With the outbreak of the COVID-19 changing the world dramatically and marketing measures shifting from traditional offline to web marketing, many of you may be wondering what digital marketing is and what exactly you should do.
In addition, for companies attempting to enter the Japanese market from overseas, traditional marketing initiatives are too costly in terms of human resources, and some may be considering using digital marketing when entering the Japanese market.
In this article, we will explain what digital marketing is and where exactly to start for beginners in digital marketing for B2B companies.
We provide marketing support to foreign companies trying to enter the Japanese market. Digital marketing is essential for companies trying to enter the Japanese market from overseas, so if you are not sure how to develop digital marketing or how to formulate a strategy, please feel free to contact us for a consultation.
When we say digital marketing, what exactly do we mean?
To clearly answer this question, we will first list specific examples of digital marketing measures below.
- Website and LP (landing page) improvement
- SEO (search engine optimization)
- Creation of case studies (success stories)
- Blog content writing
- Contributing to external media
- White paper creation (creation of useful materials)
- Press release distribution
- Email DM (form DM)
Website related
- Listing ads (search-linked ads)
- Display Advertising
- Facebook Ads
- Instagram Ads
- Twitter Ads
Advertisements
- Official company accounts
- Employees’ personal accounts
SNS Management
The objectives of these methods are the same as those of traditional marketing (offline marketing) such as;
- To gain recognition
- To earn trust
- To get people to think they need your product
- To get people to contact you
- To be added to your customer’s consideration list
- To be selected from the list
Like above the basic purpose of marketing itself does not change. However, the way customers behave online is very different from how they behave in the real world, so it is necessary to prepare methods and approaches that are tailored to this behavior. Marketing activities that are developed digitally, taking into account the online behavior of customers, are collectively called digital marketing.
Where to start when doing digital marketing for the Japanese market?
So what is the first step in starting digital marketing for Japan? Based on the assumption that you are already doing business in an area where there are search queries, we recommend the following five steps as an introduction to B2B digital marketing.
#1 Website and LP (landing page) improvement
If you do not have a Japanese website or LP, the first step is to create a Japanese one. You may be thinking, “If this is a B2B company, wouldn’t they read something in English?” but it doesn’t happen here. We strongly recommend that you abandon this idea and create a Japanese-language website first.
If you already have a Japanese-language website or LP, you should improve it by focusing on the following two points. Please keep in mind that these measures are designed to improve CVR (Conversion Rate), or in other words, to increase the percentage of people who actually take action after viewing your website.
#2 CTA Design
CTA (Call To Action) refers to a button or link that prompts the visitor to take an action, but if it is unclear or difficult to find, the visitor will quickly leave the site. CTAs should be designed to present content that meets the visitor’s needs, such as inquiries, requests for information, downloads of useful materials, free trials, and so on.
A common example of failure is a case in which the first view of website contains an abstract catchphrase like a poem, making it difficult for the viewer to take the next action because he or she cannot tell at a glance “what kind of service this company provides and what kind of issue are solved by them”. It is said that Japanese people will immediately leave a website if they cannot find the information they are looking for within 3 seconds, so it is very important to convey your company completely in the first view.
Thus, it is most important to have clearly designed CTA s and a first view that is easy for the reader to understand, which in many cases greatly improves CVR.
#3 Improvement of entry form
While we understand the want to capture detailed customer information, there is no need to set up many form items for contact inquiries. Rather, too many form items mean customer churn, so try to reduce the number of input items to the minimum necessary to reduce the workload and anxiety factor for the user.
In addition, note that user churn is prevented by designing forms that are easy to use, for example, by clearly indicating where the user should re-enter information if there is an error.
#4 Attracting customers by listing ads
Once you have improved your CVR by improving your website, the next step is to devote resources to attracting customers. Currently, of all the methods of attracting customers, listing advertisements are the most likely to produce results in the short term. Listing advertisements are an effective means of attracting customers that can be started with a small amount of money and can reach users who have obvious needs.
In addition to the aspect of acquiring new lead customers, listing advertisements are also effective in understanding the keywords that lead to CVs. In other words, it is possible to obtain information on which keywords are most likely to lead your customers to CVs.
#5 Create content with keywords that convert
Once you have identified the keywords that convert in the previous step, create content with those keywords. For example, if you were able to get conversions with the keyword “B2B marketing Japan”, create content with this keyword.
The reason for moving to content creation AFTER the step of placing listing ads is to avoid a situation where content is created without confirming the keywords that will convert, which will only result in a great deal of effort and no successful results at all.
Since it takes some time for content creation to produce results, 4th and 5th step should be repeated in parallel to obtain immediate results and accumulate marketing assets to build a solid digital marketing structure.
The above is just an introduction to digital marketing, and is the flow we often suggest to clients who have no experience in digital marketing. In reality, measures will vary depending on the company’s situation and industry trends, so please contact us if you would like to know what measures are best suited to your company.
Conclusion
- Digital marketing is marketing that is tailored to the behavior of customers online, and its purpose itself is the same as traditional marketing activities
- Digital marketing measures include website and LP improvement, SEO, advertisement placement, SNS utilization, etc., and the optimal measure may vary depending on the company’s situation
- Improvement on websites and LPs, CTA design, entry form → placing listing ads → creating content with keywords that are likely to convert, is one of the most effective steps for an introduction to digital marketing.
This article is only an introduction to digital marketing, and actual measures may vary greatly depending on your company’s situation and industry trends. If you are considering using digital marketing to enter the Japanese B2B market, please contact us. We will develop and implement the best marketing strategy for you to enter the Japanese market.