Apple launched its iPod Mini players in Japan and the excitement it created among the die-hard Apple fans in Japan was similar to what you will find for a Harry Potter book here in America. Since the day I first went to Japan in September 1992, I have been amazed by the presence of Apple "otaku" (loosely translated as "maniacs") in Japan and their number does not seem to go down.
When it comes to latest electronics gadgets, we are centuries behind Japan. In fact when we think that we are doing good, it is because we are ignorant. Some of the coolest Japanese electronic products are never marketed in the US (in the words of a Japanese electronics marketing manager, "America is not a very attractive market for cutting edge electronics products. Americans don't love technology the way we do. They spend more time in Home Depot than in an electronics store.") simply because we do not incorporate technology in our lives as fast as the Japanese do. I hear that some of us still have rotary dial phones.
So how did Apple do it?
Selling electronic gadgets to the Japanese is like "selling ice to Eskimos", in the lingo of a Marketing 101 student. When Apple fans line up the night before to buy an iPod Mini, you know that Apple has made it. Over the years I have heard American executives bitch (particularly the carmakers) endlessly about the challenges of penetrating the Japanese market, the Japanese bureaucracy, the legal hurdles, the bias of Japanese consumers, and whatever excuse that they can come up with for their failure to understand the Japanese marekt, but despite all of this, a few companies like Apple, Starbucks, and Yahoo have become darlings of Japanese consumers.
Based on the experiences of these companies and my own experience marketing American technology and products in Japan, here are my five principles anyone should keep in mind while marketing to the Japanese:
When it comes to latest electronics gadgets, we are centuries behind Japan. In fact when we think that we are doing good, it is because we are ignorant. Some of the coolest Japanese electronic products are never marketed in the US (in the words of a Japanese electronics marketing manager, "America is not a very attractive market for cutting edge electronics products. Americans don't love technology the way we do. They spend more time in Home Depot than in an electronics store.") simply because we do not incorporate technology in our lives as fast as the Japanese do. I hear that some of us still have rotary dial phones.
So how did Apple do it?
Selling electronic gadgets to the Japanese is like "selling ice to Eskimos", in the lingo of a Marketing 101 student. When Apple fans line up the night before to buy an iPod Mini, you know that Apple has made it. Over the years I have heard American executives bitch (particularly the carmakers) endlessly about the challenges of penetrating the Japanese market, the Japanese bureaucracy, the legal hurdles, the bias of Japanese consumers, and whatever excuse that they can come up with for their failure to understand the Japanese marekt, but despite all of this, a few companies like Apple, Starbucks, and Yahoo have become darlings of Japanese consumers.
Based on the experiences of these companies and my own experience marketing American technology and products in Japan, here are my five principles anyone should keep in mind while marketing to the Japanese:
- Attention to detail. Do not ever launch a product in Japan if you think you have even a 1% chance of product problems.
- Functionality is important, but not without aesthetics. Presentation is everything. Even a $4 bowl of noodles is served in great style at a roadside noodle shop in the middle of nowhere in Japan.
- Customer is KING. And I mean it. Being in Japan even for a week will spoil you. No matter how small the business is, the service is impeccable at all times.
- Never say NO to the customer. Even when it is impossible, the Japanese believe in trying one more time when a customer says so. By the way, that is also how innovation happens. I was surprised myself how many times we came up with solutions when challenged by our customers (while the technical folks back home continued to complain that it couldn't be done).
- Do your homework. If you think that you can simply sell what you have on the shelves in Japan too, forget it. You will need to understand the unique characteristics of the Japanese market vis-a-vis your products, test your products, customize/localize it, and demonstrate that you are committed to Japan by translating all documents into Japanese, providing customer support in Japanese, and having a full-fledged office in Japan or a Japanese partner.
Suggested link: How to improve customer service by learning from the Japanese?