Marketing Japanese Style

Citation

Melchinger, J.H. (1998), "Marketing Japanese Style", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 201-203. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.1998.15.1.201.4

Marketing Japanese Style provides interested readers with a culturally rich examination of Japanese businesses market to Japanese consumers. Paul Herbig, an authority on innovation in marketing (The Innovation Matrix, Quorum, 1994) and Japanese marketing (Innovation Japanese Style, Quorum, 1995), helps you think through and understand why the Japanese market the way they do, which is quite different from Western ways. Having lived in Japan and marrying into the culture, I found Paul Herbig’s viewpoints unusually insightful coming from an occidental perspective, akin to Alan Watts sensible explanations of Zen and other Oriental philosophies to Westerners. The book is not an easy read, although it could be. If you can get past the surprising number of annoying typos, occasionally missing words, frequently too long sentences and sometimes convoluted routes to make a point, you will find an engaging exploration of the impact of culture on marketing in Japan.

Herbig explains the Japanese approach to each of the four Ps of marketing, product, promotion, place and price. He brings his explanations alive with abundant detail and often fascinating examples of Japanese cultural, strategic and negotiation practices. For those readers who can appreciate the Japanese penchant for form, style and progressive experiences, compared to the Western preoccupation with statistics, caution and being right the first time, Herbig’s book demonstrates that there really is more than one way to be highly successful in marketing.

Marketing Japanese Style’s 15 chapters explore Japanese marketing practices, market research, products, advertising and promotion, sales, distribution systems, pricing, customer service and the after‐market, the Japanese consumer, the cultural rationale for the Japanese marketing philosophy, and negotiations. Two uniquely Japanese models, keiretsu and sogo shosha, each deservedly get their own chapters as well. Keiretsu involves companies owning pieces of each other and working together to develop better products, better methods, and lower prices for the benefit of all members. This cooperative subsystem operates within the context of a competitive system. Due to the interlocking ownership, keiretsu members do not need to sacrifice the long‐term corporate goals in favor of short‐term profits”. Herbig carefully and accurately explains the foundation of keiretsu in Japanese feudal history and how this permeates every facet of Japanese marketing. Sogo shosha (general trading companies or GTCs) handle a wide range of products. “What makes these firms unique are their size, scope, information‐gathering capabilities, and functional diversity.” These GTCs handle more than half Japan’s foreign trade. The nine largest produce 31 percent of Japan’s gross domestic product. To understand Japanese marketing, you must first understand keiretsu and sogo shosha. Herbig’s chapters on these uniquely Japanese constructs teach them well.

Interesting detail of actual marketing practices in Japan saturate this book and bring it to life. There are many examples to choose from, but one will demonstrate what I mean. On focus groups, Herbig writes: “In the United States, focus groups are primarily composed of strangers; Americans do not hesitate to speak their minds when they do not know others and will probably never see them again. Conversely, in Japan, in a room full of strangers, the Japanese will not speak up; instead, they tend to follow more strict rules concerning when to be quiet and when to be talkative. The Japanese do not care to embarrass the presenters if they do not know the answer or to ask a question if it is of less value to the other participants; therefore, few questions are ever raised by them when invited to do so.” Herbig goes on in his chapter on market research to explain how the Japanese succeed in conducting their focus groups mostly with families and small groups of people who know each other well, in forums where they are more likely to speak their minds.

Herbig does not specifically point out that compared to multicultural countries such as China and America, where cultural diversity plays a critical role in marketing, Japan is a single race society. However, his thorough explanations of the impact of Japanese culture on Japanese marketing make this difference quite clear. Marketing in post‐war Japan carries with it Japan’s entire pre‐war cultural history. He explains in engaging detail the positive role of the unique Japanese approach to marketing in getting Japan to where it is today, and then points out their disadvantages to Japan in the future. He argues the need for Japan to identify new marketing strategies for assuring continued success.

In traditional Western style, Herbig supports his observations with tables and data, which very much help non‐Oriental readers understand the Japanese situation and rationale for their style of marketing. The glossary of Japanese terms provides the standard information you would expect from a glossary, but I also found real value in reviewing the glossary as a means of reminding

myself of how integrated the Japanese cultural perspectives are in Japanese marketing. If you do not wish to rely solely upon the author’s information and conclusions as your source of information on Japanese marketing, the 15 pages of references provide a fairly thorough compendium of related resources.

If you have an interest in how Japanese companies market to their Japanese customers, or how Japanese culture influences Japanese marketing practices and makes them truly unique, then Marketing Japanese Style should be on your reading list and your bookshelf for future reference. If your interests lie in examining the impact of culture on commerce, Marketing Japanese Style will provide you with a superb view of one such success model in the unique environment of a modern commercial nation isolated by geography and operating within a single‐race society.