Use Cases by Objective
New Approach List
Group Strategy
Digital
Marketing
Client Information Registration
Data Cleansing
Corporate Attribute Analysis
SFA/MA Activation
Business Card Data Integration
Credit and Client Screening
Usage by Department
Sales Department
Inside Sales
Department
Marketing and
Corporate Planning Department
IT Department
Administrative Department
Usage by Tool
Meeting Sonar
Sales Efficiency
Internet Services, System and Software Development, Specialized Trading and Wholesale
INTERVIEWEE
Hitachi Solutions, Ltd. is a company primarily engaged in system integration, providing services ranging from application development and package implementation to infrastructure construction. In 2019, the company implemented uSonar, one of Japan's largest corporate databases, to assist in formulating sales strategies and improving sales efficiency. We spoke with Mr. Hata, Ms. Yamamoto, Ms. Tsuno, Mr. Konai, and Ms. Koizumi from the Sales Management Headquarters, as well as Mr. Naka from the IT & DX Promotion Headquarters, regarding the background, benefits, and future prospects of implementing uSonar.
Challenges Before Implementation
Challenges in Information Sharing and New Customer Acquisition Processes
Hitachi Solutions, Ltd. shared the challenges they faced that led to the decision to implement uSonar.
Hata
Previously, each department operated with a high degree of independence, and performance metrics were calculated individually by each unit. This resulted in a lack of company-wide coordination and overall inefficiency.
Koizumi
From the perspective of sales strategy, we were unable to identify our white space—the areas where we had no existing touchpoints. Specifically, attempting to identify this white space required acquiring external lists and cross-referencing them with our own transaction records and behavioral history, which was labor-intensive. Furthermore, because analysis was conducted on an individual basis, similar analytical data was scattered throughout the company.
The issues of task specialization and the 'black box' nature of business processes have been raised across all industries and sectors in recent years. Hitachi Solutions, Ltd. determined that it was necessary to resolve these issues within their sales department. 
Reasons for Adoption
Streamlining Information Sharing Through Salesforce Utilization
Amidst these challenges, Hitachi Solutions, Ltd. chose to adopt uSonar.
Using 'LBC,' the corporate database covering the domestic market with 12.5 million records built by uSonar (formerly Landscape), they are utilizing uSonar to organize and maintain the corporate information within their existing Salesforce environment. Hitachi Solutions, Ltd. was recognized for their achievements in SFA/CRM utilization at the annual Salesforce National Utilization Championship, where they impressively won the title in 2021.
Source: Salesforce ' SFUG CUP 2021: The 9th Salesforce National Utilization Championship '
Furthermore, they noted that the benefits of SFA/CRM utilization were clearly felt at the operational level.
Tsuno
I originally worked in sales, and I felt that the progress in utilizing SFA/CRM significantly increased the speed of information sharing within the company.
In B2B business, it is necessary to manage not only corporate information but also information on individuals within those companies. By utilizing uSonar and Salesforce, we have been able to visualize the touchpoints between our company and our clients, which has had a positive impact on our sales activities.
Naka
Previously, we were unable to effectively link acquired personal information with corporate information, so we were not utilizing the personal information we had collected. Now, we are able to link all business card information obtained at exhibitions, seminars, and other events with the corporate information in our SFA/CRM. For example, when we want to conduct sales activities toward a specific company, we can now trace our professional network to see who already has a connection with that company, allowing us to approach them efficiently.
Because information sharing has become seamless, it has become possible to streamline many business operations.
Hata
Since not only the field staff but also the management team can now view information in real time, a significant achievement has been the substantial reduction in the time spent creating reports and holding meetings. While this is the overall return on investment including SFA, BI, and other tools, not just uSonar, we are seeing a return four times the investment.
Results Achieved
Introduction of Heat Map Strategy
Koizumi
As part of our sales strategy, we have been implementing a heat map strategy since this year. A heat map visualizes which customers have adopted which products by cross-referencing customer segments with business segments, and it also represents the scale of adoption through color intensity.
Konai
For example, when we filter the view by the manufacturing industry, we can see where and to what extent our solutions for the manufacturing sector have been implemented, as well as which companies offer potential for new proposals.
Previously, we could only view information on customers with whom we had an actual transaction history. However, by introducing uSonar, we can now identify white space, making it easier to develop strategies on where to focus our sales efforts.
By creating strategies based on data, each department is now able to operate with a clearer sense of purpose and conviction.
Yamamoto
In our promotion and marketing operations, we also conduct seminars and disseminate information based on our heat map strategy. Furthermore, since uSonar includes a feature that allows us to track which companies are viewing our website, we are making daily improvements while verifying whether the pages we created based on our strategy are actually being viewed by our target audience.
Toward Further Challenges
We aim to leverage visualized data more effectively to drive new orders.
Hitachi Solutions, Ltd. aims to further utilize technology to move away from reliance on individual expertise in their sales activities.
Within This
"We have successfully achieved visualization through uSonar. Moving forward, we aim to implement improvements, such as using AI for recommendations, to ensure that everyone can conduct sales activities efficiently."
*Service and feature names mentioned are current as of the time of the interview.
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SME Approach, New Business Development, Digital Marketing, Attribute Assignment
Intent Data, DX, Digital Marketing
Accelerating Sales DX, Reducing Data Maintenance Man-Hours, New Business Launch
Business Card Management, Email Marketing, Sales DX
Group Data Integration, Business Card Management, Data Cleansing
New Business Development, Business Card Management, Logistics DX
New Sales Prospect Lists, Business Card Management, Intent Data
SME Approach, New Business Development, Digital Marketing, Attribute Assignment
Intent Data, DX, Digital Marketing
Accelerating Sales DX, Reducing Data Cleansing Man-Hours, New Business Launch
Business Card Management, Email Marketing, Sales DX
Group Data Integration, Business Card Management, Data Cleansing
New Business Development, Business Card Management, Logistics DX
New Sales Prospect Lists, Business Card Management, Intent Data
SME Approach, New Business Development, Digital Marketing, Attribute Assignment
Intent Data, DX, Digital Marketing
Accelerating Sales DX, Reducing Data Maintenance Man-Hours, New Business Launch
Business Card Management, Email Marketing, Sales DX
Group Data Integration, Business Card Management, Data Maintenance
New Business Development, Business Card Management, Logistics DX
New Sales Prospect Lists, Business Card Management, Intent Data
