TOPIC:
What do we think about our workplace?
Hear directly from the ZenPromo team about their experiences working at ZenGroup!
What are your duties and roles?
Charles Yoshimura: I am the Division Manager for ZenPromo–ZenGroup’s Overseas Promotion Business. My duties include a little bit of everything. On any given day I am editing and maintaining our sales candidate list, taking part in sales meetings with clients, cold calling, consulting with the marketing team on potential campaigns and creatives, checking copy for our client’s ads and websites, building new services to add to our portfolio, conducting team member one on ones, contacting companies in our marketing alliance, managing our financial data, talking with foreign influencer agencies, holding interviews for new member candidates, performing maintenance on automation that affects the whole company, or any number of other tasks. My ultimate goal is to improve profitability, expand our skillset & service offers, and create a stable platform for growth (both monetary and personal).
Yujin Namiki: I’m in charge of domestic sales at ZenPromo. My main role is to raise awareness of ZenPromo among businesses in Japan and support their products, services, and global branding efforts. I introduce the services offered by ZenGroup to domestic companies that want to expand their sales channels overseas. Our sales team also assists companies that are already selling internationally but are facing challenges with sales.
Terui: I work on the marketing team at ZenPromo. For clients using our service, I research which countries and languages are best suited for the products they sell. After gaining a clear understanding of each market’s potential, I run web advertisements and social media promotions tailored to that audience. My work covers various tasks—from planning and executing digital marketing campaigns to analyzing their performance and optimizing results based on data-driven insights.
What is the atmosphere of your team like?
Yujin Namiki: It’s been about two years since I joined the team. With some recent changes, the average age has become a bit younger, and the team is now more multinational, with professionals from various countries. The overall work atmosphere is cheerful. Whenever an issue arises, team members are quick to offer support, allowing each of us to focus on our tasks. We also hold regular weekly meetings with the sales and marketing teams, where the sales team shares client information and the marketing team proposes promotional ideas.
Charles Yoshimura: It might be better to ask the team what the atmosphere is, as their opinions should carry more weight than mine in this area, but from my point of view, we are a very fun-loving team that is working hard to define and carve out a market share for a new service. Our atmosphere and the way we think about rules reflect this. None of us have an answer for every situation, so we have a try-and-see mindset. If someone has an idea, as long as we can mitigate the risks they are free to try. If it works and is replicable we will adopt that style. If it fails, then we don’t do it again. I want our team to try new things and find answers to our client’s problems, not just force a pre-defined solution into an unknown situation. While we work hard, we still chat, share recommendations for music or comedy, and don’t do much overtime; team-wide, average overtime is about 5 to 10 hours a month and we don’t take work home.
Terui: In the office, the team at ZenPromo is always actively sharing ideas and engaging in productive conversations. Each member brings their strengths and skills, and we work together to achieve our shared goals. We also enjoy casual team lunches and sometimes go out for drinks after work. In these relaxed settings, it’s easy to talk about anything. I appreciate that everyone is considerate of each other’s feelings, which makes it a very comfortable and supportive environment to work in.
What aspects of your position are most rewarding?
Terui: One of the most appealing aspects of my position is the opportunity to gain experience across all areas of web marketing. Rather than focusing on a single platform or marketing solution, I’m able to propose and execute the most suitable strategies based on our clients’ products and target markets. I also find it rewarding to leverage my educational background (which includes seven years of study in Korea and five years in the United States) to enhance overseas promotions.
Yujin Namiki: I find it rewarding to provide hands-on support in addressing our clients’ challenges and helping them expand their sales channels. The cross-border e-commerce market continues to grow, and inquiries have increased alongside the rise in inbound tourism to Japan following COVID-19. Our clients face a variety of challenges—some are launching overseas sales for the first time, others are looking to strengthen their existing international presence, and some are receiving inquiries from abroad but struggling to respond effectively. I believe that supporting Japanese companies in taking their first step toward global expansion or helping them improve their services through our assistance, is the core mission of our division.
