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.

Still with me?

Oye Vey what a month! Over two weeks since my last entry and I feel just terrible (no really I do). Lots going on in the Japanese affiliate universe, but I just need to find time to collect my fleeting thoughts and write something down. I’m still working on my Affiliate Network profiles and I should have something up soon on the A8 network. I also want to talk about the how mobile questionnaires can help foreign firms break into the Japanese market by acting as a channel for quick and inexpensive sales leads. Enough yapping. Back to work. Stay tuned.

Golden Week Break

Must apologize for the lack of post this week. We just moved the office to a new location yesterday, and the Japanese Golden Week has just begun which means we’ll be taking a few days off for much needed rest. Next week I’ll be posting articles on recent Japanese affiliate marketing news and a profile for the A8.net network. Until then, sayonara.

The Dankai Generation

The so-called Dankai generation of baby boomers born after the second world war are starting to turn 60 in Japan. Hardly a big deal unless you consider the fact that over the next three years, these retiring grand-folks will mean a 10% drop in the Japanese labor force thus impacting government tax revenue immensely. How will Japan adjust to such a drastic drop in productivity and revenue? That remains to be seen, but what interest me more was this little statistical tidbit: The average nest egg for the retiring Dankai is…ready for this….50 million yen. That’s about half a million dollars to you and me. Imagine that: 6.8 million retirees with bulging bank accounts looking to do what comes naturally to every Japanese: Shop. I’m not sure if anyone has done a study the impact the Dankai will have on online sales, but my guess is that we will see an increase of activity in leisure, hobby related goods, health & wellness and online investing. All of these categories are well represented in the affiliate marketing space, so I anticipate more offers targeting the Dankai generation. Yes, the next three years in Japan may see higher taxes and labor shortages, but I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy, so my eyes and ears are focused on the Dankai and their desire to spend, spend and spend.