In this article, we spoke with Shingeki Inc. about the background behind their implementation of “BOTCHAN AI” and the challenges they faced at the time.
Because choosing a cram school can be a decision that shapes one’s life, customers naturally have many questions and concerns. Oni Kanri Senmon Juku felt it was a challenge that, to resolve these issues, customers had to sift through an overwhelming amount of information.
By introducing “BOTCHAN AI,” they enabled customers to make inquiries more casually and successfully automated the resolution of their concerns. As a result, their CVR improved significantly, by up to 189%.
We took a deep dive into the CS responses that created a sense of “sympathy,” the logic design and verification based on data, and their outlook for the future.
Tomotaka Morikawa, Head of BOTCHAN AI Business, wevnal Inc., and Nao Satsuki, Customer Success (hereafter, collectively “–”)
To begin, could you please introduce your company’s business and yourselves?
Kohei Sugazawa, President & Representative Director of Shingeiki Co., Ltd. (hereafter “Mr. Sugazawa”)
Shingeiki Co., Ltd. operates a tutoring school that manages university entrance exams and English qualification tests such as EIKEN, TOEIC, and TOEFL. As an online school that pursues students’ dreams and goals together, it offers instruction for a wide range of learners—from middle‑school students to working adults—preparing them for university admissions and English certification exams. The company supports countless individuals in achieving admission and reaching their target scores.
As the company’s representative director, I am involved in management while overseeing a wide range of activities, primarily in the advertising and publicity department, including website operations, web advertising, and YouTube.
— Thank you very much.
Could you tell us about the issues you were facing before implementing BOTCHAN?
Mr. Sugazawa
That’s right.
It is no exaggeration to say that choosing a cram school can determine one’s life, so a very large number of customers carefully “compare and consider” their options. Precisely because of this, many customers have a lot of concerns, questions, and vague anxieties, and there are also many who transfer to us from other cram schools.
We also offer admissions consultations and free information sessions, but it is difficult to answer all of our customers’ questions within the limited time available.
For that reason, we publish a wide range of information on our official website, including the features of our services and our owned media. However, because there is so much information, some customers find it difficult to “sort through and select” what they need, and we ourselves felt it was challenging for staff to fully absorb all of it.
By leveraging AI, I believed we could enable automatic learning and automated resolution of questions, allowing us to solve issues without relying on human resources.
Shingeki Inc. President and CEO Kohei Sugazawa
(For a detailed profile, see here)
— Thank you very much.
Indeed, one of the advantages of leveraging AI is that it enables us to respond flexibly to each individual customer.
I would like to ask about your initial impression when you actually received the proposal, and what prompted you to decide to implement it.
Mr. Sugazawa
The trigger for the introduction was a referral from the agency that manages our listing ads. When the solution was proposed, we already used AI in our daily operations, so we did have concerns such as, “Can AI really handle customer interactions?”
We were honestly worried in particular about hallucinations (incorrect AI responses).
However, given the solid track record, implementation cases at law firmsand the quality of the proposal itself, we decided to go ahead and give it a try for the time being.
— Thank you very much!
Please tell us about the story leading up to the implementation.
Mr. Sugazawa
Prompted by an approach from one of your partner agencies, I had a meeting with your sales representative.
We first implemented “BOTCHAN Engagement,” which leverages LINE, and afterward you introduced “BOTCHAN AI,” which we then went on to implement as the next step in that process.
— If I recall correctly, the meeting was wrapped up in 30 minutes, and the implementation was also extremely fast, wasn’t it?
Mr. Sugazawa
Yes, that’s right.
I carefully reviewed the case studies, and from the conversations we had, I felt things would move very quickly and that, intuitively, we would be a very good fit.
You could say I felt a kind of sympathy or affinity (laughs).
— Thank you very much. I’m really pleased!
How has it been since you actually implemented it?
Mr. Sugazawa
When we implemented “BOTCHAN AI,” we received extremely thorough support from our contacts, Mr. Hirasawa and Ms. Satsuki. I was impressed by their data- and evidence-based proposals and the speed at which they ran the PDCA cycle.
After implementation, our CVR improved by119%, and on our owned media it improved by as much as189%!
To be honest, in a market where many agencies still rely heavily on intuition, having you work so closely alongside us has been extremely reassuring, and I truly felt a strong sense of affinity with you (laughs).
I have no particular comments on the creatives; I feel the quality is extremely high.
We will need to make adjustments going forward to ensure alignment with our own company, but I hope we can also increase the overall number of conversions.
— Since your company also provides hands-on support services, we are very pleased that you value our CS team’s ability to work alongside you in this way.
What does BOTCHAN represent for your company?
Mr. Sugazawa
In a word, it is an “invincible inside sales rep.”
Because it is AI, customers can make inquiries casually, and their concerns, questions, and vague uncertainties are automatically resolved. As a result, a mechanism has been built that naturally leads to conversions. I find it extremely compelling that it achieves aspects that are difficult to accomplish with human resources alone.
— Thank you very much!
Please tell us what you expect from BOTCHAN going forward.
Mr. Sugazawa
Yes, that’s right.
I would also be pleased if we could achieve automation of customer support.
The reason is that we create a large number of manuals related to back-office operations and customer support. Our current goal is to standardize how things are handled on the front lines, but looking ahead, it would be ideal if technologies like AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) evolved to the point where they could centrally manage all these manuals and provide support across different tools.
The other thing is that I’m hoping we can enable diagnostics within “BOTCHAN AI.”
The reason I mention this is that we recently started running diagnosis-type ads on X (formerly Twitter), and a significant number of users are converting (CV), showing strong interest.
I believe it would be a very interesting initiative if we could incorporate into the functions of “BOTCHAN AI” a mechanism that lets users take a diagnostic assessment before registering on LINE and then check their results via LINE.
— Actually… I just finished writing a diagnosis-style scenario yesterday! (laughs)
Mr. Sugazawa
Wow, really?
Talk about perfect timing—this is exactly what I’d call real sympathy. (laughs)
I’m truly very glad to have you running alongside us so reliably!
— We look forward to continuing to work closely alongside you.
Finally, please share a brief message for companies facing similar challenges to yours.
Mr. Sugazawa
Large enterprise companies with many staff may be able to provide round-the-clock coverage, but for a venture company like ours, resources are inevitably limited.
That is precisely why being able to build an automated “invincible inside sales team” is extremely reassuring.
I believe that “BOTCHAN AI,” which can simultaneously achieve more efficient customer nurturing and resolution of inquiries, is extremely attractive for companies aiming for growth.
I would strongly recommend giving it a try, and if there are any companies facing similar challenges, I would very much like to introduce it to them.
...
If you would like to confirm whether BOTCHAN can be implemented in your own company, 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.
