日本語
The comprehensive marketing company Unname Co., Ltd. released a tool called "KPI Master" in November 2024, which allows users to create KPI trees for free. Within just one month of its release, more than 400 users have adopted it, particularly among executives and department heads—groups that are typically difficult to reach through conventional marketing support.
Why did Unname decide to develop a product specifically for creating KPI trees? This time, we spoke with Unname Co., Ltd.'s CEO, Mr. Miyawaki, about the development process of KPI Master and its future prospects.
A Comprehensive Marketing Company Handling Everything from Strategy Planning to Implementation
―― First, could you tell us about your company’s business overview and the background behind the development of KPI Master?
Mr. Miyawaki:
As a "comprehensive marketing company," we primarily focus on B2B marketing support. What sets us apart is that we don’t just execute marketing initiatives—we also work together with clients on business strategy, marketing strategy formulation, and even organizational development.
Our counterparts are often executives and business managers, making client acquisition challenging. However, once a partnership begins, it tends to develop into a long-term relationship.
―― What specific challenges led to the development of KPI Master?
Mr. Miyawaki:
There was a unique challenge specific to our company. Initially, we positioned ourselves as a company that provides marketing support based on problem-solving. However, customers found it difficult to clearly understand what our company actually did.
To address this, we decided to develop a tool that would serve as both an awareness-building and front-end product. Through this tool, customers could get to know our company, eventually leading them to our core marketing consulting services. We started this initiative two years ago, aiming to create tools that solve small yet significant marketing challenges.
A Tool Idea Born from Real-World Client Support
―― Why did you decide to create a tool specifically for KPI tree creation?
Mr. Miyawaki:
Creating KPI trees is often necessary in marketing consulting, but existing tools in the market had usability issues.
The KPI tree is an essential framework for visualizing strategy, but since it is not used frequently, no tool was specifically designed for its creation. As a result, KPI trees were traditionally made using PowerPoint or Excel. However, these methods presented challenges: when there were too many metrics, they wouldn’t fit on the screen, and updating numerical values required manual calculations and adjustments.
That's why we believed that if there were a tool specialized in KPI tree creation, many people would use it.
We took inspiration from a well-known free scheduling tool. Although it is not used daily, people rely on it whenever needed, and because it is free, it attracts a broad user base. Since KPI tree creation shares this characteristic of being "a tool that is used whenever necessary," we saw an opportunity for substantial demand.
―― Why did you choose Solashi as your development partner, and how was the development process?
Mr. Miyawaki:
We had been considering tool development and gathering information for two years. During this time, I happened to attend an IT networking event in Vietnam and learned that many Vietnamese companies engage in offshore development.
Since evaluating system development quality requires a certain level of expertise, selecting a trustworthy company was crucial. That’s why we decided to work with Solashi, where Mr. Shimazoe—whom I had trusted as a business mentor—serves as a director.
Focusing on Minimal Features for a Quick Release
―― How did you approach the development process?
Mr. Miyawaki:
We began planning and researching user needs around January 2024. Initially, I discussed our tool idea with Mr. Shimazoe to clarify the user challenges we needed to solve.
We then conducted interviews with about ten users to investigate how KPI trees were used and the challenges they faced. However, we felt that interviews alone couldn’t fully capture real user needs, so we decided to focus on essential features and release the tool as soon as possible.
The current KPI Master still lacks some features, such as design improvements, team collaboration, and export functions. These will be gradually implemented based on user feedback.
―― Were there any challenges during development?
Mr. Miyawaki:
We didn’t face significant language barriers, which are often a concern in offshore development.
The real challenge was ensuring that the development team understood marketing concepts and background. In Vietnam, much like Japan during its rapid economic growth period, high-quality products tend to sell themselves, so the need for marketing is not strongly recognized.
As a result, we had to explain why KPI trees were necessary and how they were used. Mr. Shimazoe played a crucial role in bridging this cultural gap.
Throughout the development process, we communicated with Vietnamese staff who understood Japanese.
Achieving Targeted Impact and Unexpectedly Strong Reception in the First Month
―― It has only been a month since the release. How has it been going?
Mr. Miyawaki:
The response has exceeded our expectations. Despite spending no money on advertising, we have already gained over 400 users through press releases and X (formerly Twitter) posts.
Two things stood out as particularly encouraging. First, the tool is being used by older professionals in their 50s. In traditional marketing support, we typically interact with younger marketing professionals in their 20s and 30s, but KPI Master has allowed us to connect with department heads and executives.
Second, multiple users from the same company have registered. During registration, users enter their company name, and we noticed that several people from the same organization signed up, indicating strong word-of-mouth spread within companies. This is a great indicator of the tool's value.
In just one month since the release, we have effectively reached our target audience, which we consider a significant achievement.
―― What are your future plans?
Mr. Miyawaki:
We plan to develop several other minimalistic tools similar to KPI Master. Additionally, we will launch other front-end products. For example, we have already released our second product, the AI-powered article creation service "Bakusoku AI Writing," and we plan to introduce a training service soon.
Our strength lies in providing end-to-end support, from business strategy to execution, but conveying this comprehensively can be challenging. Through these tools, we hope to communicate our approach and services to a wider audience.
