Opening new Markets in ASEAN for desknet’s NEO, one of the biggest Japanese Groupware

• Please share about the journey of opening a business in Thailand.

Mr. Watanabe: Our company introduces desknet’s NEO, a groupware developed and provided by our parent company in Japan, for distribution and service in ASEAN. desknet’s NEO is a Groupware that has been providing services since 1999, making it the longest-serving product among similar product providers. With over 20 years of service in Japan, we have a significant market share. However, as the market in Japan, including competition from Western companies, began to shrink, we devised a strategy to expand our service and open markets in the ASEAN region about five years ago. In December 2019, we officially expanded our business to Malaysia, marking our first entry into ASEAN. Subsequently, in February 2021, we established a company in Thailand to formally expand our market presence in the ASEAN region.

In general, desknet’s NEO is designed for sharing information or communication within companies or organizations. This working style may not be prevalent in Western cultures but is more common in ASEAN, where each unit operates independently but shares information within the team. We believed that there might be demand for our product, prompting us to initiate market activities in ASEAN.

“User-friendly” and “Easy to Understand” both for company internally and externally

• What are the reasons for choosing Teachme Biz?

Mr. Watanabe: As mentioned earlier, we distribute and provide after-sales service for desknet’s NEO. Our service operates on a Subscription Business Model, where we continuously seek new customers, and as customers sign long-term service contracts, the company’s revenue accumulates gradually. Therefore, besides consistently acquiring new customers, the key to this business model is to ensure that customers continuously use our product.

However, in the initial stages of our business, I understood that it could be challenging to provide full-fledged after-sales service using human resources. So, I looked for a tool that could cover after-sales service without requiring a significant manpower investment. That’s when I came across Teachme Biz from Studist (Thailand) and decided to start using it immediately.

• Were there any concerns during the implementation of Teachme Biz?

Mr. Watanabe: When introducing a new tool into a company, there’s usually a concern among Japanese companies, such as “Can employees use it smoothly?” or “Will employees adapt to it?”. However, when I saw a demonstration of how Teachme Biz works, I realized that it’s a tool that can create work manuals intuitively and easily, so that I had no worries. Another crucial point is its usability for external individuals. Our company’s customers can view and use the work manuals created, making Teachme Biz effective for both internal and external sharing. This was another reason why I decided to use it.

Ms. Yhok: Our company provides an IT Solutions platform, “desknet’s NEO”. We incorporated Teachme Biz as a user manual for our own platform. It is used by both internal staff and customers using our platform. If sales personnel need to learn how to use our platform,, they can access Teachme Biz.
Moreover, if the support team needs to provide after-sales service to customers, they can send the usage manual inTeachme Biz. It serves as a communication tool for both internal and external communication within the company.

Creating Familiarity with Employees through “Games” and Developing Work Manuals in 3 Languages

• Are there any tips for creating familiarity with Teachme Biz among employees?

Mr. Watanabe: Our employees were able to use it smoothly right away. As mentioned before, Teachme Biz is an easy-to-use tool that operates intuitively. I was determined to emphasize “creating familiarity rather than forcing them to memorize,” so I organized a small competition within the company. I set up topics and asked employees to create manuals, such as self-introduction or hobbies, to provide opportunities for them to use Teachme Biz. This approach helped establish familiarity quickly.

[Sample] Manual : How to use destnet’s NEO created via Teachme Biz

• What were the process of creating manuals?

Mr. Watanabe: We have an office in Malaysia and users from Japanese companies there. Therefore, our requirement is that the manuals must be in three languages: Japanese, Thai, and English. The materials we use for creating manuals come from our parent company in Japan. So, I start by inputting the content into Teachme Biz, and then I have employees translate it into Thai and English.

Ms. Yhok: Typically, I prepare the manuals myself. Previously, using PowerPoint took a minimum of 30 minutes, but after switching to Teachme Biz, it takes only about 5-15 minutes to create a manual. This results in a reduction of man-hours by up to 70-80% because it cuts down the time spent on manual creation, repetitive tasks, and answering the same questions, such as training on products for both internal and external. Additionally, the manuals created are now much easier to understand because they include both images and video step-by-step instruction, making comprehension easier, and updating information is also straightforward.

desknet’s NEO Screen with a SOP link to Teachme Biz

Contact and Inquiries Reduced by Half After Usage! Utilizing Benefits in Customer Training

• Can you share a story about using Teachme Biz with customers?

Mr. Watanabe: When customers sign a contract for using desknet’s NEO with us, we puta Teachme Biz link in the settings interface for easy access. Before using Teachme Biz, there were about 50-60 monthly inquiries about the usage processes of desknet’s NEO. However, after implementing Teachme Biz, this number of inquiries has been reduced nearly by half, and now there are only 20-30 inquiries. Additionally, customer training for those using desknet’s NEO in other provinces has become much more efficient. Previously, it took 2-2.5 hours for training, and now it’s down to just 1.5 hours. This is something that we truly find beneficial.

Ms. Yhok: Previously, when we needed to make changes or add new information, it had to be done through file editing, and sometimes we faced issues of not finding files or wasting time updating. There were instances when the support team forgot to attach files in customer emails, leading to sending emails twice, which could be bothersome for customers. With Teachme Biz, we can make instant and easy updates. Once updated, we just inform the customer, saying, “It’s updated, you can refresh now,” and customers can instantly view the updated information using the same link. The support team no longer needs to spend time sending new links or files multiple times. It saves time for both parties. In some cases, if a customer wants answers while we are unavailable, they can search for information on their own using keywords or tags that we have set up.

Improved Customer Understanding through Manual

• Were there any changes after creating the manuals?

Mr. Watanabe: There was a change in the knowledge and understanding of employees regarding customers. Due to the current COVID-19 situation, communication with customers using the strengths of desknet’s NEO is mostly online. Initially, I was concerned that this might lead to a decrease in the understanding employees have of customers. However, our employees changed their mindset. They actively tried to create work manuals on Teachme Biz, thinking about how to make it easy for customers to use. This made me feel that they understand customers more clearly than ever before.

• What are your expectations for using Teachme Biz in the future?

Mr. Watanabe: Currently, our focus is on using it for post-sales service to customers. The next step is to establish a structure for creating work manuals for various tasks and information within the company, allowing employees to work smoothly. In the future, as the company expands its business, there will undoubtedly be a need to continuously allocate new staff. Therefore, we are thinking of creating work manuals for internal tasks so that each employee can start working smoothly.

Ms. Yhok: In the future, we are considering using Teachme Biz to create training courses for using desknet’s NEO online. This is to accommodate cases where customers cannot participate in real-time training, allowing them to watch from Teachme Biz instead. Alternatively, if customers cannot remember all the content from the training, they can use Teachme Biz for reviewing and additional learning.