Testimonial

Hello everyone, this is the customer case interview team at Orinas Inc.

This time, we interviewed Suzuki-san (center), Tamura-san (left), and Kikutani-san (right) from the Marketing Division of the Sales & Marketing Department of Nippon View Hotel Co., Ltd., which operates hotels nationwide. We have been supporting the launch of the official Instagram account, from photography to campaign planning, and we asked them frankly about the background to the account's launch and their thoughts on the campaign!

Organizational Reforms Lead to a Focus on Digital Marketing

Orinas: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. First, may I ask you again about your company's business?

Suzuki: Yes. Our main business is hotel management. We operate seven directly managed hotels nationwide, including franchises.

Orinas: Mr. Suzuki, Mr. Tamura, and Mr. Kikutani, are you in charge of all sales and marketing?

Tamura: That's the broad outline of the department's work, but our team is not just in charge of marketing, we also play a public relations role. The company wanted to strengthen its tactical aspects, so we were reorganized into the Marketing Department in August. I guess you could say we've become more aggressive.

Orinas: I see. So you strengthened your digital marketing efforts after making such changes to your internal business structure, but were there any other factors that prompted you to do so?

Suzuki: Actually, I've used Instagram and Facebook in the past. I had a few social media accounts that I was just trying out, but they weren't official accounts, and I hadn't decided to narrow it down to just one and unify it.

We used Instagram for the wedding and handed out shop cards to customers to encourage them to follow us, but it was really hard to come up with new topics to post every week. What's more, it didn't really lead to any increase in customers, so it really just felt like we were just posting.

The biggest catalyst for this change was the establishment of the Marketing Department in August. The fact that our boss came from outside the company was also a big factor. Many other hotels have been promoting digital marketing, which uses social media to attract customers and increase sales, for quite some time now, but compared to them, our company was still a little behind. So, although we may have started late, we decided to start by strengthening our presence on Instagram, which is currently attracting a lot of attention.

Orinas: That's right.

View Hotel Interview

Tamura: I mentioned before that we had been using social media for a little while, but in the end it was just because we wanted to do it ourselves, or because we wanted to jump on the trend. So it was like our goal was to use social media in itself. But we realized, "It doesn't work that way." We started using it, but that doesn't mean we're actively using it now, and in fact, we've pretty much left it alone. We started to feel a sense of crisis, thinking, "This isn't good, we need to start properly."

Also, the new president made a proactive shift to focusing on digital marketing, saying, "We need to strengthen our lagging areas, like social media," which was also an opportunity for us. It was something we had always wanted to do. We had been saying for a long time, "We can't do this on our own, so please let us work with an operations company," but our request was rejected because "it's difficult to come up with the budget," so I personally feel really lucky that things changed at such a good time.

Reasons for Choosing Orinas

Orinas: I think there are a lot of social media management companies out there, so I guess the main reason you chose our company was because the timing was right?

Suzuki: That's right. Also, when they suggested that we "promote Asakusa as a place where young women can have a lot of fun," I was surprised and thought, "Huh, our place is really that fun?" It was clear that they were very interested in our work, so I thought, "Well, why not ask Orinas for help?"

Orinas: Asakusa has recently become a spot that is attracting attention from around the world. I think that it is precisely because of the COVID-19 pandemic that people are rediscovering the good things about Japan.

Suzuki: That's true. However, once you're used to the local area, everything becomes commonplace and it's hard to find anything new and stimulating.

Tamura: Even while we were filming, they were paying attention to parts of Asakusa that we didn't expect, asking, "Is that a good spot in Asakusa?" We're used to going there so it's become normal for us, but it's really refreshing to be shown a new side of it from a different perspective.

View Hotel Instagram

Orinas: Thank you very much. I would like to ask if there have been any actual effects you have felt from our work together so far.

Tamura: To be honest, I didn't expect the campaign (implemented in October 2020 and now finished) to increase my followers so much.

Suzuki: It was quite surprising to hear that a younger generation would consider this a desirable hotel. When I think of Asakusa, I imagine it as a place where people in their 30s and 40s go with friends, but I was surprised to discover that there are actually plenty of foods and spots that young people can enjoy as well.

They also do the photography for us, and I think they're really good at selecting the shots and photos. Our company also has relationships with professional photographers, but when they take shots that are perfect for Instagram and that we've never seen before, it feels like they're teaching us things we didn't have before and how to develop a new customer base.

Tamura: Our customers are in the older age group, so we tended to think about creating menus to suit them, but this gave us the hint that maybe we should also think about creating something for people who are not so old.

Also, there are quite a few people in the company who follow us on social media, so we're working hard to make up for that. After receiving our monthly reports, we say, "Let's put out a document that we've put together ourselves once a month," and we put it up in the office just in case. We hope to get not only our customers but also our employees in the company interested.

Suzuki: If people aren't interested, no one will be able to follow along, and it will just end up being a form of self-satisfaction for us. Unless all employees are interested and they start asking us to include their work, I don't think it will work.

Orinas: That's great!

Eventually, I Would Like to Have an Account for Each Hotel

Orinas: Do you have any ideas for how you would like to proceed with policies in the future?

Suzuki: Right now, we're focusing on increasing the number of followers. This is because it's the part that directly connects customers and the company. Our biggest goal is to get people to think, "This is great," learn more about it, and ultimately visit the site.

Orinas: Thank you. How about you, Tamura-san?

Tamura: That's right. First, I want to aim for 10,000 followers. I want to increase awareness and then lead to more reservations.

Next, we would like to have an account for each hotel. However, we don't have the know-how to operate an account for each hotel, and we don't have a dedicated person for each one, so we would like to take the lead in this regard.

Orinas: I see, thank you. Finally, if you were to introduce our company to other companies in the future, what would you recommend to them?

Suzuki: I think it's the flexibility with which they can respond.

Just as there is a lot that hotels can learn from their customers, I think Orinas has also learned a lot from working with a variety of clients. You could say that they are a company that grows together with us, sharing the same perspective. Large companies with a certain amount of brand power can be a little pushy, saying things like, "This is how it is" or "Listen to what we say," but Orinas doesn't have that rigid feel at all. I'm glad that they give serious consideration to each proposal I make.

Tamura: Also, I like how all of the answers and replies are positive. It may be a given that they don't respond negatively, but it makes me feel good working with them.

Suzuki: They have never once said anything negative, so it's very reassuring to know that when we overthink something, they respond flexibly by saying, "No, let's just go ahead with it."

Orinas: Thank you for your kind words. I look forward to your continued support.

Finally

In these difficult times for the hotel industry, Nippon View Hotel has decided to work with us on Instagram. We are very pleased to hear their words, "We can grow together" and "They are always positive."

We will continue to provide full support to help you further increase awareness and attract new customers, so that you can realize your hope of opening an account for each business location in the future!

That's all from our Customer Case Interview Team!