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Reflecting Consumer Feedback

Consumer Services: Action Policy

The Consumer Communication Center of Shiseido Japan Co., Ltd. gathers and analyses consumer inquiries and requests, and shares information throughout the company in order to realize its medium-to long-term strategy. Through these efforts, the Consumer Communication Center recommends the development and improvement of products and beauty information, as well as the improvement of services, to related divisions.
In January 2017, Shiseido further strengthened its Consumer-oriented management system by announcing its philosophy and policy on consumer-oriented management in the form of a "Consumer-Oriented Voluntary Declaration." At the Consumer Communication Center as well, we engage in daily activities under the Customer Response Action Guidelines. Going forward, we will continue to work to promptly detect changes in consumers and social and work to reflect them in our corporate activities, thereby contributing to the enhancement of corporate value through "Consumers-Oriented."

Shiseido Japan Co., Ltd. Consumer Communication Center
"Consumer Services: Action Policy"

Major Initiatives

For more than half a century since its establishment in 1968, Shiseido's consumer support desk has responded sincerely and flexibly to consumer opinions and inquiries and delivered useful information. The consumer support desk also makes proactive efforts to improve the quality of support. In 2013, our telephone support field received a three-star certification in the quality monitoring rating stipulated by HDI-Japan,*1 followed by the first five-star certification for the cosmetics industry in 2016. Then in 2020, the chat department was awarded three stars as an inquiry contact rating. We will also periodically implement various external evaluations to further improve consumer satisfaction.

In Japan, in addition to communicators who deal with consumers through the support desk, we also have Consumer Support Leaders who handle consumer service at our business sites nationwide, and personnel responsible for consumer service in each department. To deepen their understanding of consumers, these staff have opportunities to participate in seminars conducted by internal and external lecturers and workshops held by Shiseido researchers on safety and product development. These opportunities help them gain the knowledge necessary for consumer service. We also work to improve their skills as consumer service representatives by giving them opportunities to visit factories.

Consumer service representative training underway

In addition to advancing the development of staff, we are also focused on efforts to enhance convenience for consumers, including the addition of brand-specific toll-free numbers, improvements to chat-based support, and an enhanced FAQ pages. In addition, to operate consumer support desks reliably even during emergencies when it is not possible to work on-site, and to evolve our working styles, we introduced chat at home in 2020 and a remote call center system in 2021. This was the start of operations enabling our representatives to provide consumer support from home.
Consumer relations coordinators (CRCs)*2 assigned to Japan and each region (China, Asia Pacific, Americas, EMEA and Travel Retail) coordinate to smoothly respond to purchase-related requests and complaints from overseas visitors in Japan, as well as Japanese travelers overseas.

Image of the collaborative structure between Japan and each region

  1. *1：HDI is the largest membership organization in the world in IT support services established in the U.S. in 1989. A number of corporations listed in the U.S. business magazine Fortune's Global 500 are among its members. HDI-Japan conducts surveys and certifications to evaluate corporate consumer contact points with the aim of improving support services.
  2. *2：Consumer Relations Coordinators (CRCs) play a role in coordinating the best solutions to meet or address consumer requests and complaints across countries and regions.

Please check support details at “History of Shiseido’s Consumer Support.”

Gathering/Sharing/Utilizing Consumer Feedback

In Japan, we collect consumer feedback regarding our products and services in various ways and in a wide range of situations. These include around 100,000 consumer contacts each year received through our consumer support desks and offices via toll-free telephone lines, email, chat (LINE and browser-based) and written letters. The personal beauty partners working at our retail locations also record about 100,000 records of consumer feedback each year on dedicated tablet devices.
Apart from some affiliates that manage information independently, this information is all managed by a system. By sharing this information with all employees through email or the intranet, we use it to create value in our products and services.
In addition, centrally managing the information on a system enables that information to be swiftly reported to officers and related departments, and is useful in terms of risk management.

