Our BtoB team works daily on proposing website creation specifically for BtoB companies. As part of this activity, we visit companies that we have worked on renovating and present an interview project to look back on the project.
Our partner was Meiko Co., Ltd., which completed the renewal of its corporate website last year. Headquartered in Ayase City, Kanagawa Prefecture, the company designs, manufactures, and sells electronic circuit boards for smartphones, as well as boards related to automotive safety controls and information communications.
Why did you commission Monosus to create your website?
This time, the project's director Kawarazaki and sales representative Sakamoto will be speaking with Meiko's Omika and Takahashi about the background to the renewal, behind-the-scenes stories, and the reactions to the site after it was launched. (Titles omitted in the text)
This is the first renovation in five years, and the deciding factor is the design.
Monosus Sakamoto (hereinafter, Sakamoto)
It all started when they cooperated with us in interviews for our " Corporate Website Operations Report " that we published.
Meiko Omiga (hereinafter, M. Omiga)
I agree.
Sakamoto : First of all, I would like to ask about the background to the renewal.
M. Omiga: First of all, it had been a while since the last renewal in 2011. Also, the design was similar to that of other companies in the same industry, so we wanted to differentiate ourselves from the rest of the industry.
In addition, the structure of the site was outdated and some parts were difficult for users to use. The contact button was in an inconspicuous place, and the flow to each page was poor. There was talk within the company that it would be better to improve the functionality in that area as well.
This incident prompted us to decide to renew the store.
Sakamoto: Did you have an image in mind of the kind of company you wanted to ask to produce the film?
M. Omiga Ichiban is a company that makes proposals that balance the points I have just mentioned.
We asked three companies, including Monosus, to enter into a competition, and since we communicated our requirements to each of them, they all came up with some very good proposals.
Among them, Monosas had the best design, so that was the deciding factor.
Left: Omiga-san Right: Takahashi-san
The shape was created based on the thoughts of each department.
Sakamoto: How was it once production actually started? I imagine it was much harder than you'd imagined.
M. Omiga : Basically, we used the same information from the old site in many places, but with the addition of these new pages, we struggled internally with coming up with the wording and figuring out what direction to take.
The sales department had this feeling, the manufacturing department had this feeling... everyone had their own opinions, so it was quite difficult to gather them all together and decide on the direction we wanted to take as a company. I even had to remake our internal presentation materials several times to make proposals.
Sakamoto: We were talking about this within the company during this interview.
I imagine there must have been a lot of internal coordination going on behind the scenes that we couldn't see, so I wonder how they managed to overcome that.
M. Omiga: As the number of inquiries from customers and orders received via the internet has been increasing, we focused on incorporating requests from sales and made adjustments with the main concept of increasing inquiries from customers. A lot of the work was done by listening to the sales director and the sales staff in charge of new products.
Among those opinions, for example, there were some that when customers make inquiries, it would be good to have this much product information, or that we should provide a more detailed introduction, so we used that as a basis to flesh out and adjust various aspects.
Hand-drawn rough sketches were key to the design
Sakamoto: For us on the production side, it was really helpful to have him draw rough sketches for us as we were trying to coordinate our ideas.
Monosus Kawarazaki (hereinafter, Kawarazaki)
That's right. The instructions were precise and it was very helpful. It was more detailed than if I were to make it myself (laughs).
I brought the rough sketch from that time with me today (he takes out the rough sketch).
Usually, it's rare to receive such a precise image. When we receive rough sketches like this, it's very easy to understand. The clearer the client's idea of what they want to create, the easier it is for the designers to create it.
The actual rough sketch. Omiga's hand-drawn illustrations allowed us to share the same image.
Sakamoto: Is this artist Omiga?
Meiko Takahashi (hereinafter, M. Takahashi)
Omiga is the only one in our company who can do this kind of thing.
The drawings are also originally good.
For a rough sketch hand-drawn by Sakamoto , the quality is incredible (laughs).
I could tell that you love painting.
M. Omiga: It's really just a hobby, but I used to draw the composition myself when I was making company newsletters, so I'm very particular about things. I thought it would be easier to understand if I wrote it myself.
