Respect & Accept Japan’s Business Culture and Manners & Customs for Successful Japan/Global Business – Japanese Businesses & MNCs Operating in Japan

So far, I have outlined 6 approaches that are inevitable in successful business in Japan.

In order to make them work, you need 1 thing; without this, you will never be successful in doing business in Japan even with the 6 approaches.

That is, do not assume “Japan Way” and the way done in your country is similar.

This is about business culture, manners and customs, communication style and so forth.  This is more about soft part, or mindset and behavior, attributing to the country’s long history, culture, religion, education, how things work in the society etc.

One of the things first mentioned by non-Japanese about this topic is exchanging business cards in Japan.

This is true while you need to understand something behind it that leads to many other things you encounter in doing business in Japan such as how you would need to communicate and get things done in business professionals in Japan especially in formal settings, and setting up your office in Japan.

These are because in Japan “the organization the individual belongs” and his/her title have much significance than the individual.

Another key thing is that face-to-face communication is the key in Japan and it is very unlikely you can get along only with online communication, unlike in large countries such as in the US.

These attribute to the Japan’s long history and culture. You would simply need to respect and accept it instead of pushing your way in doing business in Japan if you want to be successful, as in the saying “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”.

In fact, this was the topic I did one hour consultation with an American business executive who started his business in Japan with a local JV over an international phone call last year. He said communication with the Japan local JV has not been going on well and he tried to understand why by reading books but thought it better to have the consultation on Corporate Culture.

Such a thing is quite understandable because this kind of things are difficult to include in manual, nor can be understood and put into practice overnight.

Having said that, there are things that are universal such as basics of business, ethics/morale/compliance, and how you should treat other people.

After all, this is all about Diversity and Inclusion.

This is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

This article was originally posted on Megumi Oyanagi’s Blog About Japan

Leverage the Internet/Digital while Mixing with Face-to-Face for Successful Japan/Global Business – Japanese Businesses & MNCs Operating in Japan

So far, I have outlined 5 approaches that are inevitable in successful business in Japan.

In order to make them work, you need 2 things, which are the 6^th and the 7^th approach.

The 6^th is to leverage the Internet technology.

It allows you to network with experts around the globe via social media, just as I am doing NOW using LinkedIn, blogs, Facebook etc., as well as getting information online using search.

It is this way that I have access to information worldwide and have been gaining relevant information/data as long as they are in Japanese (my native language) to English. 

It is this way that I met people outside Japan/my area who turned out to be great friends and experts in respective realm who kindly provided with their wisdom especially via LinkedIn discussions. They consequently helped me writing my eBook as well as in doing other things at work or outside work.

Key people in writing and completing the eBook include those whom I met online, and worked/collaborated online. Some of them I also collaborated offline (i.e. face-to-face) if/where possible.

My advice is you take similar approach. In doing so, you need to remember that social media landscape in Japan is quite different from those in your country.  You also need to remember that Japanese people do prefer face-to-face communication. They would not start business only by interaction online.

This is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

Your Country is Not the Only Source of Wisdom for Successful Japan/Global Business – Japanese Businesses & MNCs Operating in Japan

So far, I have outlined 5 approaches that are inevitable in successful business in Japan, which are basics in planning and doing business.

What makes it difficult to go through them is probably the fact that you cannot do them all by yourself or your staff due to insufficient knowledge, know-how, network, resources and so forth, especially if you are business owner/professional of small & mid-sized business.

You can overcome it by networking with experts around the globe and seeking help from them, in respective topics such as market research, marketing, supply chain and so forth. After all, two heads are better than one.

The more the budget you have the better, but you can somehow do so with limited budget, too.

You might think you need to know Japanese language to do so for Japan business. Actually no.

Japanese bi/multi-cultural with English fluency is probably the first go-to-person while it is quite interesting to know there are non-Japanese based in Japan, or non-Japanese working for Japanese clients and the like who may well know about specifics of doing business in Japan and cultural aspects more than most of the Japanese.

That is quite understandable because it is when you have been exposed to multiple different environment that you can compare and understand the uniqueness of your own country or Japan.

This is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

Operational Excellence from Marketing, Sales, Delivery to Collecting Money for Successful Japan/Global Business – Japanese Businesses & MNCs Operating in Japan

It is after developing your strategy and plans for your business and marketing as in the previous post that you are ready for execution.

Operational Excellence is a key in this phase, assuming you have developed your products and services hence you decided to do your business and have reached to this point.

That is, the end-to-end chain of marketing, BD (business development)/sales follow-up of leads generated, and distribution of your products & services you’re your local staff or partner operating smoothly, to deliver value to your target customers.

From web content I come across it seems many people tend to think marketing and sales are different and it is a challenge for the two to work together. To customers all functions of the company/business/brand is the same. You need to provide high quality customer experience at all touch points, online and offline.

Doing marketing targeting the market and customers you are not so familiar with is a challenge while there is some ways to overcome that. And, when your marketing becomes a success; i.e. generates leads (e.g. customers are interested in your products & services and wanting to know more) you need to make sure you follow up and this is sales, which needs to be done locally otherwise it would not work.

And, what is more, distribution which come next is a challenge especially if your business of selling tangible products as you can imagine. You cannot do this globally only but what if you cannot set up an entity in Japan and hire local staff?

Moreover, collecting money from your customers after delivery is crucial and this also requires someone doing this locally. How can you overcome this?

This is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

How to Develop and Execute Your Plan Strategically and Systematically for Successful Japan/Global Business – Japanese Businesses & MNCs Operating in Japan

After doing research and developing strategy as in the previous post, now it is time for you to develop action plans. At this point, many business professionals might dive into making to-do-list but wait.

You need to be strategic and systematic in developing your plan. It is wise to use key marketing framework and methodology.

Define positioning of your business and products/services based on the research & analysis and strategy. Do you want to position yourself as luxurious brand or commodity brand? Niche brand or brand for the general public? High-end or volume-zone?

Your positioning determines targeting i.e. the customers you want to target after customer segmentation, which is the key in developing and executing marketing strategy/plan.

Your targeting determines 4Ps of marketing (Product, Price, Place, Promotion), which leads to action plans with timeline, role & responsibilities of people involved, budget etc., i.e. concrete allocation of resources (budget, manpower, time).

Among the 4Ps of marketing, there are a few that are truly critical in doing business outside your country. Once you get them wrong, it is very difficult to put them back into track.

Planning for execution is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

This article was originally posted on Megumi Oyanagi’s Blog About Japan