In this last (and surprisingly, first), CEO blog of the year, I’d like to take a look back at 2023, and why it is best described as the year when crossing borders resumed. On a literal level, this is reflected in my trips this year:

• Domestic Business Trips: Sendai and Nagano (5x each); Osaka, Niigata, Kyoto (3x each); Hyogo (2x); Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Oita, Shimane, and Tottori (1x each)
• International Business Trips: Hanoi (3x), Ho Chi Minh (2x), Bolivia (2x), Tanzania, and Taiwan

Beyond my physical travel however, there are five ways in which 2023 represents crossing-borders for Koeeru.

Crossing Borders 1: The Integration of Syno Japan and Vietnam, and the Entering of our Second Growth Phase

The first, and perhaps biggest, crossing borders project of the year was integrating Syno Japan and Vietnam into Koeeru:

• Announcing the Integration of Syno Japan and Koeeru

This integration has enabled us to create seamless solutions within Koeeru’s platform, from the collection and visualization of global marketing research and customer experience data, to optimized digital marketing solutions.

Furthermore, with this integration, we can say that Koeeru is entering its second growth stage. The first stage began with its initial launch during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the company serving as a complement to existing solutions provided by Syno Japan. In our second stage, we are taking on the challenge of expanding our VoCDP (Voice of Customer Data Platform) business, combing the strengths of Syno Japan and Koeeru into one solution.

Crossing Borders 2: Outbound Actions Through Our Own Overseas Expansion and Overseas Support for Japanese Clients

With the successful integration behind us, Koeeru is now focused on expanding our business overseas. To that end, we have completed a case study with our first overseas client using Koeeru’s solutions.

In addition, we have been active in helping Japanese companies expand overseas through the development of CRMs specialized in cross-border, e-commerce, and global research fields.

• Koeeru has been selected by JETRO to develop a proof-of-concept CRM system focused on cross-border e-commerce for food products (in Japanese)

Next year, we plan on earnestly promoting our own outbound business, both by supporting non-Japanese companies with our solutions, and by helping Japanese companies understand overseas audiences.

Crossing Borders 3: Tourism DX Solutions for the Resurgence of Inbound Tourism and Tourist Marketing

With the lifting of the Covid-19 pandemic, the tourism market, including inbound tourism, has been revitalized, and we have received many inquiries for global marketing research projects focused on understanding the attributes, needs, and behaviors of pre-travel tourists.

To address these inquires, we have announced Koeeru for Global, a solution that combines our global marketing research system, global panel network, and the overseas marketing research know-how that we have cultivated over the years to help more clients understand overseas tourist needs.

• Announcing “Koeeru for Global,” a Marketing Research Service with Global Consumer Reach
• Koeeru to Exhibit at the Tourism Expo Japan 2023 Travel Solution Expo (prtimes.jp, in Japanese)

Next year, Koeeru will continue to provide CRM solutions that enable the efficient collection, analysis, and utilization of tourist feedback from travelers before, during, and after their trips by combining data global marketing research and regional tourism co-creation marketing platforms.

Crossing Borders 4: Product Co-Creation Development through Open Innovation Grants

As a startup, we have continued to engage in co-creation projects this year with major companies and public institutions through open innovation grants.

As a part of an open innovation project sponsored by Kanagawa Prefecture, last year we began working with Hamee Corporation, an Odawara-based EC business operator, to collect, analyze, and visualize online and offline customer behavior. This year, using data from this project, we built a marketing system to segment and target consumers with greater accuracy, and to visualize the effectiveness of advertisements on consumer purchasing behavior.

• Mission Complete! Announcing the Successful Completion of our eCommerce Voice of Consumer Demonstration Project with Hamee

Furthermore, in conjunction with MUIC Kansai, an organization dedicated to promoting startups in the tourism field, we began the second phase of of an open innovation project geared towards hotel and lodging facilities. In the first year, we worked with several facilities within Osaka City, and this year the target was expanded to the whole of Osaka Prefecture in order to build a foundation for collection and use of tourists opinions throughout the region.

• Announcing Voice for Osaka: An Osaka Support Project to Promote DX throughout Osaka Prefecture

Crossing Border 5: SHEP Marketplaces in Bolivia and Tanzania

Our SHEP Marketplace business, an social enterprise solution aimed at helping the SHEP project of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) become more effective through digitalization, also saw new developments in Tanzania, where the project started in 2021, and in Bolivia, where it was newly launched this year.

In Tanzania, discussions are underway to expand and monetize, with the Tanzanian version of the SHEP marketplace, Anzia Sokoni, being used by local farmers, buyers, and agricultural extension workers as an official tool for the ongoing SHEP extension project TANSHEP. This year, we have continued training sessions for local system ambassadors and have been working with the project team involved in the SHEP project to develop a mechanism to disseminate the system from ambassadors to other users.

Next year is the close of the official TANSHEP project, and we hope that SHEP will continue to spread in Tanzania even after the project ends, and contribute to farmers’ independent collection of market information to meet market needs.

This year, in addition to Tanzania, a SHEP×DX project was launched in the Province of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. This project is an industry-academia-government co-creation project between Koeeru, the prefectural government of Santa Cruz, and a local private university, and involves design research for users, requirement definition, system development, demonstration projects, and discussions toward commercialization.

• Announcing Koeeru’s Selection for a PoC Project in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Conclusion

The above five points only scratch the surface of the cross-border projects conducted by Koeeru in 2023. Although there are still many areas in which I am still in my infancy as a manager, I will continue to pursue “Voices for Good” in the coming year by co-creating VOC solutions that transcend various barriers and contribute to employees, customers, local communities, and the international community, just as our company name implies.

Finally, as a manager, it was my greatest pleasure to be able to hold the first joint Japan-Vietnam company trip in Vietnam since the establishment of the company. I sincerely hope to continue co-creating cross-border businesses in the next year and to take company pictures (↓) that make me feel like I am entering a second youth.

Soji Nagano, Managing Director, CEO of Koeeru Inc.