Rentio Binoculars Rental: Understanding Customer Usage Scene for New Business Opportunity

This analyzes how a deep understanding of customer usage scenes is crucial for driving business growth, using the example of the appliance rental company Rentio. Initially assuming their vibration-proof binoculars would appeal to bird watchers, Rentio discovered through data that the overwhelming majority of users were young women using them for live music events to see their favorite artists, known as "Oshikatsu." This recognition of the gap between assumption and reality led Rentio to specialize their marketing and services, developing the product into a core offering and even creating a new revenue stream by offering customer usage data to manufacturers for product development. It emphasizes that high-resolution customer understanding informs everything from marketing messages and cross-selling strategies to inventory optimization, ultimately shifting the focus from selling products to supporting the customer's entire experience or "Koto-uri."