For overseas B2B companies looking to enter the Japanese market, selecting a marketing company is a key process that will determine the success of their venture. B2B marketing, regardless of the market, has its own unique characteristics that differ from B2C, and understanding these will help you find the best partner. In this article, we will explain in detail how to select a marketing company in Japan for overseas B2B companies.
We, Yakumo Marketing, specialize in supporting overseas companies that are trying to enter the Japanese market. If you are wondering with what criteria you should choose your marketing partner in Japan, please feel free to contact us for free consultation.
Understanding the characteristics of B2B marketing in Japan
The first important step is to understand the characteristics of B2B marketing in the Japanese market. The B2B market differs from the B2C market in the following ways.
General B2C marketing methods do not work in many cases
The methods used for B2C marketing cannot be applied directly to the B2B market. In particular, SEO strategies and SNS-based strategies may have little effect in the Japanese B2B market. In some cases, potential customers may not be gathering information online, so it is preferable to use a marketing company that understands the unique practices of the industry and can create valuable content for the target company’s information gatherers.
The contract amount is large
In B2B transactions, the contract amount is large, so the amount of money spent on marketing and the time spent on each project tends to be relatively large and long.
Things progress over a long period of time
The decision-making process in the Japanese B2B market is long, usually spanning several months to several years. For this reason, you should choose a marketing company that takes a long-term approach to results. You should choose a marketing company that is good at not only short-term results such as the number of new lead customers acquired, but also at improving your company’s recognition in the Japanese market and building relationships of trust with potential customers.
Many people are involved in decision-making
In the Japanese B2B market, the decision-makers involved in decision-making are diverse and the number of these people is relatively large, including management, technical staff and purchasers, and each stakeholder has a different perspective and priorities. A good marketing company will be able to provide messages that meet the needs of each audience, such as communicating ROI and strategic benefits to management, and technical information and product performance to engineers.
Clarify the issues your company is facing
The B2B marketing process covers a wide range of activities, from strategy development to implementation. For this reason, it is necessary to have a concrete understanding of which stage your company is struggling with. For example, where do you have problems with lead acquisition, improving brand awareness or strengthening competitiveness? And if you are having problems with ‘not being able to acquire leads’, it is important to determine whether the cause lies in strategy design or implementation. Specifically, the following points should be agreed internally.
- What is the purpose of your company’s B2B marketing?
- What problems do you need to solve to achieve this?
- What is required to solve these problems?
To clarify the issues, you should review your company’s resources and expertise and identify the problems in each process. Clarifying your company’s objectives and problems at this stage will make it easier to choose the right marketing company. If you are unable to identify or clarify the issues, you may wish to consult a consultancy at this stage.
Visualize the output and delivery process
Next, it is important to have an idea of what kind of output and the service process you can expect from the marketing company. Because consultancy is an intangible product, it can be difficult to see what you will get out of it. As a result, it is possible to encounter situations where ‘the outcome is not what was expected’ or ‘the level of quality does not meet the required standard’. By checking the specific deliverables and past success cases before signing a contract, you should get a better idea of the actual results you can expect.
Also check that their communication style matches yours. By checking in advance the frequency and methods of communication, whether it is mainly face-to-face meetings or online correspondence, the project will run more smoothly. It is also important to check the support process, the scope of work and whether communication within the company will be smooth.
Whether the company has a consultant who is a good fit for the company
When choosing a marketing company, the quality of the consultants they employ is also important. It is important to meet the potential consultants and confirm that you will be able to communicate easily with them in person.
Check that their background and expertise match your company’s needs. If they specialise in B2B marketing, they will be able to suggest the most appropriate activities from a wide range of options. Particularly when marketing to the Japanese market, it is important that they are fluent in both English and Japanese and have a track record of working with overseas companies. Finding a consultant who fits your company at this stage will also increase the success rate of your project.
Check that the support style is right for your company.
Marketing companies differ greatly depending on their support style. Some companies provide consistent support from strategy development to implementation, while others specialize in specific measures. By choosing a company with a support style that matches your company’s needs, you can receive more effective support.
- Strategic consultant : Only design overall strategies through market research and competitive analysis. You will not receive any support for the implementation
- Measures-specific: Provide support that is specialized in specific measures (SEO, SNS ads, etc.). It is risky if you are not sure which measure is suitable for your project.
- End-to-end: Provide consistent support from strategy development to the actual implementation
If you don’t know how to market to the Japanese market, you may want to consider hiring a marketing company that can help you with everything from strategy development to implementation.
What are our strengths in B2B marketing in the Japanese market?
We have supported many overseas B2B companies, and the following four are the most common reasons for choosing our company.
- Specialist B2B marketing company
- Consistent support from strategy development to implementation
- Extensive experience of working with overseas companies
- Japanese consultants fluent in English
We can support your business in Japan with our strategy development & skill of the specific methods based on our high level of expertise, communication skills and extensive business experience. Contact us for more information and free consultation.