Kase

Our Corporate and Premier Strategy Department, Management Support Group, is tasked with strengthening our sales capabilities. We serve corporate clients as well as business owners and high-net-worth individuals. In addition to enhancing our traditional face-to-face sales, we have also been working on improving sales efficiency, including non-face-to-face channels, since this fiscal year.

Nakai

We are also responsible for the improvement, maintenance, and management of systems such as SFA/CRM (Sales Force Automation/Customer Relationship Management). In addition to performing ongoing modifications, we actively respond to requests for new features from headquarters and branch offices by adjusting settings or implementing updates. Furthermore, promoting data utilization—such as consolidating data, performing data cleansing, and supporting the dissemination of information to various departments—is also a vital part of our role.

Kase

We first implemented uSonar in 2018. At that time, a major challenge for Resona Bank was the inability to effectively centralize customer information management. Although we had implemented Salesforce to store Resona Bank's customer data, there was no common key to identify companies, which led to duplicate corporate information. To resolve this, we introduced uSonar's corporate database, LBC, and integrated it with Salesforce. This enabled us to manage customers not only at the head office level but also at the corporate group level.

Nakai

Subsequently, our medium-term management plan emphasized "Group-wide Consolidated Operations," requiring us to provide optimal proposals to customers across the entire Resona Group, rather than just through Resona Bank alone. To achieve this, we expanded the data utilization infrastructure—which we had built by integrating uSonar and Salesforce within Resona Bank—to all companies within the Resona Group.

Kase

Indeed. Since there was no common key to identify that companies were the same, building an integrated infrastructure was extremely challenging. By adopting LBC as a common key, I feel we have finally established the foundation to connect data between the bank and our group companies.

Nakai

At Resona Bank, our corporate sales representatives utilize mSonar. However, we previously faced the challenge of customer information not being properly handed over due to frequent personnel transfers. In banking, there is significant movement of personnel, with both staff and managers changing roles frequently. Consequently, relationship data—specifically, who met with which client—was not being effectively transferred, leaving us unable to fully leverage these valuable touchpoints in our sales activities.

Kase

It was definitely the "comprehensiveness." We serve a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises, so it was crucial to ensure we could cover that segment thoroughly. LBC covers a wide range of companies, from large corporations to small and micro-enterprises, and I felt this was a unique strength that other companies simply do not offer.

Nakai

In addition, the "accuracy of data matching" was a major factor. To be honest, our internal database was not necessarily clean at the start; the information entered by staff contained inconsistent naming conventions and outdated data. It was difficult to perform accurate matching as it was, but by utilizing LBC, we can correctly identify corporate information. This was a key point we expected from uSonar.

Kase

By utilizing LBC, we are now able to seamlessly visualize corporate CIF information and business card data within Salesforce. This allows us to see at a glance which departments are transacting with which clients and whether there have been any past interactions, which has significantly improved the precision of our sales activities. Furthermore, by using LBC as a common key, data integration across the entire group has become seamless, and information within the group can now be shared easily.

Nakai

At the time of implementation, we were just starting our Salesforce deployment project, so we decided to integrate mSonar as a business card management tool to ensure seamless connectivity. The fact that it expands the scope of utilization by connecting with CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and MA (Marketing Automation) systems, rather than being implemented as a standalone tool, was also a deciding factor.

Nakai

By using LBC as a common key and integrating information across Resona Group companies, we are now able to grasp transaction status across the entire group rather than just at the individual bank level. It is a significant advantage to be able to see at a glance on Salesforce that a company is doing business with both Resona Bank and other Resona Group companies.

Kase

Furthermore, by being able to understand how the entire Resona Group views our customers, the scope of our proposals has expanded. I feel we are moving closer to a structure where we can present optimal solutions that include not only Resona Bank products but also the services of various Resona Group companies.

Kase

Currently, mSonar is used by approximately 20 headquarters departments (about 800 employees) and 120 corporate branch areas (about 1,500 employees) to share business card information. The digitization of business cards and the subsequent sharing of that information have expanded our sales activities.

For example, while our sales representatives frequently meet with accounting and finance personnel, contact with other departments is rare. Furthermore, by sharing business card information exchanged by executives at meetings, we can now view contact information for high-level officials. By being able to record and share this information through mSonar, we can leverage previously invisible connections, allowing our sales representatives to operate more strategically.

We are also utilizing it from a marketing perspective. Based on the business card data collected via mSonar, we conduct email campaigns and have branches approach customers who have shown interest. Contact information that was previously underutilized has now led to new sales approaches and strengthened relationships.

Nakai

First, I would like to deepen the collaboration among all Resona Group companies more than ever before. The ideal scenario is to share the records of sales activities across the entire Resona Group. There are many challenges that cannot be solved by Resona Bank alone, and I believe that by combining solutions from group companies—such as cards, payments, and think tanks—we can visualize who is having what conversations with which customers, thereby enabling us to offer a broader range of proposals. To achieve this, we want to further advance the centralization of data by utilizing uSonar, which covers 12.5 million corporate location records.

Kase

That said, while data sharing within the Resona Group sounds straightforward, it has its difficulties. There are issues regarding information management rules and system investments, so I believe it is crucial to determine how to overcome those hurdles. With compliance and regulatory aspects in mind, we are proceeding step-by-step through trial and error while working to build consensus.

Nakai

We have begun connecting the data consolidated in Salesforce to a data lake for analysis. By combining this with corporate attributes and touchpoint information, I believe we can use AI and BI tools (management analysis tools) to discover similar companies and predict which prospects to approach next.

Kase

That is exactly right. The medium-term management plan also highlights "Group Consolidated Operations," making the promotion of strategy across the entire Resona Group a major theme. By combining information from the sales front lines with uSonar's corporate data, we hope to further enhance the value we provide to our customers.