In this article, Shinnihonseiyaku Co., Ltd. and wevnal hold a discussion on challenges related to customer retention and user experience (UX). We will trace how “BOTCHAN Keeper” addresses the issues faced by Shinnihonseiyaku, capturing customers’ hearts, improving retention rates, and delivering a better customer experience.
Speaking on behalf of Shinnihonseiyaku Co., Ltd. is Ms. Marina Sakai, and the interviewer is Ms. Natsumi Chiba from wevnal Inc., Customer Success for “BOTCHAN Keeper.”

Shinnihon Seiyaku Co., Ltd. Official Online Page https://www.shinnihonseiyaku.co.jp/

"BOTCHAN Keeper" CS Natsumi Chiba (hereafter, —)
To begin, could you please introduce your company's business activities?

Ms. Marina Sakai, Shinnihonseiyaku Co., Ltd. (hereafter, Ms. Sakai)
Under our purpose, “Creating days full of smiles through new approaches to beauty and health,” we provide indispensable cosmetics, health foods, and pharmaceuticals that meet the increasingly diverse lifestyles of our customers. Our main products include the “PERFECT ONE” series and “W no Kenkō Aojiru,” which we sell through both offline and online channels.

"PERFECT ONE" series

— Thank you. Which field are you responsible for, Ms. Sakai?

Mr. Sakai
Yes. Among the offline and online channels, I belong to the online side. Within that, my main focus is on initiatives for customers who purchase our products on a subscription basis. Specifically, I design and implement measures to encourage customers to continue using our products, and I also reach out with proposals for other products.

— I see, thank you very much. Among those issues, would you say the main challenge you were facing was, after all, the retention rate?

"BOTCHAN Keeper" CS Natsumi Chiba

Mr. Sakai
Yes, we had already been discussing internally that we wanted to improve the points you mentioned. We also have a call center where customers can make inquiries, but for those who purchase online, we felt that allowing them to complete their inquiries online rather than by phone would lead to a better user experience. With that in mind, we were looking for a tool that could also address that aspect.

— Thank you. Given that sense of challenge, why did you identify a chatbot as the tool to address it?

Mr. Sakai
Yes. At a time when we had already implemented your other product, “BOTCHAN Payment,” and were seeing positive results, your company proposed “BOTCHAN Keeper” to us.
It also seemed to align well with the issues we were facing, so we decided that it was the right timing to go ahead and give it a try.

— After you decided to implement our solution, we would like to hear about any episodes or experiences you had with our company. We had several meetings together, didn’t we?

Mr. Sakai
Yes. Because we handle so many different products, it was very difficult to design the base scenario.
Each product has different characteristics, cancellation reasons, and creatives to be used, so we first divided them into core products and others, and then created the scenarios together with wevnal. After that, we repeatedly tried different approaches so that we could operate more efficiently, and have finally arrived at the structure we use now.

"Fun & Health" Series

—That’s right. I was relieved that we were able to go live without any issues.
Since implementation, from immediately after deployment up to now, what would you say is the area that has changed the most?

Mr. Sakai
I feel it is very good that customers can make simple inquiries and complete procedures 24 hours a day, whenever it suits them. Given the nature of e-commerce, I also feel that this aspect aligns well with our customer base.
Going forward, we would like to further enhance the content and refine the service so that it becomes even more convenient and user-friendly for our customers.

— Yes, exactly. Since the direction of the e-commerce industry is constantly evolving, let’s keep updating ourselves so we can respond in ways that are better aligned with our customers at each point in time.

Mr. Sakai
Yes, absolutely. I appreciate that in our regular meetings you consistently bring us new initiatives, and that you also propose improvement ideas based on the most recent numerical reports.
I believe that if we can secure a bit more traffic, we will be able to feel the impact even more clearly, so I would like to explore that area as well. I also expect this will further help reduce the workload on the call center.

— We also intend to support your company more effectively through the speed and hands-on nature of our customer support.
You mentioned the call center; how do you currently distinguish and allocate roles between the chatbot and the call center?

Mr. Sakai
As I mentioned at the beginning, I believe the most important thing is to provide the optimal experience for each individual customer.
Some customers find it easier to make inquiries by phone, while there are also a certain number of customers who prefer not to use the phone.
For customers who prefer online support, introducing a chatbot that allows simple procedures to be completed easily at any time, 24 hours a day, at their convenience offers benefits for both our customers and our company.

– We are pleased that, in the course of pursuing a better customer experience, the chatbot is playing a helpful role.
What does “BOTCHAN Keeper” represent for your company at this point in time?

Mr. Sakai
We see it as one of our tools for communicating with customers.
Drawing on the expertise accumulated in both our call center and our chatbot, we would like to further refine and enhance the content going forward.

— Thank you very much. Lastly, could we ask you to share a brief message for businesses that are considering implementing “BOTCHAN Keeper”?

Mr. Sakai
As we have been discussing, the functionality has been extremely helpful, but above all, I feel wevnal’s greatest strength lies in their support.
They quickly propose improvements to address issues that arise in day-to-day operations, which allows us to run the PDCA cycle in a short period and continuously refine the initiatives for better results. Their regular support and communication are also courteous and very helpful.

— Thank you very much for your kind words. Our entire CS team will continue to do our utmost to support your company.

If you would like to confirm whether BOTCHAN can be implemented in your 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.