Japanese and American Commercials
For reaching out to the target consumers to purchase a particular product or to take an action regarding the product or service, many companies use television commercials both on television and on the radio in order to communicate to the target audience. The primary use of commercials is to introduce a product or service to potential consumers and persuade them to be part and parcel in consuming the product or service. Japan and the USA have different ways of relating information to potential consumers. These differences are caused by the following factors;
First in America, the product is the center of attention as it is on the center stage of advertising while it is always behind the scenes in Japan. Secondly, Japan uses a soft-selling form of advertisement where music was employed to set the mood. On the other hand, American Commercials used hard selling form of advertisement where they offer more facts and attributes about the superiority of a particular product. Third, Japan mainly concentrates on involving celebrity talent to represent advertisers in commercials while in America in they use all kinds of individuals including those off the streets (Hua, n.d.).
Japanese way of product development
Product development is the process of modifying an existing product or creation of new products with additional characteristics that satisfy a particular need in the market. The Japanese way of product development is mostly concerned with improving technology by modifying an already existing product in the market into an even better product. The following are some of the strategies used by Japan in product development (Japanese product development strategies: Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing: Vol 13, No 2, 2016).
First japan uses quality, cost and delivery in as a means of product development. In order to meet competitive advantage, Japanese companies integrate low pricing and high-quality products. According to research firms that produce low-cost, high-quality products have a better market share than those firms that produce high-priced and low-quality products
Secondly, first to market is another dimension of product development in the market where the first company to be in the market obtains the biggest market share that is assumed to be 50% while fast followers are assumed to obtain 25% of the market share while late entrants are assumed to obtain only 10% of the market share. As long as product leaders stay ahead in the development of their products, remain to be dominant on the market. This is evident from the Japanese CD players where Matsushita and sony have the largest market share with each having 27.6% and 75.2% respectively. Sony remained to be the leader to date since it was first in the Market and has been able to develop modifications of its products to better qualities (Wtec.org, 2016).
Competitive advantage in component technology is yet another strategy used by Japanese companies in product development. Through developing key component technology, Japanese companies have been able to enhance the introduction of a new and wide range of products based on this technology.
Reasons for successful sale of vending machines in Japan
Japan being a base cash economy has greatly contributed to the frequent number of vending machines. Comparing with other nations, where credit and debit cards are widely used, and it’s uncommon to carry cash, it’s not the case in Japan where using cash is a common activity. Additionally, Japan possesses coins in high value due to the fact that sales tax has increased by 8%, and different goods are priced in awkward divisions resulting to people carrying hard cash which includes coins and paper money. Therefore, in order to avoid coins, people use the easiest way of using the coins by purchasing goods through vending machines
Safety in Japan has been one of the greatest contributors to a high number of vending machines. This is because low crime rates have enabled civilians and foreigners to carry large amounts of cash in their pockets. Different from other countries, vending machines have a small likelihood of being vandalized or tampered with which leads to people having freedom of placing their machines on any location in the cities.
Another reason as to why vending machines are so common in Japan is due to the pedestrian friendly environment provided by the country. Since many residents commute to work on foot or on bicycles or through public transportation, many companies see it as an opportunity to place their vending machines on commuting routes to be easily accessible to the public.
High-profit return from vending machines has created a big interest among many business people in Japan leading to them being frequent. As compared to the cost incurred in placement or establishing a vending machine, the profits gained are much higher. According to research done a common vending machine owner can obtain an average amount 20,000 to 40,000 yen in a month. This is the reason why most people in Japan have gained much interest in vending machines as compared to other businesses (Kotaku.com, 2016).
Reasons why Japanese investors lost a great deal of money in the US back in the 1990s
Central Bank of Japan was the major cause as to why many investors lost their money to the United States in the 1990s. After September 1985 yens appreciated and resulted in hitting hard the export sector which resulted to slow economic growth where it decreased from 4.4% in 1985 to 2.1% in 1986.to curb this, the Government tried to reduce the appreciating yen by easing monetary policy. As a result, inflation hit the country as asset prices and stock market increased drastically. The central Bank of Japan saw it better to increase the interest rate to 6% which later led to market collapse and resulted to Japanese investors losing their money
Reasons why japan has a difficult time in attracting global talent
One of the reasons why Japan has failed to attract global talent is due to lack of the right regime, social, economic conditions and cultural mindset that will enable individuals to develop their skills effectively and also advance their careers. This is because the Japanese society has completely refused to adapt to changes in the evolving business world. For this case, many people in the working class are middle-aged people between the age of 40-50 years who are unwilling to adapt to changes in the rapid changing business environment.
