Continuing from the last session, we are writing what you should know about Japan marketing. 

2. Risk Aversion

Japanese consumers are more risk averse than their counterparts in the West.

I myself have experienced it while I was working for IT companies as community manager. Japanese People take time to investigate the app before they download. They want to know if it has a good rating, good reputation, not fake, not porno, even if its fake. After downloading, they still do not tap wherever as directed. It was pretty obvious.

On Hofstede’s Uncertainty Avoidance Index, they hold one of the highest scores of all societies, registering as high as 92/100. This has a number of implications for consumer behavior, including the unwillingness to buy products from less known brands where quality isn’t absolutely assured.

This also translates to many shoppers paying a higher price for a well-known brand, despite being able to find the same or very similar product from other brands. Therefore, companies who are not able to establish long-term relationships with its customer base, ensuring consistent quality, will potentially suffer from this unwillingness to take chances.

HB Pro Tip: For foreign brands new to Japan, it’s crucial to reduce any ambiguity or confusion surrounding your products and the quality you are able to offer. Sometimes this requires you to use overly upfront descriptions of the kind of materials, processes, and technologies that you use.