The fast-growing US company HubSpot
Inc., which proposed the concept ofinbound marketing to replace conventional
marketing, opened an office in Global Business
Hub Tokyo in July 2016 in order to tap theJapanese market. It is HubSpot’s first office in a
non-English-speaking country.
“To put it simply,” explains Yuri Akahira,general manager of HubSpot Japan, “inboundmarketing is an online method supporting theflow from attracting prospective customers toturning them into actual buyers. In conventional
offline marketing, which involves gathering
customers through advertising, even thougha huge amount of investment is made, theeffects cannot be visualized and data cannot beobtained. In contrast, with inbound marketing,it is possible to analyze the data of prospective
customers who visit a company’s site, grasp
problems, and plan and supply contents inorder to solve them. It is an extremely effective
method of marketing that spans a long time.”businesses that do not possess enormousbrand power or advertising resources. With
the development of online networks, we areliving now in an age when, if the appropriate
contents are supplied, such businesses can beateven large corporations with huge advertisingbudgets. Rather than a one-way approach fromthe company, firms begin by arousing interestin themselves through various contents using
the Internet, such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter,and search engine optimization (SEO). The aim
is to invigorate sales by effectively combining
sales and marketing. For this purpose, HubSpot
provides all-in-one software.
At present about 20,000 companies aroundthe world have introduced HubSpot software,
but full-fledged penetration into the Japanesemarket is just starting.

“HubSpot took notice of Japan,” Akahira says,“because it has a stable economy and manystrong small and medium-sized enterprises, andit opened the Japan office in order to provide
HubSpot’s target is small and medium-sized effective support to Japanese clients and partner

Guiding the Way
to Successful Businesscompanies. The aim is to change the concept ofmarketing in Japan to inbound marketing. If weare successful in this educational task, then I
think our software will sell naturally.”
HubSpot chose Global Business Hub Tokyo
as the location for its office because theMarunouchi area is a business center withmany foreign startups, making it easier tobuild networks there. In addition, the officeenvironment suited HubSpot’s corporate
culture. “We liked it because there is plentyof office space and an atmosphere enabling
us to work in a friendly and relaxed manner,”
Akahira says. “Otemachi had a stiff image asa financial district, but here you don’t feel outof place even working in a T-shirt and jeans.
The location is good, and there is an event
space, which is good because we are planning
events for clients and partner companies. This
office respects HubSpot’s culture, which places
importance on HEART [Humble, Effective,Adaptable, Remarkable, Transparent]. I think it
will be effective in recruiting people too.”through Inbound Marketing
No Personal Growth by Staying
in Comfort Zone
Speaking of change, the opening of HubSpot’s Japan office isnothing less than a transformation in itself, because we are aiming tocompletely overturn the concept of marketing in Japan and introduce
inbound marketing. It’s a very exciting challenge. Personally, I likethe expression “getting out of a comfort zone”---in other words, you
can’t achieve personal growth by staying put. I am not a returnee.
I went to study at university abroad deliberately in order to makemyself grow in a difficult environment. I believe that the present
opportunity came around because I continued to seek change.

HubSpot
General Manager, HubSpot Japan Inc.

Yuri Akahira

INTERVIEWMARUNOUCHI THE PRESS vol.28 2016.11

After graduating from the University of Oregon, Yuri Akahira participated in the founding of Meltwater’sJapan branch and subsequently managed the Japan office as the representative director of Meltwater
Japan. She was appointed general manager of HubSpot Japan in July 2016. She personally takes an active
part in various activities supporting diversity for women in the Japanese workplace.

HubSpot was founded in 2006 by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, who, very simply, wondered why it was that
although people’s lives, work, shopping, and the way they were deciding to make purchases were undergoing a seachange, corporate marketing activities were not adapting at all. They proceeded to establish the vision of inboundmarketing, and now more than 19,000 companies in over 90 countries use HubSpot’s software, services, and support.
In Japan, services have been supplied through a sales agent since 2012, but in July 2016 the Japan office was openedin order to strengthen business in this country.

MARUNOUCHI THE PRESS vol.28 2016.11