Charles Yoshimura: Being a division manager means I am closely following our financial numbers, so there is a big feeling of accomplishment when our revenue and profits grow, but that’s not the only reward. There’s also the reward of seeing my team grow and accomplish goals. My starting in this team has meant a lot of new goals and metrics, so seeing members achieve goals that they weren’t sure they could complete has been a great feeling. Additionally, I am happy when I see our team culture deepen and be redefined by our members. As a manager, there is nothing better than seeing your members understand their work on a deeper level and helping one another to understand and improve without my intrusion.
What is a memorable experience you’ve had with your team?
Terui: Team lunches and get-togethers are always a lot of fun! Everyone on our team is approachable and understanding, so it’s easy to speak up. We’ve built a relationship where we can communicate casually, which makes conversations about work enjoyable and helps things go smoothly throughout the work week.
Yujin Namiki: For me, one of the most memorable moments was when both the sales and marketing teams collaborated on a proposal for a major client. The marketing team joined the business meeting, and we successfully secured the deal. It was a great experience for the entire team, and the collaboration had a positive impact on how we’ve approached projects since then.
Charles Yoshimura: Seeing the growth and change in the team has been memorable. We have had some failures; some clients who seemed like a sure thing and then disappeared, and even some clients that regardless of their success aren’t interested in increasing their marketing budgets or widening strategies. However, we have also had plenty of big wins as well. From sales we have secured meetings with clients we couldn’t have imagined being involved with before our new strategies, and our marketing staff is returning over 3 times our client’s marketing budgets. If I had to pick one specific event though it would have to be our work with a company that makes anime T-shirts. Over the last 6 months, we have helped this company go from marketing investments that generated no sales to showing their product to the world and achieving a 3 times return on their marketing investment.
What do you like the most about your position?
Charles Yoshimura: I love the breadth of what I do day to day. One day I will be in a meeting with finance on how to set up our financial reporting, and then two hours later I will be training the logistics team on how to edit their automated reporting system. After lunch, I might have a couple of sales calls and then spend some time editing copy or checking on the sales numbers of our clients and helping with new ideas for campaigns. Being involved with so many different divisions every day in various ways helps keep things fresh for me.
Terui: I love that I can make use of my foreign language skills. There are very few positions in Japan that allow you to use foreign languages in the field of web marketing. I strongly aspire to become a rare talent by combining “foreign language + web marketing,” and I believe this role is the perfect environment to realize that goal.
Yujin Namiki: What I like most is the ability to take action based on my ideas. Since the role requires us to continuously attract new clients, I’m always thinking about which industries could benefit from ZenPromo’s services. I also appreciate that I can easily consult with my supervisors, and as long as I stay on track, I’m given a fair degree of autonomy.
Do you have a message for those considering applying to ZenGroup?
Yujin Namiki: Overall, ZenGroup offers an environment where you can fully leverage your insights and professional experience while working alongside a multinational team. If you’re someone who wants to work from a global perspective and take initiative in driving projects forward, you may be a great fit. Let’s work together at ZenGroup to share the unique charm of Japan with the world!
Terui: I encourage Japanese applicants with language skills and study abroad experience to take on the challenge of our available marketing roles. While web marketing skills are important, those with a strong interest in or understanding of overseas markets will likely find this position especially rewarding. For international applicants, I recommend this role to individuals with experience in web marketing and a passion for Japanese culture. Since nearly all the products we handle are from Japan, you’ll likely enjoy the work if you’re enthusiastic about sharing Japan with the world.
Charles Yoshimura: I like to think that my experience in ZenGroup shows the possibilities for career growth here. When I showed up for my first interview 4 years ago I had a little marketing experience, a bunch of sales experience, and a fair amount of hiring-related experience. I was hired as an assistant in the HR department at a lucky time and we’ve seen huge growth in just these 4 years. From hiring an assistant to hiring a leader, to starting the HR Planning team, and now to running a division, ZenGroup gave me great chances for growth and an environment with people who I could learn from and whom I can now teach. You also cannot discount how special ZenGroup is as an environment. When I started working in Japan, my first jobs were your standard “Black” company horror stories. I have slept in offices, been forced to attend nomikais that lasted late into the night, and had to deal with just about the whole list of things foreigners fear about Japanese work. There were good companies and great people the whole way, but in terms of quality of life, ZenGroup is the best place and the best team I have had the opportunity to work with.
