[Textile Material Industry × New Business Development Success Story] A Sales DX Case Study: Textile Manufacturer with Zero Dedicated Sales Staff Achieves Over 1,000 New Approaches Monthly and an 8.4% Unique Visit Rate

FUTUREWOODS Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Hayato Kohama) has released a case study on how Company C, a textile material manufacturer, achieved over 1,000 new monthly approaches and an 8.4% unique visit rate using the BtoB sales support tool 'FutureSearch,' all without a dedicated sales staff.

[Read the full case study here]
https://www.future-search.jp/guides/textile-industry-case-study

■ Sudden Sales Crisis Caused by Dependence on Existing Customers
Company C is a textile material manufacturer with about 30 employees located in the Kanto region. Their core products are high-performance synthetic leather and functional textiles, and they have built their business on quality and uniqueness, offering over 150 color variations with original yarn-twisting technology and highly durable materials that have passed over 8 years of endurance testing.

However, they relied on a few existing clients for the majority of their sales and conducted almost no new business development activities. Amidst this, one of their main clients changed its business strategy and drastically reduced its orders. This had a significant impact on sales and instantly exposed the risks of their dependent business structure. With no dedicated sales personnel, technical staff had to handle sales concurrently, leaving them with absolutely no know-how on where or how to approach new customers.

■ Attempted Manual Form-Based Sales, but Limited to a Few Dozen a Day
Company C first tried 'contact form sales' on their own, sending proposal messages one by one to companies through their website contact forms. Unlike cold calling, this method has the advantage of delivering information without interrupting the recipient. However, the workload of selecting target companies, finding the forms, and manually inputting data for each one was far greater than imagined, limiting them to a few dozen inquiries per day. The work stagnated within a few weeks. The head of sales recalls, 'We saw some potential, but the workload was not sustainable for technical staff to continue alongside their main duties in a company without a dedicated sales team.'

■ FutureSearch Implementation Automates Everything from List Building to Delivery
Feeling the potential of form-based sales, Company C turned its attention to 'FutureSearch,' a sales support tool that could automate the process from list creation to sending.

POINT 1: Could test the user experience with a free trial
First, they were able to check the actual usability with a free trial before committing to a contract. The tool allowed for flexible condition settings using keywords in addition to industry and region, enabling them to experience firsthand its ability to accurately extract the niche segments they wanted to approach.

POINT 2: Confirmed a sufficient target audience size in advance
Second, they were able to confirm that a sufficient number of target companies existed beforehand. Being able to resolve the anxiety of 'Will we really find companies to approach?' at the trial stage gave them the confidence to adopt the tool.

POINT 3: Discovered the value of list creation as 'market exploration'
The third point was that list creation itself became 'market exploration.' The greatest value Company C found in FutureSearch was not just the automation of sending messages. It was the idea that they could create lists repeatedly by changing industry and application keywords, in other words, they could explore 'which markets our materials will resonate with' through the process of list creation.

■ Discovering a succession of new markets with 'reverse-search from application'
Company C took an approach of searching for targets by reverse-engineering from applications. After first approaching companies in their primary application, 'shoe and footwear manufacturing,' they gradually expanded their targets to 'interior and upholstery materials' and 'commercial facility design.' Furthermore, leveraging the strength of their recycled materials, they also conducted cross-industry searches using keywords like 'ethical' and 'sustainable.'

In their outreach messages, they appealed to the uniqueness of their products with concrete figures, such as 'color expression from unique twisted yarn structure' and 'cleared over 8 years of endurance testing,' while lowering the barrier to response by offering to 'send a sample book for free.'

■ Over 17,000 approaches in 1.5 years, achieving an 8.4% unique visit rate
In about a year and a half since implementing the tool, Company C achieved the following results:
- Total approaches: Approx. 17,400 (monthly average: approx. 967)
- Unique visits: Approx. 1,460
- Unique visit rate: 8.4%
- Average monthly approaches in the last 3 months: Approx. 1,080 (approx. 119% of the overall average)

While the typical response rate for form-based sales is said to be around 5%, they achieved a high rate of 8.4% through highly accurate targeting and compelling messaging. Moreover, the fact that the number of approaches in the last three months exceeds the overall average indicates that their sales activities have been accelerating as they become more accustomed to using the tool.

■ The idea of using a sales support tool as a 'market exploration engine'
Company C's case illustrates the concept of using a sales support tool not just as a means to 'approach in large volumes,' but as an 'engine to explore markets where our products can thrive.' Even in situations with no dedicated sales staff and no new business development know-how, it is possible to systematize the 'power to deliver' by leveraging tools, enabling the discovery of untapped markets and leading to the acquisition of new customers.

[Read the full case study here]
https://www.future-search.jp/guides/textile-industry-case-study

FutureSearch, used by Company C in the case study, is a sales support tool for B2B companies. It provides an end-to-end solution from creating sales lists to automatically sending outreach via contact forms, enabling even small organizations to conduct efficient new business development. If you provide specific industries or areas, we can offer target volume estimates using the FutureSearch database and propose optimal approach strategies.

■ Free Online Consultation (Booking Page)
https://timerex.net/s/futurewoods-online-web-meeting/e6451292

◆ Sales Support Tool 'FutureSearch'
'FutureSearch' is a B2B new appointment acquisition support tool that allows you to consistently perform tasks from sales list creation to contact form outreach.
Service Details: https://www.future-search.jp

◆ Company Profile
Company Name: FUTUREWOODS Co., Ltd.
Address: 3F PLANEX813 Bldg., 1-8-13 Mukogaoka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Hayato Kohama
Established: September 25, 2015
URL: https://www.futurewoods.co.jp
Business: Operation of 'FutureSearch,' a DX support tool for the sales and marketing domain. Operation of 'SalesRadar,' a sales DX service for marketing (sales planning/promotion) departments to maximize ABM efficiency. SalesRadar: https://radar.futurewoods.co.jp/ Consulting and various research support associated with data analysis. Planning, development, and support for other marketing solutions.

◆ Customer Inquiries
Contact: FUTUREWOODS Co., Ltd.
TEL: 03-3868-0517 (Weekdays 10:00 – 18:00)
e-mail: future-search.info@futurewoods.co.jp