Purpose of the interview

Definer President Sakamoto interviewed Ken Kasegawa, President of CustomerPerspective, Inc.

Mr. Ken Kasegawa, President of CustomerPerspective, Inc.

Mr. Kasegawa is currently working as an advisor for digital strategy and marketing.
He has worked for a strategy consulting firm, an overseas MBA, launched an online banking business at a Citi bank, and headed Amazon's marketing and prime department before setting up his own business. We will be looking at the true face, beliefs, and philosophy behind his consistent career and achievements in the digital strategy and marketing axis.

This issue covers the second half of his career, including his management experience at Amazon. For the first half, click here.

Management experience at Amazon

Mr. Kasegawa

At Amazon Japan, I served as Vice President, Head of Consumer Marketing, Head of Prime, and was the Japanese leader of a team called CXBR, which promoted an initiative called Working Backwards within the company. Backwards is a system that starts with the customer and creates innovative services.

Sakamoto

I am a heavy Amazon user! How does your experience at Amazon translate to your current job?"

Mr. Kasegawa

To value the customer experience. That's why CustomerPerspective is the name of my company. CustomerPerspective is like a knife that can cut through anything, whether it's strategy development, marketing, or new business development.
For example, I help develop strategies and design services for subscriptions. For example, I help develop subscription strategies and service designs. One of the concepts I use when explaining the value of subscription offerings is the "break-even point from the customer's perspective”.

Sakamoto

The break-even point is often calculated as a corporate accounting concept. This is the first time I have heard of it from the customer's point of view, not that of a corporation!

Mr. Kasegawa

When customers subscribe to subscriptions, they subconsciously think, "Will I get my money's worth by paying the monthly fee?"　When customers subscribe to a subscription, they subconsciously ask themselves, "Will I get my money back by paying the monthly fee? In other words, they are calculating "where is the break-even point? However, since they are committing to monthly payments, they will not subscribe unless there is a clear "bang for the buck. I believe it is important for companies to quantify the calculations in the customer's mind and provide "value that far exceeds the break-even point from the customer's perspective. For example, if a subscription includes N services, the sum of the value of services A through N must be large enough. Of course, the basic premise is that each individual service solves a user's problem in a unique way and meets their needs."

Sakamoto.

I see. I try to look at most things integral, and I can very much relate!　At our company, we often talk about "thinking from the other person's point of view. Easier said than done. I would be very happy to hear about the values you hold dear.

Values that Mr. Kasegawa holds dear

Mr. Kasegawa

Thinking from the customer's point of view. To gain the customer's trust. To do that, I guess I have to promise, keep my promises, and exceed expectations. And one of my goals as a person is to be someone who can give positive energy to those around me."

Sakamoto

I see. Is the reason why you have come to value the customer's point of view, is it because of your past experiences or realizations, etc.?"

Mr. Kasegawa

When I was originally at a strategy firm, I understood the customer's viewpoint through frameworks such as the 3C's, and I tried to keep it in mind. However, I was not as clearly aware of the importance of the customer perspective as I am now.

When I joined Citibank, the company was led by John Reed, a CEO I respect and admire, and had a culture that emphasized the customer with the phrase "Customer Focus. Through my experience in marketing and product development, I came to realize the importance of the customer experience."

And most importantly, my experience at Amazon, whose corporate philosophy is 'to be the most customer-focused company on the planet,' had a huge impact on me." Jeff Bezos, the founder of the company, is one of the executives I truly admire, and his use of the term "Customer Obsession" and the idea of "taking care of the customer" was just so thoroughly implemented through Working Backwards and various other mechanisms. It was a wonderful experience for me to think of and implement something that had never been done before with colleagues who shared those values, and to be able to produce tangible, significant results.

Today, the business environment is changing rapidly, and what customers are looking for is changing quickly. It is not enough to understand the needs superficially, but I feel it is becoming more important to actually listen to customers and dig deeper.

Sakamoto

Hmmm, I see. In terms of product-out, it would be Apple when Jobs was around, or Go Pro in more recent times. Both of them have become great products with their personal egos + customer perspective + other things, but on the other hand, the starting point is different from Amazon's, and I feel that ego comes first.

Mr. Kasegawa

Jobs is one of the business leaders I admire, but I imagine he himself was the hardest customer to satisfy. That's why it's such a great product for anyone to use."

Sakamoto

This is certainly a new point of view. Do you consider the third-party customer's viewpoint as your first priority, or do you consider your own ego, the number one customer, as your first priority? That difference in starting point may be the root of the difference between Amazon and Apple.

Mr. Kasegawa

When we compare Amazon and Apple, we tend to focus our attention on the differences, but Bezos and Jobs also share some strikingly similar ideas. For example, Working Backwards, which I mentioned earlier, is a shortened version of the expression "Start with the customer and work backwards," a concept to which Bezos was thoroughly committed. On the other hand, Jobs, responding to a question from the audience at Apple's WWDC event in 1997, said, "You've got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology. technology." You can watch a video from that time on YouTube. You can watch the video from that time on YouTube.

However, the meeting in which the two men spoke directly about the future of digital music did seem tense. The story is told in my supervised translation of "Amazon's Strongest Working Style - Working Backwards," which you can read if you're interested.

Sakamoto

This is the first time I have heard that story. I am excited about this new discovery. This may be a bit off topic, but what kind of people do you like to work with in your job?

Mr. Kasegawa

People I would like to work with are those who are passionate about their work and those who can think for themselves without seeking the right answer created by others. I have had the opportunity to work with a variety of business leaders, and the people I have met who I think are truly great are those who value respect for others, no matter their ability, knowledge, or position.

Sakamoto

Oh, these are exactly the values that I also cherish. I can relate to them very much, but on the other hand, I have the impression that there are not many people like that. On the other hand, I have the impression that there are not many people who share these values. Is there a reason why you cherish such values?

Mr. Kasegawa

The reason is that I have been helped and nurtured by many people with whom I have worked. I know wonderful people who have treated me well out of the kindness of their hearts, not expecting anything in return. Those people are still my goals.

Mr. Kasegawa's philosophy is important to him

Sakamoto

I see. Those are very nice words. I feel that my values have been solidified by watching the backs of my seniors, whom I respect as well. Finally, I would be happy to hear what philosophy you value in your work.

Mr. Kasegawa

I don't really have a philosophy, but there are a few things I try to keep in mind. To work at what I love. I think it is about controlling my own destiny and exceeding the expectations of the people I work with. What I love to do is, in my case, for example, marketing based on the understanding of customers that I talked about today, and creating new services and businesses that people want. I also value contributing to the growth of younger generations than myself who have similar aspirations to mine. For example, I have participated as a mentor for three consecutive years in LaunchX, an organization's summer program for high school students from around the world to train them to become entrepreneurs.

Sakamoto

I see. Yes, that's right. Isn't it difficult to balance doing what you love as your job and controlling your own destiny? Which do you value more?

Mr. Kasegawa

I think the most important thing is to work at what you love. If you can control your destiny, you can choose the work you love. To do this, I feel that the most important thing is to exceed the expectations of the people I work with. This results in trust, and trust leads to the next job.

As for what I keep in mind on a daily basis, I value the 4Ps, which are unique to me. There is a marketing framework called the 4Ps, but this is different from it. My 4Ps are Proactive, Productive, Progressive, and Positive. I strive to work proactively, productively, and with a positive frame of mind in my work that leads to innovation.

Sakamoto

I see, that makes a lot of sense! Thank you very much for your time today. It is always very helpful to have a flat discussion of the findings and strategies that are so close to the truth! I look forward to continuing to work with you.