months straight, your customer success team was consistently proposing initiatives to improve our metrics every month, so we kept trying those out in practice.

Beyond that, we were also in touch every day. You kept rapidly iterating on the chatbot design and the order of the questions, and I believe you made and implemented a substantial number of proposals.

━━We tried a variety of initiatives. Among them, the first one that produced results was the change in design.

Kanai
Right. And for example, even when it came to something as small as revising a banner, I would request changes with very particular requirements for the colors and shapes. Depending on the case, I’m sure it was detailed enough that people might have thought, “This is a bit of a hassle,” to be honest… (laughs)

━━ No, not at all (laughs). More effective than changing the banner, however, was changing the chatbot’s conversion point from “Request materials” to “Register for the online seminar.”

Actual BOTCHAN screen

Kanai
That’s right. From that point on, the numbers gradually stabilized, and at their peak the monthly number of conversions was about six times higher than when we first introduced it. Moreover, the attendance rate for the seminars is no different between applications made via BOTCHAN and those made through the regular application form.

By allowing more casual users to apply easily through the chatbot, I believe that, by the time they complete the input process, their motivation to actually participate has probably risen to about the same level as with our conventional forms.

━━ I truly appreciate you saying that.

Koizumi
I feel exactly the same way, and I’m truly grateful to you, Mr. Ishida, and everyone on BOTCHAN’s Customer Success team. In fact, I’ve had an experience with another company offering a different service from BOTCHAN where they left me with so little explanation that I couldn’t even use it, and I ended up canceling the contract as it was.

Naturally, if you don’t know how to use it, it’s difficult to achieve results. Our company has implemented various tools besides BOTCHAN, but internally people are saying, “There’s no other service with customer success this comprehensive,” and that reputation is spreading throughout the company.

When you show that much dedication, it really makes me feel like, “I have to deliver results!”

━━ Up to this point, we’ve only heard praise, but conversely, are there any areas where BOTCHAN could be improved?

Kanai
I think it would be good if we ourselves could handle BOTCHAN a little more independently. For example, if there were a more comprehensive help page or something similar, I believe it would be beneficial for both your company and ours.

This happened quite recently as well, but I always feel bad about having to trouble you and your team every time a minor error occurs. It would be extremely helpful if we could handle simple fixes and question changes on our own.

━━ Well, yes… That’s exactly where I see a challenge for our company. Of course, in areas where we are running very complex programs, even a small mistake can lead to a major error, so as a rule we handle those ourselves.

On the other hand, there are also areas where it is perfectly fine to touch things more casually. I hope that, starting from those points, our clients will gradually become more engaged. To conclude, could I ask you for a brief comment on your aspirations for achieving even greater results going forward?

Koizumi
Mr. Ishida and his team not only handle detailed BOTCHAN adjustments on a regular basis, but also repeatedly send reminders and follow-ups whenever there are tasks that have stalled on our side.

When we see that level of dedication from you, it really makes us feel, “We have to deliver results with this tool!” Going forward, we hope to continue achieving results together, with the ongoing support of your company.

━━ Yes, absolutely. Thank you as well, and I look forward to continuing to work with you. That will be all for today—thank you very much for taking the time for this interview.

...
If you are considering implementing BOTCHAN and would like concrete advice tailored to your company’s potential use cases and current situation, please feel free to contact us.

One of our consultants will assist you.