Kawarazaki : Even our designers said that we should just keep using it as is.
Sakamoto: Were the rough sketches properly reflected in the design?
M. Takahashi : Yes, they made it look very similar.
Kawarasaki: I asked for a lot of reference materials this time, and I'm sure it was a lot of work for you, but I really appreciate that you prepared everything on time.
M. Omiga: I like this kind of creative work. My other work is mostly administrative work, so I think I was able to keep a good balance.
Kawarazaki: It was great that they really stuck to the idea of "until that day came." Thanks to that, the production side was able to proceed smoothly.
We are seeing encouraging feedback from both inside and outside the company, and results are gradually becoming apparent.
It must have been difficult to balance the Kawarazaki Renewal Project with your regular work, how did you deal with that?
M. Omiga: For me it's just my mood (laughs).
I used to do this when I was tired after finishing my administrative work. I don't have the technical knowledge, so I asked Takahashi, a former engineer, to help me.
Sakamoto : The two of you made a great team with great balance.
What has the reaction been like since you launched the site?
M. Takahashi: There were quite a few people within the company who said, "That's cool."
M. Omiga: I received feedback that it was not a Meiko homepage in a good way. There were no complaints from within the company, so I personally think that was a good thing (laughs).
Also, when outside contractors or customers come in, they often say to us, "Your website has been updated, hasn't it?"
Sakamoto has changed completely, so you can tell at a glance.
M. OmigaWhen I ran an access analysis comparing the number of views with the same period last year, I found that the number of views had increased by about 1.5 times, so I really do feel like more people are seeing the site.
Sakamoto : Perhaps the number of repeat customers is increasing.
M. Omiga : We also expanded our product information, so we can use it for presentations to customers within the company.
The number of inquiries has been increasing every year, and last year they even led to some business, so our sales department has asked us to continue doing this.
Before
After
The feeling that "we were able to share each other's ideas"
Sakamoto: A presentation is based on the judge's preferences, as well as design preferences, so I was really happy when our proposal to your company was adopted.
During the Kawarazaki competition, they really liked the design, so I created it with the belief that if I created other pages based on the image of the top page, it would definitely become a great website.
Communication during the design phase was also extremely smooth, and as a designer I felt that the final result was good, so overall it was a very good experience.
The special content was created based on Omiga's rough sketches. Did it turn out as you imagined?
M. Omiga : It's just as I imagined.
M. Takahashi: I'm glad it turned out well.
Every time a design was submitted, we were excited to see what it would look like.
M. Omiga: We also received a suggestion about responsive web design. At the time, few B2B companies had implemented it, so we had some discussions within the company about whether we should use it or not. However, since it was also listed as a condition for ranking highly on search sites, we decided to introduce it as soon as possible.
Sakamoto: At the time, the atmosphere around us wasn't quite like that, and because it was BtoB, it was normal to only have a PC site. Site renewals are only done once every few years, so I wanted to avoid ending up thinking, "I should have made one," so I made this suggestion.
M. Omiga: That's right, I think that's good.
M. Takahashi : It was really good.
After finishing the interview, Sakamoto said a few words.
This was a project that allowed us to become one team, not only with Monosus but also with the people at Meiko. There were times during the production process when we put a lot of strain on them, but thanks to the cooperation of everyone involved in the project, including Omiga-san and Takahashi-san, we were able to make it to the release date without any problems.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude once again.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at any time!
Personally, I have added another project that I care about. Thank you very much.
Let's have a launch party sometime soon (laughs).
From the left: Meiko Omiga and Takahashi. Monosus Kawarazaki and Sakamoto.
Meiko Co., Ltd.
http://www.meiko-elec.com/
〒252-1104
5-14-15 Okami, Ayase City, Kanagawa Prefecture
Phone: 0467‐76‐6001
Business description: Design, manufacture, and sale of electronic circuit boards for smartphones and other devices, as well as boards related to automotive safety controls and information and communications, and related electronics-related businesses
SAKAMOTO Yasuo