Bringing lead generation in-house from zero, and getting ad spend below 20% of revenue in ten months

Mirai Jinzai Support Inc. runs a recruitment business centred on the Tokai region.
When they first came to us, they were running a range of web marketing to strengthen their own acquisition but not getting the results they wanted.

Wanting to move away from a model dependent on scouting through the major job platforms and to strengthen their own acquisition, we began supporting them in September 2022 in bringing landing page production, Google Ads, Meta ads and affiliate advertising in-house.

We asked Mr Ito, Representative Director, and Mr Tanaka, who handles marketing, about the background and what it achieved.

Growing fast, aiming to be number one in Tokai

First, could you tell us your roles and what the company does?
(Ito) I am Ito, Representative Director of Mirai Jinzai Support Inc. We run a recruitment business centred on the Tokai region: Aichi, Gifu and Mie.

(Tanaka) And I am Tanaka, of the marketing division at Mirai Jinzai Support Inc.

What are the goals for the company as a whole, and for the marketing division?
(Ito) Since founding in 2014 we have grown steadily. At present one of our numerical goals is annual revenue of 300 million yen by 2027.

(Tanaka) For the marketing division, we are working on both awareness of the Mirai Jinzai Support brand and acquisition. First we want more people to know us and to support more people in changing jobs. In time we want to be known as the leading recruitment agency in the Tokai region.

Building from scratch. The reassurance of specialists in recruitment decided it

What marketing problems did you have before coming to NowVillage?
(Ito) Until we began working with NowVillage in September 2022, scouting on the major job platforms was our main source of candidates. We were in our ninth year and wanted to grow faster, and for that we felt we needed to build our own acquisition much further.

We tried improving the website by copying what others did, but decided it was better to ask professionals, and came to NowVillage.

How did you hear about us?
(Tanaka) I had heard that Mr Imamura, formerly of UZUZ, a recruitment agency for early-career candidates, had started a new company. We first met in person at one of NowVillage’s marketing seminars. I spoke with the person looking after us then and wanted to work together straight away.

Among many firms, why did you choose us? 　
(Tanaka) Before we came to you, nothing we tried produced results and we felt boxed in. I went to the seminar out of curiosity at first, but came away with a concrete proposal. It made sense, and I remember wanting to start immediately.

Now there is a trust that does not compare with others, but at the time it reassured us that Mr Imamura had founded UZUZ, with its record, and was a specialist in recruitment. We also looked at the kinds of companies you work with, and the extensive experience with recruitment agencies decided it.

Now 30% of applications come through our own channels

What did working with us achieve?
(Tanaka) With thorough support towards doing it in-house, we were able to start running Google Ads ourselves, and the fact that we can run it to this level matters a great deal. Our own acquisition taking shape also became the starting point for a marketing culture inside the company.

I had no marketing experience myself, so at the time I was going to every seminar I could and trying whatever I found online – moving without direction. Trying things is not bad in itself, but it was a problem.

From not knowing what to do about acquiring customers online, we were given the knowledge we needed at each point, step by step, so we could iterate quickly.

As a result, scouting, which was more than 90% of our inflow before we started, is now around 60%. In other words, 30% now comes through our own channels.
Applications from people not actively looking, which had been a problem, have also grown recently.
When we began running web advertising I think we set 25% of total applications as a goal, and I was surprised we reached it in under a year.

Return on investment is good too, not only the number of applications: advertising spend is under 20% of the revenue from our own acquisition.

(Ito) For the first six months I think people internally were not sure what Tanaka was doing. But as applications from our own landing pages grew, awareness of digital marketing spread.

From there, people have started sharing problems and trying things, such as changing part of the interview process to suit candidates from our own pages. That is proof that web marketing has taken hold internally, and another reason I am glad we did it.

(Tanaka) What I had been doing by instinct now runs from theory into practice, and I pay far more attention to the numbers. I am more active about publishing too, and I want to aim at better numbers in future.

Honestly, we would rather keep you from our competitors

Where are you now, and what do you expect from us next? 　
(Ito) We should not rely on you forever, but the other recruitment firms in this region are growing too, and I want us to be an organisation that does not lose on acquisition and marketing.

If we could reach a relationship where we think through together how to build strategy and move the company into its growth phase, and what we want to become, that would help me enormously, and I would hand it over gladly.

(Tanaka) Speaking personally, I think there are still many acquisition routes we have not explored. I would be glad to be told the priorities, in as much detail as possible.

What would you say characterises us?
(Ito) Mr Tabiraki, who looks after us, shows the reasoning in data. It may be obvious in marketing, but having a hypothesis, running the advertising, looking at the numbers that come out and improving from there, as a matter of course, is remarkable.

And not only the numbers, but a proposed solution alongside them. Showing the reasoning clearly tells us where our web marketing stands and makes it easier to plan ahead.

(Ito) I think NowVillage is a company that supports you so that you can come to like marketing from a standing start. Marketing is hard to approach, and unless you see what is interesting about it you never begin. You gave us a gentle push.

Finally, which companies would you recommend us to?
Honestly, I would rather you did not go to our competitors.
We had no marketing knowledge at all, so as we said, I would recommend you to any company that wants to start from zero and think through the route forward together.

(Tanaka) Absolutely. We were at the point of asking what marketing even is, and you got us this far. You made detailed proposals that fitted where we actually were. I would recommend you to any company that does not know where to start.

Thank you. We look forward to continuing.