As this will be my last blog for this year, I would like to briefly review what I have done in 2020.

1. AdScale
– Support for existing customers
This is an area that we are continuing to work on from 2018.
In 2019, we mostly worked on improving the work efficiency of task management tools and creating formats for management. However, in 2020, we were focusing more on how to use the tools, confirming the detailed specifications, and taking more specific actions and settings when optimizing different media and delivery methods. Also, since the Corona disaster caused a slowdown in new client acquisition, I spent a lot of time in the latter half of the year thinking about measures to improve the results of existing clients. Because there were many detailed confirmations, if the final image of each task was not shared well, it took a long time to confirm, and sometimes the confirmation was not what was intended, so it was a year when I felt it was important to proceed with a shared image of the output and the landing of the task.

– Expanding sales to APAC, including Japan
In 2019, we continued to expand sales of AdScale in APAC, including Japan. The cultural differences in each country (both in business and daily life) are still a big challenge for us. There were many challenges such as the sudden loss of replies, the months-long delay in implementing trial, and the fact that the optimization indicator for the account changed every time. In addition, there were times when we suddenly lost contact with our clients even though we had reached a business meeting, perhaps due to the effects of the Corona disaster. We were unable to conduct any business negotiations or receive any orders this fiscal year, but we will continue to steadily expand sales by checking with our acquaintances to see if they have any needs.

– Defining functional requirements for AdScale E-commerce/AdScale Express
I was working on defining the functional requirements for AdScale E-commerce, which was released by AdScale this year, and AdScale Express, which was launched as a beta version this year. We were not able to create a proper schedule/setup for defining the requirements necessary for expanding the Japanese market, which resulted in delays. In the future, we would like to ensure that the schedule and arrangements are properly set.

2. longtail UX
– Sales activities
This term, in addition to AdScale, I was engaged in Longtail UX sales, which is SEO for long-tail keywords, mainly for domestic companies. Although we were mainly selling via email, we were not able to communicate with our target customers and as a result, we were not able to set up any business meetings. As with AdScale, I would like to check with my acquaintances to see if they have any needs and continue to steadily expand sales.

3. Advertising account management
I have a few projects that I’ve been working on myself since 2019. The results of these projects have been very good, with monthly ad sales up more than 16% from the previous year and monthly ad spend up more than 15% from the previous year, so I would like to continue contributing to sales growth next year.

Thank you to all of our clients, partners, and contacts.

SOPHOLA Inc.
Kenta