WalkMe Japan

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Since its founding in 2011, WalkMe Inc. has pioneered the Digital Adoption Platform (DAP) space, leading the market by helping businesses overcome barriers to effectively adopt and utilize digital tools. Headquartered in Israel and the United States, WalkMe established its Japanese subsidiary in 2019 to support the digital transformation (DX) of Japanese companies across multiple areas. Facing challenges in leveraging digital marketing activities and visualizing marketing effectiveness, WalkMe partnered with 01GROWTH Inc. to rebuild its marketing infrastructure. This article reflects on the background, impact, and changes brought about by this collaboration.

People We Interviewed
* The departments and positions mentioned are as of the time of the interview.

• Mr. Masahiro Ono, CEO
• Mr. Hiroyuki Sanada, Senior Director, Strategic Solutions & Pre-sales
• Mr. Yasuhiro Kanemoto, Senior Director, Marketing Division

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Background and Goals of the Initiative

The Need for Rebuilding the Marketing Infrastructure to Maximize Digital Utilization

Mr. Ono's Perspective

At our company, we had been conducting marketing activities for some time. However, our focus was on generating leads through event participation and passing them to BDRs to convert into sales opportunities. This approach was not leading to sustained growth, which became a significant challenge. We were primarily using a flow-based strategy, and there were few touchpoints for lead nurturing using digital tools. As a result, we couldn't feel the effectiveness of our marketing activities.

Additionally, our digital marketing infrastructure, such as marketing automation and our website, was being managed separately from global operations. Given the limited marketing budget, it was difficult to maintain and properly manage these tools, causing misalignments in various parts of the marketing process. This was a major reason why we couldn’t visualize the effectiveness of our marketing efforts. Ultimately, leads that we worked hard to acquire were left unfollowed, and this negatively impacted the BDR activities after the marketing phase. Overall, we saw that the utilization of digital tools in our marketing efforts was problematic.

Another issue was that most of our marketing team is based in Israel and the U.S., and there was no clear distinction between what parts should be managed globally and which aspects should be led from Japan. To address these challenges, we decided to first rebuild our marketing infrastructure to fully leverage digital tools. From there, we aimed to strengthen our inbound strategies and enhance our web presence, with the ultimate goal of maximizing the impact of marketing on revenue generation.

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Details and Outcomes of the Initiative

Marketing Automation and Revenue Process Optimization

Mr. Kanemoto's Perspective

Regarding the review of our marketing infrastructure, we divided the work into two main projects. One was revisiting our marketing automation, which had been a major barrier to establishing digital touchpoints, and the other was optimizing the revenue process. Our marketing operations team at HQ centrally managed the marketing technology, including setup and administration. However, in Japan, we had been operating independently, which meant we weren’t able to benefit from the global approach, and even sending emails wasn’t easy.

We transitioned to the same operational model as our global teams and implemented lead scoring based on both online and offline behavioral data and demographic data. Additionally, we set up nurturing sequences based on levels of interest and reorganized the revenue process. Since I joined the company, we had also been working on content expansion to drive leads through our own channels. This created a synergistic effect, dramatically increasing the number of digital touchpoints initiated by marketing.

At the same time, by defining key performance indicators (KPIs) within the revenue process and clarifying the handoff process to BDRs, we were able to measure conversion rates between processes. This allowed us to visualize marketing effectiveness, something that had been unclear before.

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Website Rebuilding and Enhancement

Mr. Sanada's Perspective

The second initiative was revisiting our website, which is the core of our digital marketing efforts. In Japan, we had been operating our website independently, but we faced various challenges, including the cost and resources required for management, security measures, and misalignment in messaging with our global counterparts. Additionally, we had not been able to effectively implement SEO strategies, leading to stagnant traffic, and some marketing technology tools we should have been using were inaccessible.

To strengthen our digital presence, we decided to transition to the global website. During this process, we carefully identified areas where we should maintain Japan-specific elements and where we should align with global standards. After the migration, we not only updated the overall website content but also gained access to various tools designed to enhance web engagement. We also started using visitor data to support BDR efforts. With new strategies in place to improve website engagement and conversion rates, we're excited to see the performance in the future.

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Reasons for Choosing 01GROWTH and Success Factors

Mr. Ono's Perspective
I initially knew Mr. Marui from 01GROWTH, and after being introduced to his book, I decided to explore their services further. We chose to work with Mr. Hirosaki and his team for this initiative. The success of this collaboration can be attributed not only to their strong knowledge in marketing but also to their ability to communicate smoothly with the global team, balancing uniqueness and collaboration. Additionally, they helped enhance the global team's understanding of the Japanese market. I believe that 01GROWTH's ability to understand the challenges of global enterprises while delivering results with a balanced approach is one of their key strengths.

Mr. Kanemoto's Perspective
In the process of rebuilding our infrastructure, I greatly appreciated how Mr. Hirosaki led both projects with a hands-on approach. When utilizing external resources, there's often an additional burden on the internal team, but Mr. Hirosaki proactively managed the work and delivered performance equal to that of an internal FTE. This allowed me to focus on other areas. Additionally, he played a key role in bridging the gap caused by my predecessor’s departure, effectively acting as the "glue" that held everything together. This was a significant value to our team.

Future Outlook

Mr. Kanemoto's Perspective
Over the past year, I feel that we have successfully established a systematic digital marketing infrastructure. The next phase is to implement specific actions based on this foundation and focus on maximizing the effectiveness of these initiatives. The rebuilt marketing infrastructure is designed to maximize the use of digital tools, and I believe that the upcoming activities will greatly impact our marketing results. I see the ultimate mission of marketing as eliminating the need for direct sales activities. Through strong marketing efforts, I aim to create an ideal situation where customers naturally become interested and progress to the stage of considering a purchase, even without direct sales intervention.

Mr. Ono's Perspective
Building on the foundation we've established, I want to focus on strengthening our inbound efforts to increase inquiries. Using our website, content marketing, and SEO initiatives, we need to create a system where customers voluntarily reach out to us. By expanding these efforts, we will aim to optimize marketing efficiency, maximize effectiveness, and further enhance our contribution to revenue. Additionally, we want to combine global resources with the needs of the Japanese market, flexibly deploy strategies tailored to Japan, and implement more effective marketing initiatives. This will help us further expand our domestic market share and increase our competitive advantage.