This Professionals series showcases talented experts who support PayPay Group’s operations. In this issue we introduce one of the active marketers working in PayPay Card.
Yuki Kitano
User Acquisition Group, Marketing Division, PayPay Card Corporation
After graduating from university, he worked in web promotion at a web media management company. Later, he wanted to be involved in upstream marketing and moved to a finance-related company in the Yahoo! JAPAN Group. He joined PayPay Card after being approached by a senior colleague at my previous job, and he is now engaged in marketing for new customer acquisition.
Moving to PayPay Card, a Company with Unparalleled Passion
Please tell us your background and why you joined PayPay Card
Prior to joining PayPay Card, I worked in marketing at a financial services company in the Yahoo! JAPAN Group. At the time, my objective was to increase account acquisition, and tasks to that end included leading a team, online promotions, and campaign planning.
After that, I went to another company as a marketer, but I got an interview when I was introduced to PayPay Card by a senior colleague who worked with me at my previous company. After hearing the enthusiasm of the interviewers, I decided that I wanted to work with them, so I joined the company. I still vividly remember being excited about how PayPay Card was trailblazing in the realm of payments and feeling strongly that I wanted to be a part of it.
What is your work at PayPay Card?
I am engaged in acquisition operations for PayPay Card and PayPay Pay Later in the Marketing Division. I am in charge of a broad range of tasks, including attracting customers to PayPay Card from group company websites and managing paid media in cooperation with third-parties. In addition, I always think about making more people become PayPay Card fans by considering the customer journey and analyzing their behavior using access analysis tools, as well as creating reports that visualize my analysis.
One challenging experience for me was the release of PayPay Card and PayPay Pay Later. It was difficult to coordinate daily with group affiliates during release preparation.
Prior to this release, my main focus was on preparing for lead acquisition, including devising measures to achieve the target numbers of visitors to our website and applications for PayPay Card and PayPay Pay Later. I concocted more than 50 gap analysis action plans and tracked their progress on a weekly basis. After the release, I conducted gap analyses against the targets, and devised and implemented measures. The moment we saw a gap against the prospects, I made countermeasure plans while taking the numbers into account, and altered the website UI/UX as needed. The cumulative effect of all this led to a significant increase in the number of registrations for PayPay Card.
The Key to PayPay Card’s Growth
What will it take for PayPay Card to grow further?
PayPay has already exceeded 51 million users and is used by nearly half the people in Japan. In comparison, we at PayPay Card and PayPay Pay Later still have very few users. In order to attract users, it is important for us to communicate what kind of convenience PayPay Card and PayPay Pay Later offer, and at the same time, to create an opportunity for more users to experience what it is like to make payments within the PayPay economic sphere.
In Japan, I feel that there is some stigma against deferred payments. It may be difficult to change that perception, but let’s look at it from a different angle. Credit cards come with a line of credit, which is a form of trust from the credit card company that the user will pay on time. In other words, isn’t owning a credit card already a form of status or sign of credibility?
This is still only in my head, but I think it would be interesting to create a structure where, for example, there is a system of preferential treatment within the PayPay economic sphere based on credit limit. Because the company trusts you more, you can use PayPay’s services with greater savings. I would like to create that sort of positive cycle.
Successful Marketers Are People Who Think Things Through
What is the atmosphere like in your team?
Many people are frank, so it’s easy to express opinions and we have a cheerful vibe. Relatively speaking, most members are young and show a lot of vitality. Each member is independent and takes responsibility for their own work, so our work as a team proceeds quickly. We always work together while holding discussions, so if we have any problems, each member asks others for assistance and we help each other out. Even though I mainly work from home, I feel that we have good teamwork!
What does it take to become a future team member?
Since you will be communicating both internally and with PayPay Card-related companies, you will need to be able to interact with various corporate cultures and people, as well as be a good coordinator. Also, as a marketer, you will be expected to constantly analyze multiple indices and consider what we can do to encourage more people to become PayPay Card fans. Having basic web marketing skills that can be applied to measures to acquire fans will give you a running start.
PayPay Card has just started growing, so we are excited about the future and want people to look forward to what’s in store for us. Why not take on a challenge at this juncture of Japan’s changing payment framework with PayPay Card?
Current job openings
*The recruitment status is current at the time of the interview.
Special Thanks：Yuki Kitano / Editor：Danata（PayPay Inside-Out Editorial Team）
*Employees’ affiliations are as of the time of the interview.
