6 Tips to become or stay a Marketing Leader in Japan
Marketing leaders today act in a ever-changing and fast moving world. To become or stay at the top, decision makers need to be strategic and act on data driven insights. In Japan this equally true where consumer expectations are high, brand trust is hard earned, but loyalty is long term. To survive and exceed in this market you need to be performing marketing research.
Whether you’re a global brand looking to enter the market, or a domestic brand trying to maintain your position, marketing research is the tool for you. Many fail to understand the necessity of performing marketing research in Japan. Many Western brands have failed in Japan due to a lack of proper research. Other Western brands who properly researched before entering the market are not only succeeding, but are leaders in their respective industries.
So, today I am going to share with you six tips that you need to know to become or stay a marketing leader in your industry. Let’s dive straight in.
1) Don’t be on trend, predict them
In Japan trends can come from a variety of factors like cultural shifts, seasonal behaviors, digital conversations or any combination of them. Platforms like LINE and X are essential platforms, not just because of their popularity, but because they are great tools to understand what people are talking about and what is trending.
As a marketing leader however, you shouldn’t be chasing trends, you should be forecasting them. Effective marketing leaders use market research to monitor shifts and prepare campaigns, product launches, or changes in advance.
A great example of this being used effectively is Starbucks Japan. They utilize social media listening tools like LINE and X to perform consumer sentiment analysis. This allows them to spot emerging seasonal preferences, which helps them launch there popular line ups like the Sakura latte before spring. Starbucks is in fact so good at this they have become the largest coffee store brand in Japan and many flock to there stores just to grab there favorite seasonal drinks.
Forecasting trends allows you to stay ahead, not play catch up.
2) Improve Product-Market Fit with Customer Feedback
The best marketing teams are constantly adapting there offering based on real consumer needs. This is especially true in Japan, where consumer behavior is risk-averse, oriented, and value functionality and quality.
This where you can leverage qualitative research like interviews or focus groups to get feedback that can be validated by performing quantitative surveys to gain meaningful insights. This allows us to ensure we are delivering what consumers actually want.
Uniqlo is a great example of how this principle was used. In the beginning Uniqlo used focus group testing and iterative design to develop its HeatTech and AIRism lines. These were created from understanding actual consumer frustrations with existing winter clothes and summer fabrics.
Furthermore, Uniqlo consistently included there feedback throughout the products design life, with any prototype designs being used by consumers and then gaining there feedback. This allowed Uniqlo to hone in on the design that consumers wanted. In the end it became a staple product in Japan and is popular abroad.
Research that closes the gap between consumer input and product evolution builds strong brand loyalty.
3) Long-term Strategy over Short-term Gains
To be a marketing leader, you need to not only track KPIs but also use them to create meaningful strategy. KPIs in the west is about about short-term profits and ROI.
In Japan, long-term trust and brand equity more often than not out weights short-term strategies that only focus on clicks and conversions. Instead, you should look at it as developing a long-term relationship that needs to be developed, nurtured, and maintained.
This means you have to switch to a long-term view of marketing. Metrics like loyalty, net promoter score (NPS), brand sentiment, repeat purchase rate and customer lifetime value (CLV) are far more valuable for understanding success in the Japanese market.
Shiseido, a Japanese cosmetic company understands this well. Shiseido is active in developing scientific research on its cosmetics, which it turns into educational content for its consumers. They then analyzed the consumer engagement rate of its educational content and learned that educated consumers became repeat buyers of their products. This long-term view of fostering long-term relationships is why they are able to maintain there brand position as a premium cosmetic company.
Japanese consumer value brands who show care and commitment. Long-term KPIs reflects that care. Short-term KPIs reflects inauthenticity and untrustworthiness.
4) Understand the Cultural Preferences
Understanding Japanese cultural preferences is essential for doing business in Japan. Japan is a fascinating country where tradition and modernity often intersect and manifest in strange and unique ways.
Business leaders often suffer from one of two problems. One is that they think that how they sell and conduct business in the West will work in Japan. The other is that they think they finally understand Japan and make the same assumptions over and over. Both are wrong.
As a marketing leader you cannot assume cultural understanding. Consumer attitudes are constantly changing and shaped by a variety of economic, generational, and societal trends. It has to be updated regularly through a variety of research methods like ethnographic research, behavioral data and cultural trends analysis.
LINE Research is one such tool that helps brands understand shifts in Japanese communication behavior. This helps brands see how users interact with their brand accounts, allowing them to adjust messaging or content cadence. Similarly, X is a great social listening platform that lets brands learn what is trending and what people are talking about.
Culture is constantly changing. Be be consistent with your research.
5) Innovation with AI and Big Data
Innovation is key to success. You have to find new and unexpected ways to stay one step ahead of the crowd. The latest and most important innovations are, AI and big data.
Leveraging AI and data have allowed brands to predict consumer needs, test content, and even personalize experiences at scale. Everything from logistics to determining the right layout for a store, to predicting demand for products, AI and data are changing the way business works. Finding a new way to leverage these tools will elevate you to the top.
However in Japan it is important to understand that privacy and trust are important and there are strict legal frameworks that protect the ways you can use that data. This means you have to be very careful with what data you collect, how you use it, and being transparent about it.
SoftBank has used AI-driven customer journey mapping, for example, to offer personalized mobile plans and upgrade paths. 7-Eleven has used it to develop an efficient logistics system ensuring popular products at exact stores are always stocked. There are many creative ways that AI and data are being used, and many ways that haven’t been explored.
Finding and leveraging innovative ways to use technology will catapult you to the top.
6) Track Your Brand Health
Whether your on the top or now, you have to be very vigilant about how your brand is perceived. This is particularly true in Japan where brand image is king, and one misstep can completely destroy your brands reputation.
That is why tracking your brands health is important to survive and thrive in the Japanese market. One great marketing research method for this is a longitudinal study.
A longitudinal study involves collecting data from the same people or sample over a long-term period. This tool can be used for a host of applications outside of brand tracking. In this case, we can monitor changes in factors like brand trust, purchase intent, emotional connection and public sentiment to name a few.
Toyota during the post-recall crisis, had leveraged this as one of their tools. During this time they had set out to make thorough PR and customer service improvements. They combined this with ongoing brand trust surveys that helped them track the effectiveness of those recovery methods. The result was that they restored there lost reputation and maintained their leadership position in the automotive industry.
Don’t be complacent. Marketing Leaders track their brand like it’s under constant attack.
Concluding Thoughts
Marketing research isn’t just about collecting data for reports or compiling it because its what everyone does. Rather it is an essential tool that fuels smart, meaningful, and practical decisions. The top marketing leaders use marketing research to;
- Predict Trends
- Understand their customers
- Strengthen Brand Trust
- Understand Ever changing Cultural Trends
- Innovate with technology
- Track and Defend their Brand Reputation
In Japan, understanding your customer and developing trust are necessities in Japan. Marketing research is the starting point to any successful brand in Japan. Leveraged correctly, it can launch you from zero to marketing leader.
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