Why don't these Japanese companies do marketing? They sell their products all over the world

During his visit to Japan, the author solved a puzzle about marketing: Why do Japanese companies sell their products all over the world without doing much marketing? Let's take a look at how the author answers this question in this article. I hope it will inspire you on how to do marketing in the next 10 years.

Preface

I visited Japan two years ago and exchanged ideas with the presidents of MUJI and Loft. I gained a lot from this. Not only did I learn about the Japanese retail SPA model, but it also answered my doubts about marketing: Why do Japanese companies sell their products all over the world without doing much marketing?

I wrote this article about this issue at the time and it was recognized and welcomed by many people. I am reposting this article today, hoping it can inspire you.

It’s a bit long, so read it patiently and you will definitely gain something!

Today, if you talk about marketing, people will think you are a "liar". I used to think that the ultimate mission of marketing should be to eliminate marketing.

This may sound contradictory, but it is not. As China's business environment is changing, you should read this article carefully and think about how you should do marketing in the next 10 years.

01

If companies do not advertise, do not hire spokespersons, and do not offer discounts or promotions, I believe many companies can increase their profits by 20%.

Suppose, even if we don’t do these things, customers are still willing to continue to buy, and the company can continue to grow. Isn’t that a very good thing? Don’t think that this is impossible. In fact, cognition limits our imagination.

MUJI, a well-known Japanese grocery brand, never advertises, does not hire spokespersons, and does not engage in marketing activities. Its global revenue in 2018 was RMB 26 billion.

Pigeon is a well-known Japanese maternal and infant brand. When I was serving them, I learned that they hardly do marketing or advertising, and their global revenue is nearly 10 billion.

These also make me curious. They are not short of money. Although Japanese quality is recognized and trustworthy, there is almost no marketing. How do they rely on continuous growth and seize the market?

Of course, the marketing referred to here focuses on marketing in a narrow sense, such as advertising, endorsements, marketing activities, marketing events, etc. Some CRM member management also falls into the category of marketing.

With this question in mind, I visited Japan and asked Mr. Matsui, the former president of MUJI, and Mr. Ando, ​​the president of LOFT, how did you do marketing in Japan and what was your budget?

The answer still puzzles me. Both CEOs seem to have forgotten the proportion of marketing budget (which means it is very small), and they both admit that they hardly advertise or do marketing activities. They think that site selection and products are the most important. If you have good products, consumers will come naturally.

Later, when President Matsui and President Ando shared their business experiences, they indeed talked more about the company's mission, consumer needs, product development, how to control costs, and team training, but did not talk much about marketing.

This is different from domestic companies. If you take any domestic company, their fame is always accompanied by marketing success, such as Vancl, Jumei, Huang Taiji, Luckin Coffee, Jiang Xiaobai, etc. However, companies that rely solely on marketing will not have good results.

Do Japanese companies really not do marketing? Or have they evolved to a higher level of "marketing"?

The answer is the latter. Managing customers is more advanced than marketing customers. Using the concept of managing customers to do marketing is the best marketing.

The word "management" emphasizes the orientation of "customer value", and marketing should be the delivery of this value. Nowadays, most of the marketing in China is suicidal, deceptive and violent.

02

How do you understand that managing customers is more advanced than marketing customers? I would like to share a few stories from Japan that will make you feel deeply.

One evening, it was drizzling, and we went to the famous Japanese grocery store Loft to hang out. A friend bought a gift box there, and after he paid, the clerk helped him put the gift into a handbag, and usually the transaction was completed.

But this time it didn't happen. The clerk took out a transparent plastic bag and put it on the handbag, a bit like a raincoat for the handbag. He also tied it up with tape before handing it to my friend.

Look how thoughtful and considerate this is. If it were you, wouldn't you be very touched and warm? But think about it carefully. It was raining that day, and the gift box you bought would indeed be easily wet by the rain. Putting on a raincoat would prevent it from getting wet. It's a very natural thing.

But why don’t we encounter such service when we buy things in the country?

Is it difficult to think of these? I don’t think so. The key factor lies in how you view your customers. Do you view them as traffic, leeks, or trading partners? Or do you view them as assets, friends, or “people”?

Let me change the scenario. If your good friend is taking something from your home and it is drizzling, would you think of wrapping it in a plastic bag, wrapping it tightly, giving him an umbrella, or even calling a taxi for him? In short, you would think more about helping him because he has a good relationship with you.

Why can't you treat your customers the same way? Some people may say that plastic bags cost money, and some may say that it is not the obligation of the business. If you don't take the initiative to consider your customers, why would they continue to buy from you and recommend you.

