3 tips for adapting your marketing strategy for the Japanese culture | Need-to-know

Webcertain’s Online Consumer Behaviour Report looks at the cultures of 38 countries – check it out here: https://bit.ly/3lWO4h1

Japan is an attractive market for many global brands.

With a population of 126 million people, high levels of internet penetration and an appetite for new products, it’s easy to understand why.

However, the Japanese culture is unique and many a brand has failed in the country by not taking these cultural differences into account.

If you want your brand to succeed in Japan, you need to tailor your marketing activities to the Japanese culture.

Let’s look at three ways you should adapt your marketing strategy for Japan.

First of all, be aware that the B2B decision making process takes longer than in most countries.

This is because all layers of the business hierarchy must be in agreement before a decision is made.

Research on a particular product or service tends to be performed by junior workers, who then report to their managers, who then report to their managers, all the way to the top of the business.

This means that conversions tend to take longer in Japan.

In order to help speed things up, you should tailor your content to the needs of Japanese workers.

Creating downloadable assets detailing your product features can be very helpful, as it will give junior workers all the information they need to pass onto their managers.

Secondly, be aware that perfectionism is a very common trait in Japan, with excellent quality being expected as standard.

This applies to products, services and business interactions.

Customer service emails are expected to be replied to promptly (within a day at most) and anything slower than this will make your brand look sloppy and uninterested by Japanese standards.

And finally, be aware that people in Japan want to see specific statements about products and services, rather than vague generalisations.

They want to know in-depth about your product’s technical features, and for this reason product demos are very popular.

For each potential problem that your customer might face, offer a solution.

They want to have a full understanding of what they’re buying before making a purchase, so make sure to offer all this information upfront.

Do you have any questions about adapting your marketing strategy for the Japanese culture? Let us know in the comments below!