Another reason for the lack of global talent is because most of the Japanese workers feel very uneasy around foreigners since they bring a different kind of ambition and as a result, are given long working hours with a low salary while using out of date technology.
Most of the Japanese companies prefer hiring students who have obtained education locally, as compared to students who have an overseas education. This because they perceive their own universities to have high levels of education as compared to the western universities. As a result, many students have declined from studying abroad since they are afraid of lacking employment opportunities (BCCJ Acumen - The Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan, 2012)
How to japan long-term stagnation affects demographics problems
Japan's business practices
Different from other countries, Japanese have their own way of conducting business. The following are some of the various business practices.
First, problem-solving techniques have been greatly emphasized in many businesses in japan where different techniques which might include, step by step where one action is taken before another step in problem-solving activities.
Secondly, in order to motivate and maintain highly trained staff, businesses integrate performance appraisal by being supervisor focused, better payments and personal concern for employees. Other practices include good negotiating and persuading skills. For entrepreneurs in japan to possess this attribute, they must always be prepared, they must be dependent on company consensus and must also be able to build strong business relationships and seek mutual accommodation. Building strong customer relations is yet another business practice in japan. Entrepreneurs must focus on accommodating clients and meeting customer needs.
Appeal of Japanese market to foreign corporations
Most prominent investors insist on the fact that in order to japan market, one needs to be associated with someone who knows the market. Due to this fact, foreign investors have seen the need to partner with local companies in order to succeed in the Japanese market. Even though Japanese has been experiencing depopulation over the years, some corporations have been able to identify exciting market opportunities in the mature Japanese market.
The presence of mature market has enabled some entrepreneurs to come with products that will serve this type of market effectively. These investors have also tried to come up with ways in which they will be able to reduce the mortality rate and increase the birth rate in order to curb the depopulation problem. As such they have come up with health products that will help in performing these functions.
Other than pursuing the local existing markets, these foreign investors have also tried to create a new market in japan. This is evident since some products have been invented in order to decrease some of the major environmental issues facing the country such as carbon emissions. Even though establishing new markets in japan is quite difficult, foreign investors have received considerable support from the Japanese government which has helped them a lot (appeal of Japanese markets in the eyes of foreign corporations, 2011).
Foreign corporations that have succeeded in Japanese market
Dating back to 1986, where Pierre Fabre invested in the Japanese market has been recording success stories. Currently, it is celebrating 30th anniversary as a Japanese subsidiary. It originated from France where it is 3rd ranked pharmaceutical company. Its main focus is based on development and manufacture of biologically active ingredients from natural resources. Its innovation center is based in Tokyo to develop products targeted at Japanese and Asian markets. Currently, it registers sales volume of over 250000 units in half a year. This shows that the Japanese market has highly accepted this foreign company.
Through the formation of partnerships with domestic companies, TripAdvisor a the United States based travel information service company has greatly enjoyed its presence in the Japanese market and creation of customer base. Due to its growing popularity of their sites among foreign sites, it has always expected an inbound increase in the number of customers. Having reached over 350 million people a month through their websites statistics shows the greatest number of people have been found searching for information related to japan increasing (Jetro.go.jp, 2016).
Why japan has negative interest rates.
The reason for japan having negative interest rates is that the central bank of japan charges commercial banks interest rates on deposits deposited by commercial banks. This is done in order to increase the amount of loans given to the public and encourage savers to spend and invest in order to remove the stagnating state of the economy (the Guardian, 2016).
References
BCCJ Acumen - The Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan. (2012). The Fight for Global Talent | BCCJ Acumen - The Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan | The Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan. [online] Available at: https://bccjacumen.com/the-fight-for-global-talent/ [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Hua, Z. (n.d.). Exploring intercultural communication. pp.45-46.
Japanese product development strategies: Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing: Vol 13, No 2. (2016). Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing. [online] Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/08858629810213351 [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Jetro.go.jp. (2016). Success Stories | Investing in Japan - Japan External Trade Organization - JETRO. [online] Available at: https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/success_stories/ [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Kotaku.com. (2016). [online] Available at: http://kotaku.com/why-vending-machines-are-so-popular-in-japan-1682336996 [Accessed 1 May 2016].
the appeal of Japanese markets in the eyes of foreign corporations. (2011). 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: https://www.jetro.go.jp/ext/usa/jetro_appeal_of_japanese_markets.pdf [Accessed 1 May 2016].
the Guardian. (2016). Bank of Japan launches negative interest rates. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/16/bank-of-japan-launches-negative-interest-rates-yen-markets [Accessed 1 May 2016].
Wtec.org. (2016). Chapter 3, Section 3: Japan's Product Development Strategy. [online] Available at: http://www.wtec.org/loyola/ep/c3s3.htm [Accessed 1 May 2016].
