Noah
Master of Economics
Joined in 2014
Marketing / Assistant Manager
Customer Nurturing Team
Rakuten Ichiba Marketing Department
What are your current responsibilities?
I lead the team as an assistant manager of the CRM group within the Rakuten Ichiba Marketing Department. CRM stands for “Customer Relationship Management,” which involves building relationships with customers. Our work ranges from acquiring new users to promoting continued use of the website, as well as activities to encourage people to become fans of Rakuten Ichiba. My team is engaged in trying to increase the number of loyal users on the site by getting them excited about Rakuten Ichiba. In particular, we deliver content tailored to users’ interests, and we plan and implement marketing campaigns for users. Doing all the work—including needs analysis, planning, implementation, and verifying the effectiveness of the project—is certainly tough. However, it is very rewarding when we are able to accomplish these tasks and release a new service, or when we receive comments of satisfaction from users.
What do you find challenging and exciting about your job?
In the marketing business, the company's profit is important, but I believe building win-win relationships that not only create profit for the company but also provide value to users is what makes our connection with them sustainable. When I send email newsletters, notifications, and other forms of communication to users, I am always conscious of whether the information is useful and whether they will be happy to consume the content. In one of our newsletters, I personalized and sent out a selection of deals on products that users had expressed interest in. Afterwards, we received many appreciative comments from customers, “I've been waiting for this kind of information! Thank you!” I was moved realizing that all the hard work was worth it. After all, it's nice to be of service to someone else!
What has your career path been like, and how have you grown?
I worked in the International Business Department of Rakuten Card for about four years before transferring to my current department. At that time, a small number of team members were in charge of overall international business operations. In addition to working in marketing, I was involved in a wide range of tasks, including production-related matters and their contracts, such as UI/UX design for mobile apps and corporate sales for merchants. Working in a multilingual and multicultural environment was also and invaluable experience for me. During this time, I developed a desire to deepen my knowledge and gain experience in the marketing field, especially in data analysis. This led me to put in a request for a transfer to my current department. I encountered a wide variety of tasks and challenges at work, which helped me acquire the ability to think flexibly from various angles and perspectives, which I feel is useful in my current planning job.
How is your background incorporated into your work?
I am from Taiwan and have always been interested in Japan and its culture which drew me towards learning Japanese. During my job search in Taiwan, I found employment opportunities at Rakuten Group. I used to run an e-commerce fashion shop as a hobby and realized the importance of marketing, which led me to join Rakuten Group, knowing that e-commerce is one of its main services. My initial assignment was at Rakuten Card, where I supported the local subsidiary through my understanding of Japanese, my native language Chinese, and English. Although I have previously studied English, this opportunity allowed me to brush up on my skills and implement the same in my work. Since then, I have continued to grow as a businessperson, and am now involved in the marketing business for Rakuten Ichiba, a field I had originally hoped to work in.
SCHEDULE
- 10:00
- Arrive at the office. Confirm the day’s schedule and begin work. Estimate the scale of sales and costs involving projects.
- 12:30
- Lunch at the cafeteria with team members. A latte and a walk after lunch is a must!
- 13:30
- Regular meetings with the department in charge of system development for marketing projects. This is an important place to share progress.
- 14:30
- Manage team budget and performance. Follow up on the performance and progress of the team members’ assigned projects.
- 15:30
- Meeting with cooperating departments. Discussions on how to improve the efficiency of existing measures through the use of data science. 1-on-1 meeting with team members . Advise on work-related concerns, action plans, etc.
- 17:00
- Prepare presentation materials, respond to emails, etc.
- 18:30
- Leave the office. Dinner at the cafeteria is too good to miss! I love to go shopping, and on days off I often visit vintage clothing stores in areas of Tokyo like Shibuya, Daikanyama, and Nakameguro.
*This article is based on information provided at the time of the interview.
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- Infrastructure Engineer
- Data Scientist / Researcher
- Security Engineer
- Information Security / Privacy Governance Specialist
- Technology Management
- Product Management
- Development Support（Q&A, etc.)