6 essential insights you need for digital marketing in Japan

Welcome to our exploration of digital marketing in Japan, where cultural intricacies blend with modern strategies to create a unique landscape for businesses.

In this post, we delve into the essential insights you need to navigate this dynamic market effectively. From the influence of familiarity and quality to the significance of customer reviews, discover how Japanese consumer behavior shapes digital marketing strategies.

Let’s uncover how to leverage these insights to enhance your approach in reaching and engaging Japanese audiences effectively.

1. Strong (often weird) advertisements

Let’s talk about the oddity of Japan. We have quite unique types of advertisements.

When you look at some famous TV commercials, you’ll immediately notice their reach. Your initial response might be something like, “Funny, but what are they trying to sell?” This happens quite often.

What this means is that many commercial creatives focus on leaving a strong impression in viewers’ minds. Often, you might feel that they go too far focusing on that sole purpose.

One example is from a company called Nisshinbo. In their TV commercial, they say, “It’s not clear what our company does” themselves. That’s a very interesting approach.

I admit that they did a great job of making me remember their name. The rest of the customer journey depends on whether or not the audience is interested enough to look up their name online.

While TV commercials are not considered digital marketing, I’m including this example to give you an idea of how marketing has been working over time in Japan.

2. Familiarity matters (like Japanese brands)

Japanese consumers care a lot about familiarity. Many consumers choose specific products over others simply because they know those brands.

It’s a human instinct to feel more assured and relaxed when dealing with companies we have at least heard of. It’s written in our DNA that we don’t like future uncertainty.

For that reason, it’s natural to imagine that we love (or at least by default lean towards) choosing products we have heard of.

This may ring a bell for you. Remember I told you about a TV commercial for a company called Nisshinbo? They did a good job of implanting their name into my brain. I remember their name.

To be honest, I don’t know much about what they do. But when I compare a few products and one of them happens to be from Nisshinbo, and I don’t know anything about the others, I might automatically choose the one from them.

This same theory applies to big Japanese brands being more recognizable and memorable, making consumers tend to choose their products.

Traditionally, the opportunities to publish effective marketing campaigns were only accessible to bigger corporations such as Panasonic, Canon, Honda, and so on. However, the game has been changing.

Nowadays, smaller startups have access to more affordable ways to market their brands and products. Think about Instagram – it has become a solid platform for any business to get exposure to potential customers.

Still, the same idea of familiarity remains crucial in consumer decision-making. The difference is that more and more business owners have access to tap into this gold mine without huge investment.

3. Take high-quality as granted

If I mention the word “Honda,” what do you associate with it? Probably your answer would be something like “durability” or “trustworthiness” – that’s the result of hard-working craftsmanship and marketing strategies.

Even though I should point out that this image could not be earned without creative marketing campaigns, the image starts from the solid fact that their products are actually durable and trustworthy.

The same goes for many successful Japanese companies. So you might wonder if they all claim that their brands are tightly connected to the notion of high quality. No, that’s not true.

The situation is that high quality is what they should have in the first place. The quality itself does not really differentiate them. If you don’t have it, you’ll get honest and bad reviews from customers.

If you have it, that’s good, but then you need to think of something unique to your service or product. In that sense, quality is like an entry point.

And do you think Japanese customers tend to trust domestic products more? Yes, that’s true. It’s not always the case, but we tend to prefer Japanese products because we automatically associate “Made in Japan” products as more trustworthy and of higher quality.

But does it mean that you can’t sell things effectively in Japan in the presence of well-known Japan-made products? No, you can still find a way to market yours.

The reality is more nuanced. There are specific segments of people that prefer to focus on cost-effectiveness. It’s not surprising to find foreign/international products that actually offer the same quality but at cheaper prices. One notable example would be the electronics industry.

One key takeaway here is that as an international business owner, you should make an effort to communicate that what you offer is as reliable as what is available domestically.

And remember: that’s the starting point. First, remove the mental or emotional barrier in terms of quality, and then clearly communicate your unique value proposition.

4. Heavily reliant on reviews

Japanese customers rely heavily on reviews. It’s not to say that reviews are not important in other countries. Given how our brains are wired to fear getting something worthless, it’s no surprise that we tend to seek advice from others to mitigate risks.

But here in Japan, the reliance on reviews goes even further. When you search for a new computer, what keywords would you use? You’d probably type something like “best computer for…” – of course, aiming for the best option available in the market.

In Japan, we don’t say “best computer,” but instead commonly use “recommended computer.” I don’t think it’s just a linguistic difference. I believe this example reflects how much Japanese people care about others’ opinions.

This is called uniformity. Unlike cultures in the West, in Japan, not sticking out from the crowd is often seen as caring about the community. There’s a famous proverb that goes “the nail that sticks out gets hammered” – meaning that standing out too much can bring negative attention.

I admit that this may sound a bit discomforting, but here’s the context: Japan is an isolated island. Throughout its long history, Japan hasn’t experienced as many invasions and conflicts as, say, the European continent.

What this means is that Japan developed ways to maintain peace within the country without needing to worry extensively about foreign invaders.

5. Japanese like English but don’t necessarily understand it

We love English. But that doesn’t mean all of us are fluent in English. Here’s the thing: you can see English everywhere in product design. You pick up a bag and there’s an English quote. You come across a webinar notice and there are catchy English taglines. That might sound like good news, but let me clarify one thing: the awkward news is that they are often simply wrong.

I remember coming across a mirror sold at one of the local shops that said “lame” – of course, I was confused. I laughed with my wife. It’s quite tricky to explain why this mistake happened, but to put it simply, they probably meant to say “glittery,” which was the style of the mirror.

That’s just one of countless examples of how English is everywhere but not always used correctly. What takeaway can we get from this? My piece of advice: always assume that they don’t understand whatever you write in English. Some people may, but it’s safer to assume that no one does.

That being said, when it comes to your product details, you should always provide them in Japanese. This means you need translation and localization strategies in place to effectively communicate with Japanese consumers and businesses alike.

However, don’t get me wrong. You can still sprinkle in some English phrases to convey a cool image, but make sure these don’t contain critical information that customers need to read and understand.

6. Care a lot about being in the trend

Japanese people love being on-trend. This inclination is rooted in a fear of being excluded from society or one’s community. Japan is often described as a country where individual desires and opinions are moderated to achieve harmony (known as wa) for the collective good.

That being said, following trends is often seen as one of the safest ways to secure one’s place in the community. Younger generations especially tend to have a strong need for acceptance from others.