INTERPACIFIC NETWORK CORPORATION - Doing Business in Japan? Then, do it right. Strategy Planning for Japan

Strategy Planning for Japan

When you decide to take inroads to Japan, as you would do for any market, one must strategically plan how to do so, however, “things” could change very quickly in the Japanese consumer market and also in the industries that go after it.

Therefore, it is extremely important to revisit the fundamental question especially when one plans international strategies-- "What do you do better than anyone else in the world for your customers?" Then, one must review their products or services as if they were looking through Japanese eyes.

Returning to the question, "What do you, can you do better than anyone else in the world for your Japanese partners or customers?"

Your strategic assumptions may be based on a few of the following paradigms only you as a foreigner are familiar with, including but not limited to, social system, business structure, convention, pattern, speed, budget, law, value, common sense, communication manner, or size of the houses or roads you are familiar with in the states.

To verify your strategies, you may need a help from an experienced Japanese business person for the target industry, or at least a Japanese business person that understand the nuances of doing business in Japan, truly understanding how Japanese companies think and more importantly, why they do the "things" they do.

If you do not deeply understand how things are in Japan, or if you simply assume the things should not be much different than those in the US, then there may be a lot to learn before you execute in Japan prior to wasting your limited time and budget.

Gathering InformationTo plan a good strategy for Japan, you will need to collect information about the market as if you were doing so in the states. However, in most cases, what you would look for in the states may not be right or good enough to plan a good strategy in Japan, and usually you would not know that unless you had executed a Japanese strategy in the past. The Japanese market has a very unique component, their people, and the way you would hope they look at your products or services may be very different from the way they actually do so. Our professionals will be able to help you strategically plan and execute on that plan in Japan.	Local Hiring in Japan If your company is thinking of establishing a Japanese corporation, hiring people with some experiences and business connections with your current, target or potential customers will be instrumental in executing your strategic plan in Japan. We can be of help to companies that need to establish a sales force, customer relationship management, and or account management in Japan by helping you with the hiring process, attending the interviews, negotiations, providing assessment and analysis of the candidates during your hiring process. Especially when the person you are hiring has to function immediately as a negotiator both in Japan and US, you will need to bring on a professional that understands both business cultures to start looking for the right person. There are many cases that US corporations or organizations hire a person who was later found she or he could only do well in the US but not in Japan. Because normal American companies' HR department do not have special personnel or the capability to evaluate and understand the employees' competency in Japan, they often make mistakes and hire someone that does not have the mind-set to be successful in Japan. In fact, it is common that they will pick a person that has some understanding of Japanese language and some experience doing business with Japanese, but that does not mean they both orchestrated and closed the deals they were working on. First of all, people who speak Japanese should not be automatically regarded as the same as executives who actually understand how business in Japan actually works. Second, people who say they experiences with Japanese should not be automatically regarded as the executive who really understands what works and what does not in Japan.
Investment It is not that easy or common for Japanese companies to make decisions to take a foreign investor, but nowadays it is happening especially between large corporations. So, if there comes a time, your company may offer an investment or loan to your potential partner in order to develop business connections and strategic power for negotiations. Although the opportunity itself should stand by its investment value, if the opportunity brings in business connections and negotiatory power you do not have and you want to have, you should not ignore the strategic reason to move forward. As soon as you invest, it is important to take good care of the relationship with your new partner. We still think that the investment opportunity itself should be assessed separately, however if your company can align its competency with the investee's competency, you can enjoy their business connections and the synergy it brings; you may be able to kill many birds with one stone. Also, in order to invest in a Japanese company, depending on industry sector and the size of the investment, you may need to receive guidance from a governmental agency or hopefully other large Japanese corporation that act as their liaison. Not only there is some legal limitation but also because Japanese normally fear uncertainties and tend to avoid doing things or letting the things go in unfamiliar ways, this may be complicated. To assess the strategic alignment and their business connections, you may want to get some help from experienced Japanese professional.	Understand PoliticsWhen one plans strategically how to execute in Japan, you will need to learn the politics both within and out of the organization. If your target customer in Japan is a large corporation, and especially a rapidly growing corporation, they may be involved in some kind of politics of the government, the industry or throughout the market. Some quickl growing companies have gone down because of scandals or in suspicion of misconducts of the top management, and analysts cannot totally deny the possibility of politics' involvement in those scenarios. Also in most of the cases, Japanese top management are comprised of 3 or 4 people or layers, including the President, Executive Vice President or Fukushacho, Senior Managing Director or Senmu Torishimariyaku, and Managing Director or Jomu Torishimariyaku. The president usually is the person who makes final decision in most of the companies. Depending on the company's HR history, it varies and it is not always true, however Executive Vice President, Senior Managing Director, and Managing Director may be close to the age of retirement, and they may be in the last tacit battles with their rivals for the corporate politics to become the successor to the incumbent president of the company. So, when you do business with Japanese companies, and if you need to work closely with their top management, you have to learn the politics of the company. Depending on the company, and if the company is a large corporation and does not have a sole proprietor for their top management, the top management could be replaced within a year or two unless the person becomes the president, so the timing to choose the politics, and a good strategic plan to work with the middle management and their staff are also important agenda items to keep in mind in order to successfully execute major deals with larger corporations. Only experienced Japanese business managers are capable of executing this kind of a multi-level strategy in a Japanese fashion.
Communicating with Top Executives To work directly with the executive management of a Japanese company is often very tricky, but very rewarding when one plans a strategy that not only works for you, but also for your Japanese partner or client. In order for you to open that kind of path, you may have to start meeting or working with not only the executive secretary, but also many others in and out of the organization to learn about each executive and to develop multiple opportunities to work closely with them. Therefore, it is important to have an experienced liaison to achieve this king of goal. With enough information about each executive, you are not going to miss any special events or opportunity to communicate with them and develop the appropriate relationship over time.	Understanding Top Management To understand a vision of the top managers in a Japanese company as well as his or her political situation inside or outside of his or her company, it is important to learn about your target company's strategy to establish a solid footing for your business strategy. The top management of any company in Japan has major pressure from competitors, political foes, government, law makers, and even family members. If you have an experienced business manager for Japan, you will find yourself in a position to help your new partner or client to be successful, utilizig your business to solve their problems.
Most Favored Nation StatusMost of the Japanese companies would look for a long term business partner that they can trust. But for a foreign company to establish such a long term most favored nation status could be difficult and if possible, that is one of the great strategic steps you could achieve in the business development in Japan. You could receive the best lead time, best volume pricing, early stage product map, and other great offers, and you would do whatever to help your partner in return to maintain the relationship. You would need a help of an experience Japanese business manager to check up your plans for the maintenance.	Proposal Interpacific Network Corp will take a close look at each case and conduct a “quick” yet detailed research project to learn understand your company's possibilities in Japan. In phase one of our engagement, we will discuss your company's products and services with potential business partners, industry experts and professionals; while assessing the feasibility. We will then submit our proposal for your review. We will patiently discuss the best solution for your company that fits your priorities, overall strategy, needs, location and budget. To learn, please contact us at: info@interpacificnet.com.

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