Yamaha Music Japan Co., Ltd.

Yamaha Music Japan Co., Ltd., a Japanese sales subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation, engages in a wide range of activities, including the wholesale and marketing of Yamaha products, the music school business, operation of directly managed retail stores and music schools, and the provision of various services. In April 2024, Yamaha Music Japan merged with Yamaha Music Retailing Co., Ltd., which had been responsible for operating directly managed retail stores and music schools. The merger aims to generate demand and augment brand value through the integrated efforts of distributors, directly managed stores, and music schools, while building a system to deliver enhanced music experiences to customers in their communities. Since the merger, the company has been working to coordinate wholesale and retail sales initiatives and enrich its service offerings.
The company is also focused on disseminating music-related information, executing campaigns, providing opportunities for hands-on experiences, and proposing equipment for installation in concert halls and music facilities. Additionally, it operates Yamaha Music Members, a membership service designed to support customers in their enjoyment of a fulfilling life with music, and offers customer support.
In its medium-term management plan “Make Waves 1.0” for FY2019 through FY2021, the Yamaha Group set “develop closer ties with customers” as one of its four key strategies, aiming to contribute to the enhancement of LTV. In the subsequent medium-term management plan, “Make Waves 2.0” for FY2022 through FY2024, the Group has formulated specific measures to enhance LTV as part of its efforts to “offer services that build deeper, longer-lasting ties with customers.” Mr. Yuji Matsuoka, President of Yamaha Music Japan, comments: “Having conducted business overseas for many years, I believe that the Yamaha Group has the potential to achieve even greater progress in the Japanese music market. In particular, as offline music activities have resumed following the COVID-19 pandemic, our experiential brand store in Minato Mirai, Yokohama, which opened in June 2024, has been a great success, attracting many visitors. To grow our business, it is crucial to leverage digital technology to integrate online and offline operations of our directly managed stores/schools, establishing deeper, longer-lasting ties with our customers.”

With ABeam’s support, Yamaha Music Japan executed two projects from January to October 2020 to “develop closer ties with customers”: planning a business for performance support services to enhance service value and designing a new Group-wide membership program to establish a common policy for the implementation of membership services by Group companies.
In designing the Group’s new membership program to enhance customer LTV, the goals from both Yamaha’s and customers’ perspectives were defined, along with the metrics for achieving the vision. It was decided that, when Group companies develop membership services, these metrics would be applied, with the ultimate goal being increased sales for Yamaha and the realization customers’ dreams.
Then, in May 2023, a project was launched to plan a subscription-based VOD service as part of performance support services. Analysis revealed that customers go through two phases: the beginner phase, during which they enjoy playing and naturally acquire the basics of playing an instrument, and the expert phase, during which they devote time and money to achieving personal goals. Therefore, the project first focused on formulating the content of the VOD service aimed at the beginner phase. Subsequently, a project was initiated to support the establishment of store operations through online-merge-offline (OMO), aiming to set a course leading to improved operational efficiency and sophistication by integrating digital channels with directly managed stores/schools.
Yamaha Music Japan selected ABeam as its partner for a project to develop a company-wide LTV-related policy starting in 2020, as well as for subsequent planning of specific services. Mr. Kazunori Nakayama, Division Manager of the Service Business Strategy Division at Yamaha Music Japan, recalls: “We approached several consulting firms and held a competition. Among them, ABeam’s proposal stood out because it capitalized on insights in various industries, and it presented a model that was highly relevant to us as a musical instrument manufacturer. ABeam not only addressed matters requiring management to make decisions but also provided clear definitions of terms and concrete approaches to convince those in the field. ABeam’s proposal tackled the core issues, even suggesting, if necessary, a change to our personnel system. We were confident that, with the level of support ABeam offered, the project would succeed, which is why we chose them.”

In order to connect with customers, it is necessary to make operations much more sophisticated through digital technology. However, since Yamaha Music Japan’s directly managed stores/schools had long operated on the basis of individual optimization and analog methods, the company needed to streamline operations before proceeding to greater sophistication. Therefore, the project to support establishment of OMO store/school operations was carried out in two phases. First, the project aimed to resolve the challenges in improving efficiency, thereby creating more capacity in the field. Second, this capacity would be leveraged to achieve sophistication and the ideal operational model.
In order to transform the directly managed stores/schools and achieve the goals, three issues were identified: 1) a lack of digital touchpoints to connect with customers, 2) the need to evolve the customer service style in the field using digital technology, and 3) a lack of mechanisms to encourage behavioral change in the field. To address these issues, the project team focused on five themes: 1) promoting customer registration with Yamaha Music Members, the starting point for maintaining customer connections; 2) developing online services and tools to maintain customer connections; 3) strengthening online operational capabilities in the field to realize OMO; 4) designing company-wide functions to support seamless online operations in the field; and 5) designing KPIs to ensure that the field actively maintains customer connections.
“All our employees love musical instruments and have worked tirelessly to fulfill our customers’ needs, including through the provision of customer service. However, as a result, operations became so complex that employees were fully occupied, which delayed the adoption of new initiatives such as digitization.
Therefore, we decided to first focus on improving operational efficiency, and then move on to enhancing the sophistication of our operations by utilizing digital technology,” says Mr. Eisuke Nara, Manager of the Customer Success and Business Planning Department, Service Business Strategy Division, Yamaha Music Japan.
With multiple stakeholders involved, including wholesalers, directly managed stores, and schools, and employees in various positions ranging from management to the frontline, ABeam leveraged its neutral position to facilitate communication and help foster shared understanding among all parties. “Working alongside us, ABeam immersed itself in the operations of our directly managed stores, gaining insights into the real situation, which allowed us to have productive discussions. With a deep understanding of even the subtle differences among Group companies, ABeam helped us develop a practical, feasible process,” says Mr. Nakayama.