Breakdown of the feedback received by Shiseido Japan Co., Ltd.
（Collection period: January to December 2023）

Consumer Feedback Information Management Systems

We use Mirror*3, a system for collecting and analyzing consumers feedback in Japan, to reflect it in our products and services.
Consumer feedback, which is aggregated into the Mirror, is linked to VOICE text mining system, enabling all employees to easily visualize consumer feedback and analyze and utilize it according to their purposes. We also use social listening to reflect consumer feedback that does not directly reach companies in our corporate activities. In addition, we are working to improve quality globally in collaboration with GQS*4, a quality information management system that aggregates quality-related requests received from consumers around the world.

Consumer Feedback Information Management Systems

Increasing Contact Points with Various Consumers

To respond to increasingly diverse consumers, we have opened official accounts on X (formerly Twitter) and Yahoo! Chiebukuro user-driven Q&A site, and also launched LINE- and browser-based chat services. This shows our commitment to improve communication with a wide range of consumers. We use LINE- and browser-based chat in the Consumer Support section of the Shiseido website. To respond swiftly to consumers we integrate a staffed service of communicators who consult personally to consumers, and AI Mimi-chan, a chat bot that can answer simple questions 24 hours a day. On X (formerly Twitter), we respond to inquiries, offer thanks for praise, and support consumers with difficulties. In addition, on the FAQ page, we use a chat bot to respond to questions such as alcohol concentration and flash points during the transportation of cosmetics. Through these many channels, we strive to improve consumer satisfaction.

Consumer Support

X (formerly Twitter) consumer support desk

Collaborative Education Activities to Learn on Consumers’ Perspective

We work to improve our products and services through deep knowledge of how consumers feel and their backgrounds. We also focus on employee training to become a company that is trusted by consumers.
We regularly distribute consumer feedback via the intranet, internal digital signage, our in-house social media and email, and we also operate an archive that allows employees to directly check consumer feedback. Creating opportunities for all employees to experience consumer feedback improves their consumer awareness.

In addition, for new employee and mid-career employee mindset training, and departments associated with consumer support or manufacturing, we held Consumer Feedback Seminars. These are seminars to share consumer feedback tailored to each department and reflect on our own awareness and actions. Through these activities we encourage employees to consider consumers as the starting point in their regular work, and we integrate this concept into all of our corporate activities.

New employee

Product Manufacturing that Reflects Consumer Feedback

MAQuillAGE dramatic skin sensor base NEO
Adopted as a regular product after starting as a limited item（2024）

We responded to feedback from consumers who wanted a regular product to correct skin-tone redness and adopted the limited item mint color Dramatic Skin Sensor Base NEO as a regular product.

ELIXIR Retinol Power Wrinkle Smoothing Cream
Redesigning the label to make it easier to understand how to open the product（2023）

Reflecting consumer feedback that it was troublesome to open the tube container, we made the opening instructions on the back of the package easier to understand. This ensures that consumers can use the product smoothly from the moment they pick it up.

BENEFIQUE luxe rebloom night cream
A jar that stores the spatula in an upright position was developed, achieving a high level of functionality and design (2022)

We have adopted a new jar that has a space for storing a used spatula and a lid that can be closed covering it in response to consumer feedback in which consumers said they wanted to keep spatulas (used to scoop cream out of jars) clean, had trouble finding a place to put them, or often lose them.

Click the link below to read the press release about the development of the jar.

ELIXIR　Esthetic Essence AD
An original tube-type container that allows for facial massaging while applying the serum was adopted (2022)

We have developed a product for replacement in response to customer requests in which customers said they wanted to reuse the massage roller component repeatedly. This lowers the barrier for customers to continue purchasing the product and reduces environmental impact.

ELIXIR BOUNCING MOISTURE LOTION SP / BOUNCING MOISTURE EMULSION SP
The container shape was improved to make the product easier to grip and remain stable as the container emptied(2022)

Some customers gave us feedback saying that, before renewal, the product tended to fall over as the content decreased. For the renewal, we changed the shape of the container to a rounded square to make it easier to grip and made the cap lighter to prevent it from falling over as the container emptied, while at the same time pursuing simplicity and beauty in the bottle design to fit in with an everyday use scene.

BENEFIQUE Reset Clear N
Adopted dispensers (2021)

In conjunction with the renewal, we have adopted dispensers and refills to easily get the correct amount at every usage.

 

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