To be successful in B2B marketing in the Japanese market, it is essential to create a website that is appropriate for your target audience. This means more than just translating an existing website – you need to localize it, i.e. adapt the content with your Japanese customers in mind. This article explains in detail the effective approach and points to consider when creating a website for the Japanese market.
We specialize in supporting overseas companies entering the Japanese market. If you are interested in creating a B2B website for the Japanese market, please feel free to contact us for a free consultation.
1. What kind of customers visit B2B websites?
At what stage of the buying process are customers visiting your company’s website? The fact that they have reached your website means that they are likely to be visiting the site to gather information and compare products and services, and it is safe to assume that they are hot prospects or prospects closest to the conversion. As they already have specific issues to solve and are gathering information to do so, it is important to appropriately provide them with the information they need by your website.
2. Content required for B2B websites
The pages that should be published on a B2B site and the points to note are as follows.
Home page
Make sure that the CTA is visible in the first view. Also, make sure that it is clear at a glance what your company’s main products and services are. Try to avoid including abstract content such as corporate philosophy or policy like a poem, and instead include specific information.
Service detail
Please describe in detail the products and services your company offers. Visitors will want to know what issues your products and services can solve and what makes your company better than others, so please be as specific as possible.
About your company
If your company is not well known in Japan, the first step in marketing to the Japanese market is to dispel any doubts about whether or not your company is trustworthy. The first step is to provide as much information as possible about your company. Where is your head office? Do you have a branch in Japan? How many employees do you have? How many of your employees speak Japanese? Do you have any licences or permits obtained in Japan? Make sure that Japanese companies know that your company has a reliable business presence both in your home country and in Japan.
Product and service materials download page
You will find that many overseas companies do not have this page set up, but it is more important than you might think. In B2B business, decisions are not made by the person in charge alone and there is always a stage where you explain your company and product to the decision maker to gain internal approval. Whether or not there is material to use at this stage makes a big difference, and making it as friendly as possible from the perspective of the person presenting to their boss is an important point, not just in the Japanese market.
Case study
If your company already has customers in the Japanese market, this is a great selling point for new customers. Explain in detail how your company has solved their problems and how they have benefited from doing business with you.
Even if you have not yet acquired customers in Japan, we recommend that you include a case study from your home country. Japanese companies attach great importance to past performance when entering into new business relationships, so case studies are an essential part of any content.
Contact form / Request for materials form
To prevent people from leaving the page, try to keep the number of form fields to a minimum. Also, make sure that the link button to this form is placed prominently on each page so that it is easy to see. It is also important to have a system in place to respond quickly to enquiries.
3. Common mistakes when creating a Japanese website
The translation is unnatural.
The most common pattern is where there is unnatural Japanese due to the use of translation tools and automated translation. Because Japanese is not part of the same language family as many other languages, there are still many cases where the translation tools used are not very good, so it is necessary to use a translator or other professional to fix the Japanese to make it sound more natural, within the limits of your budget. Please be careful, as if there is too much unnatural Japanese, or if Japanese is mixed with other languages, it may be suspected of being a fraudulent website.
The amount of information provided is insufficient
If you simply translate a simple website for your home country into Japanese, there is a high probability that it will not lead to any conversions. The reason for this is that in the home country, even if the website is simple, it is possible for customers to confirm the actual business situation by checking by phone or other sites, but this is not possible from Japan, so it is excluded from consideration. In some cases, it is also necessary to add new information and content for the Japanese market to show that you are serious about the Japanese market.
Insufficient SEO due to failure to check search volume in Japanese
Is there enough search volume for your product or service if it is translated directly into Japanese? If your product is expressed in different terms in the Japanese market, your website will be less likely to reach your target businesses. Ask a specialist or native Japanese speaker to check this in advance to ensure that your SEO is appropriate for the Japanese market.
Conclusion
- It is the hot prospects or prospects closest to conversion that visit B2B websites
- In order to dispel the concerns of Japanese companies, you must use a wealth of information to show that your company is trustworthy. You need to be prepared to do more than just translate your existing website, and add new content for the Japanese market.
- Since there are often cases where the translation into Japanese is unnatural or where SEO for Japanese is not done, it is recommended that you ask a specialist for help with language issues.
If you would like to know more about creating a B2B website for the Japanese market, please contact us. Our experienced staff will provide you with careful support to help you succeed in the Japanese market.