Our company typically handles multiple technology solutions related to digital marketing simultaneously. The main solutions we are currently dealing with are:

1. Amazon Advertising Optimization Solution: m19
2. Future-oriented Digital Marketing AI Infrastructure Platform: Markopolo
3. Marketplace Integration Solution: MerchantSpring
4. Pre-launch Creative Solution: Attention Insight

Currently, there is a growing trend among agencies and advertisers to use other solutions in conjunction with m19, which performs exceptionally well with minimal bugs and consistently exceeds expectations post-implementation.

Given the characteristics of the Japanese market, the two essential features for a foundational solution are as follows:

1. Minimal Bugs
Regardless of the number of unique functions that differentiate a solution from competitors or the high market evaluation it may have in other markets, solutions with frequent bugs almost never sell in Japan. The issue is not just poor sales; there’s also a high risk that customers may perceive all the other solutions we handle as bug-prone, leading not only us but also agencies to be reluctant to actively propose such solutions. This is a particularly strong impression in the Japanese market. (In other markets, there might be some acceptance of bugs as evidence of active development or indifference to non-critical bugs, but this is not the case in Japan.)

2. Performance Exceeding Expectations
Furthermore, it is extremely important that the performance significantly exceeds the customer’s expectations. Especially for metrics like CVR, CV counts, sales, CPA, and ROAS, which directly contribute to outcomes, the higher the performance, the more likely the solution will become a foundational one. (This is particularly true for the type of solutions we handle.) For example, the main performance expected of m19 includes “reducing ACOS” and “increasing sales (via ads),” and in the case of a major seller below, it succeeded in more than doubling sales while maintaining the same ACOS within seven months of use (excluding Amazon’s special sale period). As a result, the introduction of other solutions we handle is also progressing.

Personally, I want to increase these foundational solutions (both new and existing ones). To achieve this, it would be great to share an understanding of the two essential features required for foundational solutions with our partners and work together on this!

Masaki “Mark” Iino
Founder & CEO
SOPHOLA, Inc