Consulting Sales, Account Innovation Office, Marketplace Business (C&M)

Job Description:

Department Overview

The Account Innovation Office (AIO) is a consulting organization that helps manufacturers and brands address their marketing challenges by combining Rakuten Group’s e-commerce, media, data, and customer assets.

The Rakuten ecosystem, centered around Rakuten Ichiba, offers a wide range of touchpoints through which consumers discover, understand, and purchase products and brands. By leveraging these touchpoints together with customer and purchase data linked to Rakuten IDs, AIO designs and executes marketing initiatives that support brand growth-from awareness and consideration to purchase and performance measurement.

While AIO operates in part as an advertising sales organization, our role goes beyond selling advertising inventory or promotional packages. We identify customer challenges, develop data-driven marketing proposals, and work alongside our clients to measure and improve outcomes.

Position:

Why We Hire

With the expansion of the retail media market and the digitalization of consumer behavior, marketing activities for manufacturers are undergoing a major transformation. Traditional approaches-which treat brand awareness, brand communication, and sales promotion as separate, siloed efforts-now make it difficult to track the full customer journey, from initial shifts in attitude to the final purchase.

Against this backdrop, we are strengthening our "consultative sales" model. By leveraging purchasing and behavioral data anchored to the Rakuten ID-combined with a diverse range of media assets both within and beyond the Rakuten Ichiba ecosystem-we provide end-to-end support that guides customers all the way from initial awareness to final purchase.

We are looking for individuals who can partner closely with our clients from the early stages of their marketing strategy development and drive the growth of their brands.

・Partner with clients from the "upstream" stage of their business challenges 

Go beyond simply selling advertising space; take on the resolution of core marketing challenges-such as product penetration and customer acquisition-that directly drive a manufacturer’s business growth, starting from the strategic planning phase.

・Leverage and combine Rakuten’s diverse assets

Utilize the extensive resources of the Rakuten Group-including Rakuten Ichiba, Rakuten ID data, live commerce, and offline events-to design bespoke initiatives tailored to each client’s specific objectives.

・Visualize the entire journey from "awareness to purchase"

Harness behavioral data centered on Rakuten IDs to precisely analyze how your initiatives contribute to final purchases and brand growth, creating a direct feedback loop for future improvements.

・Engage in data-driven marketing

Use advanced data, such as purchase history and predictive analytics, to move beyond mere analysis-leading the process of transforming insights into concrete marketing initiatives and executing them.

・Build a career that spans sales, marketing, and business development 

Collaborate with specialized internal teams to develop new solutions and service packages based on direct client feedback, allowing you to approach your work with a business-development mindset.

Position Details

In this role, you will propose and execute "data-driven marketing" strategies for manufacturers and brands, leveraging the vast customer and purchase data held by the Rakuten Group.

Rather than simply selling advertising space, you will act as a strategic partner-integral to the client’s business growth-by leading the entire process: from the formulation and execution of marketing strategies to performance evaluation and continuous improvement.

・Marketing Strategy Development:

Identify the business challenges faced by manufacturers and develop targeted strategies based on Rakuten ID and purchase data.

・Execution of Integrated Marketing Proposals:

Propose and implement comprehensive solutions-utilizing media (both within and outside the Rakuten ecosystem), advertising, live commerce, and market research-to support the entire customer journey, from initial awareness to final purchase.

・Data-Driven Performance Evaluation and Optimization:

Quantitatively analyze the results of implemented initiatives, derive insights into customer behavior, and propose subsequent improvements.

・Internal Project Management:

Collaborate with specialized internal teams-such as data analytics, advertising, and creative production-to ensure the smooth execution of projects.

・New Solution Planning and Development:

Participate in the planning and development of new marketing methodologies and service packages, driven by client feedback.

By combining Rakuten’s diverse assets, you will design optimal solutions tailored to each client’s specific needs-ranging from expanding brand awareness and driving purchases to fostering customer loyalty-ultimately playing a pivotal role in fueling the growth of the brands you support.

Work Environment

・Approximately 230 employees across the Marketplace Business division

・Approximately 50 employees in the Consulting Sales organization

・3 Senior Managers, 8 Managers, and 2 Assistant Managers

・A young, energetic organization with many employees in their 20s and a flat communication style

・Approximately 50% new graduates and 50% mid-career hires

・Approximately 10-15 hours per month

・Corporate sales at advertising agencies

・Brand managers and retail sales professionals at manufacturers

・Promoted to a team leader within one year of joining and currently progressing as a management candidate

・Took on a concurrent role in new business development within one year of joining

・Became a manager of an agency-focused sales team within three years of joining

Mandatory Qualifications:

Candidates should meet at least one of the following requirements:

・At least three years of experience in corporate sales, account planning, or marketing support at an advertising agency

・At least three years of experience in marketing, sales planning, e-commerce, or brand management at a manufacturer

・At least three years of experience in e-commerce strategy, operations support, or sales promotion at an e-commerce consulting company

・At least three years of experience in B2B solution sales or similar client-facing roles

*Industry and product experience are not limited to the examples above. We place particular importance on the ability to identify client challenges, involve internal and external stakeholders, and turn proposals into tangible outcomes. 

Desired Qualifications:

・Experience at a consulting firm or e-commerce consulting company

・Experience delivering results early in one’s career while working across multiple industries, clients, or business challenges

・Experience forming hypotheses and influencing clients or internal stakeholders in situations without established precedents or clear answers

・A track record of persevering through challenging client issues or complex internal coordination

・Experience combining knowledge from different industries, functions, or areas of expertise to create new proposals or processes

・Experience using generative AI to transform business processes, sales activities, or value delivered to customers

・Experience improving marketing initiatives based on data analysis and customer insights

・Experience launching new services, sales packages, or business processes

Other Information:

Additional information on Location

Rakuten Crimson House

1-14-1 Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Additional information on English Qualification

TOEIC Score exceeding 800 (or similar level of English ability) or a University Degree earned in an English-speaking country.

Proof of qualifications will be required by the time of the job offer.

If no evidence is available to prove the qualifications denoted above, taking an IP test, organized by Rakuten, during selection process is required.

Rakuten Group, Inc. Homepage Link

・Benefits:https://corp.rakuten.co.jp/careers/benefit/

・Recruitment Information:https://corp.rakuten.co.jp/careers/information/ * Employment type is detailed

・Rakuten Culture:https://corp.rakuten.co.jp/careers/culture/

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