△ AiiGOOD SiTa-X golf swing practice machine

KITA is currently operating the 2020 Online Exhibition program to help domestic SMEs enter overseas export markets by offering them the chance to do some contactless marketing through the exhibition. This program was scheduled as a 2-phase program, running once a year in 2019 and 2020. Based on the experience of running the first phase in 2019, KITA improved the support given to companies in many different ways to provide company-tailored services.

Currently, the support provided by KITA is composed of 3 tracks to meet the different demands of domestic companies: Track1 (online promotion-focused), Track2 (influencer-linked marketing), and Track3 (crowdfunding). AiiGOOD, the subject company of the case study in this section, chose track3 (crowdfunding) and started to promote SiTa-X, its golf swing practice machine that had proven to be highly popular at home and abroad, through Makuake (a Japanese crowdfunding company).

For crowdfunding, KITA contacted 3 service providers: Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Makeuake. AiiGOOD ultimately chose Makuake, a Japanese crowdfunding company, for its crowdfunding needs. Founded in 2013, Makuake is Japan's largest crowdfunding company and is one of the pillars of the funding market. Makuake means “Start a new job, Raise the curtain,” and it is compatible with the spirit of a newly found company. As crowdfunding systems are increasing in Japan, this trend is a great opportunity for companies seeking to export their products to Japan to start doing so.

AiiGOOD produced the company's promotional video through KITA and participated in the 2020 online exhibition. During a 30-day period from October 8 to November 7, Makuake sought out funding on behalf of AiiGOOD. KITA also promoted SiTa-X in other ways, such as sending notification emails so that the SiTa-X product is exposed on top of the Makuake newsletter. Furthermore, KITA also launched SNS marketing using Facebook, Google Banner, and Twitter. For its part, AiiGOOD did a lot of internal and external research to improve the quality of SiTa-X and enhance its merits in the funding market.

The company listened to the wishes of its existing customers as much as possible and developed the IOT golf swing practice machine, a machine that combines sensors (built-in sensors) with a swing trainer. As a result, the company was able to position itself one step closer to customers. The machine is a great product for improving one’s golf skills indoors because it comes with a built-in putt function as well as a swing function. SiTa-X is a golf swing practice machine designed with the customer in mind, offering many functions not to mention great value for money.

Drawing an incredible following on Makuake, it was able to attract 1,226 buyers and raise JPY 22,555,050 (equivalent to $21,494,397, calculated using the foreign exchange rate as of November 13), which exceeded the initial target of JPY 500,000 by 4,511%.

△ 2020.11.07. Funding Screen