Hiroshi Tabuki, Executive Officer and CMO of GAtechnologies Inc.

Becoming a global company by working closely with customers through technology

■ Profile

Graduated from Meiji University. Joined Imagineer Inc. as a new graduate, where he worked in planning and marketing. He then worked in business development and management at Kakaku.com, and served as marketing manager at an IT startup company.
He joined the company in 2018 and is now in charge of product planning and marketing.

GAtechnologies is a real estate company that is expanding its business not only in Japan but also around the world. When CMO Tabuki was a student and held a music event, he was thinking about how to attract more people, and this is when he experienced the power of the internet. We asked him how digital technology is connected to the real estate business and what he values.

　When I was a student, I held music events and attracted 300 to 400 people each time. Attracting that many people was not easy, and I always had to think hard. At the time, blogs were becoming popular, and I thought I could use them to attract customers, so I actually tried using them, and more people came than before. Through that experience, I realized that the Internet, which allows information to be transmitted to an unspecified number of people at once, has amazing power, and I became interested in the field of IT.
　After job hunting, I joined an IT company, but at the time, it wasn't understood that things could be sold over the internet. However, as the internet became more widespread day by day, people's awareness gradually changed and I realized that the barrier between the internet and the "real world" was disappearing.
　Then one day, I met our company's CEO, Mr. Higuchi, who told me, "You won't be able to increase your value unless you take into account the real world as well as the internet." This sparked my interest in our company, and I changed jobs to do my current job.

■What GAtechnologies values

　GAtechnologies works closely with customers through the four steps of "awareness and understanding," "comparison and consideration," "application," and "post-contract."
　Generally, I think many companies place importance on the "recognition and understanding" step. However, because our company handles sales in-house, we are able to provide customers with "more in-depth information" online, and because we can work while directly sensing customer reactions in all four steps, we can respond more quickly and with a sense of urgency. For us, being able to work closely with customers in this way is both appealing and interesting.

■ The attractions and challenges of global business expansion

　GAtechnologies' vision is "to create a world-leading company." At our company, we can work not only in Japan, but also with an eye on the world. For example, I find it interesting that we are expanding our business globally, such as selling Japanese properties to overseas customers.
　When expanding our business not only domestically but also globally, there are significant differences in the market environment between Japan and overseas. One of these differences is the difference between property management systems in Japan and overseas. In Japan, a series of systems are established, such as registering properties in a database when a contract ends. However, overseas, there are places where such systems do not exist. Also, there are cases where there is no system for updating property information, so we are considering how to expand while taking these points into consideration.

■ For customer convenience both online and offline

　Both the web and the real world have their merits, so I use them depending on the situation.
　Nowadays, when customers purchase real estate, most people first access information online, and the number of people who "go to a real estate agent first" is decreasing. We are changing our approach by increasing the number of "points of contact" with customers, both online and offline, and by considering why customers need to have "points of contact" and whether online or offline is more convenient for customers.
　Through these efforts, we hope to not only help our customers purchase real estate, but also help them manage their assets in the way that suits them best, eliminate dissatisfaction such as "I wish I lived in a house like this," and help them realize their dreams.

■Message

　I would like you to value the information you have gained through your job search, current trends, and your impressions in your daily life. Advice from your parents' generation is often based on information from decades ago. Students are more sensitive to new information than that. I think you will ultimately be able to build a good career if you base your job search and career path on that information. Follow the path you believe in.

Student Newspaper Special Edition April 2021 Issue by Masato Yamamoto, Meiji University 2nd Year Student