For BtoB companies, a site tends to stop being updated the moment it goes live. Production and operation require entirely different skill sets, and there is a structural tendency for the work to end at 'build it and you're done.' tentus enters as a member of your in-house team under a quasi-delegation (junin'nin) contract, keeping updates, improvements, and execution running without interruption. At Yokogawa Electric, this model grew from one department to eight departments in-house.
What follows is a dialogue in which Aya Ota of Deliverus answers the questions we most often hear from the web managers of BtoB companies.
Q. We hired a production company and ended up with a fine site. But as is typical for a BtoB company with no dedicated web staff in-house, since launch we've barely managed any updates or improvements. Is this normal?
Production and operation require fundamentally different skill sets. So it's more accurate to expect that this is, if anything, the norm. Production is the work of launching; operation is the work of keeping things running. Even when you hire a company that excels at launching, the function of keeping things running doesn't come attached automatically. That's why the work quietly grinds to a halt the moment the site goes live. It's a very common thing to hear.
Q. When operation stalls, is it a lack of effort inside the company?
The cause is not the effort of the person in charge. In my experience, I've almost never seen a case where the fault lies with them. In most cases the role is held on top of another job—they're looking after the web while carrying other work as well. On top of that, the company hasn't accumulated the information needed to judge what to fix and in what order. So before you know it, the site hasn't been updated in six months, and no one knows where inquiries are coming from. It isn't a question of trying hard enough; it's simply that a structure built on the assumption of keeping things running was never put in place to begin with.
Q. So what does it take to keep operation running?
tentus takes the approach of embedding an outside person not as a vendor you place orders with, but as a member of your in-house team. We come in under a quasi-delegation contract and take on updates, improvements, and the execution of measures on a continuing basis. With per-project estimates and per-project orders, tasks stall during all that paperwork—they get stuck at 'wait, whose job was this?' We fill that gap by working as a function within the company. We also consolidate the point of contact into one, so the person in charge no longer bears the burden of translating between and coordinating multiple companies. We call this 'not letting it end at build it and you're done.'
Q. Do you have an example where this actually worked?
tentus's work with Yokogawa Electric makes it easy to picture. It actually began as a production competition, but as we proceeded the conclusion became 'rather than a one-off build, what's needed is a structure that keeps things running,' and we consolidated it into quasi-delegation operation. In fact, from the one department we first worked with, it has now spread to eight departments in-house, including operation and spot work. I think what made the difference was redesigning it around 'keeping things running' rather than letting it end at 'building.'
Q. How can I tell whether my own company is in the same situation?
The signs are simple. 'The last update was more than six months ago.' 'Every time you update, you request an estimate from the production company.' 'You can't tell whether inquiries through the site are increasing.' 'The web role is held alongside another job, so priorities can't be set.' If even one of these applies, it's a sign to rethink your structure. To repeat, it isn't a question of the person's ability—there simply isn't a point of contact built on the assumption of keeping things running. It's perfectly fine to start with an inventory of where things stand. Let's sort it out together.