"To help clients focus on what truly adds value, we provide support for streamlined efficiency," states Lily Inc. (Representative: Mr. Katori), a company that offers integrated support from system development to DX consulting. They have newly introduced the community sponsor system for "KOBUSHI MARKETING," a community for marketers and entrepreneurs in Shibuya. This move has enabled them to break free from their previous challenge of relying solely on referrals for sales. By leveraging a common trust base for their approach, they have successfully acquired approximately 20 valuable leads and achieved a high new deal conversion rate of 20-30%. Furthermore, they are pleased to announce the creation of development projects of medium to large scale, ongoing monthly support contracts, and the acquisition of management assets in the form of collaboration partners.

Full details of post-introduction results here → https://kobushi.marketing/interview/lily/

Past articles here

Mr. Mizuno (Representative, COLOR.as) × Mr. Katori (Representative, Lily)

Service Overview

KOBUSHI MARKETING is a marketer and entrepreneur community based at Shibuya's "KOBUSHI BEER LOUNGE & BAR," attracting over 5,000 participants annually. A key feature for sponsoring companies is receiving prioritized "introductions" through SNS and networking events, creating continuous business opportunities at a low cost. To date, it has generated order examples worth tens of millions of yen.

Details of Community Sponsorship

Pre-introduction Challenges and Decision Factors

While Lily Inc. has earned high praise for its system construction and DX support services that deeply commit to client business growth, its sales activities, particularly lead acquisition, primarily relied on referrals from acquaintances. Despite recognizing the challenge of not being able to control a stable number of leads monthly, Representative Katori himself had limited opportunities to attend external networking events, making the establishment of new customer acquisition routes an urgent priority.

The decisive factor for adoption was visiting KOBUSHI BEER through an introduction from a trusted sponsoring company. Witnessing firsthand the high caliber of the entrepreneurs and marketers gathered there, and the strong horizontal connections within the community, Mr. Katori became convinced that "this place would foster genuine business encounters without mismatches," leading to an immediate strategic decision to participate.

Mr. Katori speaking about the decision factors

Post-introduction Results

Following the introduction of this system, the following quantitative and qualitative results have been observed:

- New Deal Conversion Rate of 20-30%: Through appropriate referrals facilitated by the community manager, business discussions commence with a high level of trust from the first meeting. Continuous creation of large-scale orders, including medium-scale development projects and monthly ongoing support, has been achieved.

- Transformation of Entrepreneurial Mindset and Broadened Perspective: A shift towards "actively going out and making our company's value known" has led to a rapid expansion of external networks.

- Smooth Initial Contact due to the "Endorsement Effect" of the KOBUSHI Brand: The fact of being a sponsor of this well-recognized community acts as a powerful shield of trust in external business settings, reducing psychological distance with new acquaintances and exerting a branding effect.

Future Expectations

The greatest value provided by this community lies in its design, which allows for a deep understanding of "each other's character and technical capabilities" through regular exchanges and study sessions. This solid foundation prevents mismatches when deals are being considered, leading to high closing rates.

"Moving forward, we plan not only to receive opportunities from the community but also to proactively contribute business referrals back into the community," says Mr. Katori. "In the future, we aim to collaborate with marketing professionals met here to jointly develop new company services that leverage our respective strengths, and to launch new businesses."

Recommended Companies

Based on the results of this introduction, Lily Inc. analyzes that the KOBUSHI MARKETING community sponsor system is extremely effective for companies like the following:

"We can wholeheartedly recommend this environment to companies that want to build good human relationships in the medium to long term and grow their business steadily over time. Conversely, we cannot recommend it to companies seeking only short-term results, such as wanting to make sales immediately next month, because that is not the essence of the community." (Mr. Katori)

He added that by combining their company's technical capabilities, they can undoubtedly create new, significant business opportunities.

About KOBUSHI MARKETING

KOBUSHI MARKETING connects people through Shibuya's original craft beer, "KOBUSHI BEER." They operate a community for marketers and entrepreneurs in Shibuya, with over 5,000 participants, and host over 200 business networking events annually. Their "Community Sponsor" sales support menu, leveraging a network of 10,000 individuals primarily composed of web IT and creative industry executives, has attracted approximately 80 companies, including growth venture firms.

KOBUSHI BEER Lineup

Related Sites

KOBUSHI MARKETING LLC

KOBUSHI BEER

Events, Seminars, and Networking

KOBUSHI MARKETING Customer Cases

KOBUSHI BEER Online Store

About KOBUSHI BEER Community Sponsor

KOBUSHI BEER Community Sponsor

The KOBUSHI BEER Community Sponsor program is a partnership system that utilizes the network of 10,000 entrepreneurs and marketers held by the Shibuya-based craft beer brand. It offers high-quality business meeting opportunities through "trust-based introductions (referrals)" starting from a low monthly cost of ¥30,000 (excluding tax). Beyond simple business card exchanges, it provides branding opportunities as a "host," such as event hosting rights with customer attraction support at the Shibuya Dogenzaka base and the right to post in a closed online community of over 5,000 members. This system has achieved high cost-effectiveness, realizing both brand awareness expansion and practical sales improvement, with past cases achieving an ROI of approximately 15 times.

Details of Community Sponsorship

Case studies of Community Sponsorship

FACT BOX

  • Source: PR TIMES
  • Category: Partnership
  • Organizations: COLOR.as