Managing for Creativity in Japan » consumers http://a-small-lab.com/managing-for-creativity-in-japan Talking with Foreign Executives in Japan Wed, 30 Nov 2011 07:02:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Intelligent Consumers http://a-small-lab.com/managing-for-creativity-in-japan/intelligent-consumers/ http://a-small-lab.com/managing-for-creativity-in-japan/intelligent-consumers/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 07:00:04 +0000 Chris Berthelsen http://a-small-lab.com/managing-for-creativity-in-japan/?p=461 Another thing that I tell people when they are talking to me about bringing their products over here and saying things like “everyone says it’ll really do well in Japan” is that Japanese people aren’t stupid. They’re not stupid consumers, they are actually really intelligent consumers. People who have never even been to Japan before say these things. If you think that your brand is good enough to bring over here, tell me why. It’s incredibly important for you to know the marketplace before you get carried away. Come and visit, check it out, see if it really is the place for you because Tokyo is a tough city to live in. It’s expensive, it’s crowded, is that really what you want?

That’s some more advice that I always give people when they say “ah I’d love to live in Japan” – do you REALLY? Or do you just want to live in Memoirs of a Geisha? Do you want a Western interpretation of what Japan is?…because it’s really not like that.

]]> http://a-small-lab.com/managing-for-creativity-in-japan/intelligent-consumers/feed/ 0 You have to Understand http://a-small-lab.com/managing-for-creativity-in-japan/you-have-to-understand/ http://a-small-lab.com/managing-for-creativity-in-japan/you-have-to-understand/#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:00:06 +0000 Chris Berthelsen http://a-small-lab.com/managing-for-creativity-in-japan/?p=464 People in the West just don’t understand that and if you want to do business here you have to understand. It’s necessary to understand how people are.

(C: And that’s more important here in Japan than in other countries you have worked in?) Yeah totally. Of course wherever you are you say ‘the Sydney person likes this’ or ‘the Melbourne person likes that’ but it’s really not so different. Japan, however, is an incredibly specific market. Of course I can only speak for our industry but I’m sure for every other industry it’s incredibly specific too. There are definite ways of doing things and if I want to break rules I can…..but I have to know them first.

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