Better Shores: Why you need to come to Japan

As a Japan-based on-line marketing consultant, I’m the first to admit that the recent economic downturn worried me more than just a little. Most of my clients are overseas businesses looking to expand their on-line sales in the Japanese market. Marketing and advertising are usually the first victims in any recession and so I fully expected to see a marked decrease in the number of inquiries in my email in-box.  Yet strangely enough, I have witnessed just the opposite. Why the surge in interest in Japan? It doesn’t take a genius to see that companies are desperate for sales. And even though Japan is not immune to the problems facing America, there is one notable difference between there and here; The Japanese still have cash. Plenty of it. While Americans gorged themselves on endless credit and sub-prime buffets, the Japanese quietly continued to sock away cash in zero percent interest bank accounts. This means that even though unemployment is on the rise and factories are closing, the Japanese have more spending capital available to them then their American counterparts.  The world economy has changed. America may have lost it dominance in matters of growth and commerce and now many are looking to the East (China, Japan, Korea, etc) as ground zero for the next era of economic bloom. If you have an on-line business, you need to start planning your entry into the Japanese market now. That means making the necessary connections locally to assist in brand-building, site and product localization, customer service and building an affiliate sales based. Over the next few weeks I will be writing more about what you need to do to start your entry into Japan. Don’t let the economy get you down, make Japan part of your long-term sales strategy.