When we regard ourselves as consumers, it is easy to see which companies are committed to managing their customers and which are only focused on marketing to their customers.

03

After leaving Loft, we went to AKOMEYA, a popular rice shop with rice as the theme. From fine rice purchase to food lifestyle sales, it has also attracted attention in the industry. In the store, another friend also bought a gift box to bring to company partners.

After he finished paying, the clerk packed the gift into the handbag, and the same action happened again. The clerk put a raincoat on the handbag, obviously for the same purpose as the loft.

Seeing this same scene, are they imitating each other? I think not. Even if they are, it shows that they have the same concept and cognition towards customers, serving customers well and doing an extra step for them. There is no doubt that this action is more pleasant and warm than giving coupons or gifts.

As a customer, we are always more willing to shop at businesses that bring us happiness, touch us, and leave us with good memories. Customers have a natural need for safety and happiness, and no one wants to spend money and suffer.

Now, let's look at my third story in Japan. I was strolling in Omotesando and saw a nice men's clothing store. I walked in and took a look around. I saw a jacket and bought it. Just as I was about to take my bag and clothes and leave, the male shopping guide who was serving me picked up my bag and clothes before me and wanted to see me out.

When we walked out of the store, he returned the bag to me, bowed deeply to me, and said "thank you" in unstandard Chinese. I felt his sunny smile.

Later, I went to Issey Miyake to look for a bag for a friend. After a round of searching, I didn’t find the bag. I asked the salesperson, and it turned out to be sold out. She kept apologizing to me, walked me to the door, and pushed open the glass door until I left.

I have heard that Japanese people are very polite, but I think these service details are beyond the scope of politeness.

Whether they put a raincoat on my handbag, help me carry my bag, or open the door, these details are not deliberately designed marketing actions (experiential marketing), but they are the natural standards they have to follow under the concept of "managing customers". Maybe different Japanese companies will have different detailed services, but they will all think about doing it, especially well-known brands.

04

At this moment, I suddenly remembered what Teacher Dagao said when he was talking about VMD theory, that making customers happy while shopping is a very important shopping psychology for them.

In VMD theory, physical stores need to create customer delight through lighting, sound effects, colors, merchandise display, and waiter manners and speech, thereby increasing sales conversions.

This increase in pleasure is no longer limited to the goods and services themselves. Instead, whether the lighting is bright, the music is pleasant, the colors are orderly, and the goods are easy to choose will all affect customer emotions and ultimately sales results.

We are always willing to shop in stores that make us feel more comfortable.

From this perspective, don’t the detailed services mentioned above make customers happier? If the gift is wet, you will definitely be unhappy, so we will help you put on a raincoat. These unnecessary or “over-service” places have won the favor of customers appropriately.

This reminds me of Haidilao. This company has almost no advertisements, spokespersons, or marketing events, but its lao-style service is deeply remembered. For many years, like others, I thought its lao-style service was just a marketing gimmick, but I didn't expect that it has been persisting for more than ten years and the service is getting better and better.

From a marketing perspective, we always feel that marketing is everywhere. But it is not like other companies that desperately advertise, look for endorsements, discounts, and promotions. It just does a good job of product and service, and many people don't even think its products are unique. But its market value is 100 billion, and it ranks first in the Chinese catering rankings.

Now I began to understand that although he didn’t seem to be doing marketing, he was actually doing the smartest marketing—service is marketing. He integrated marketing into customer operations and tried his best to consider the customers.

Therefore, it is human nature to provide free tea, snacks, games, hand SPA, etc. while waiting in line. It is not fun to wait in line, and it wastes customers' time. What's wrong with paying a little more to make customers feel good and enjoy their meal? It is all common sense.

You think their snacks are delicious, so you take a bag with you when you leave. Isn't that normal? When we were kids, when we went to our neighbors' houses to play, if we found something delicious, wouldn't our neighbors put a handful of snacks in our pockets?

They treat customers with a customer mentality that is no longer a simple sale or transaction, but rather treat customers as friends and family. This is a cognitive upgrade.

Of course, there are risks in doing so. What if the customer doesn't come back next time? What if the customer cheats me? This is trust. Trust is the premise of all transactions. Trust means trusting people you don't trust first.

05

From this perspective, Japanese companies are not not doing marketing, but rather they are doing marketing with the concept of "managing customers."

The purpose of marketing itself is to deliver customer value, but we pay too much attention to delivery and ignore whether the delivered value is sincere.

Coming back to the concept of "managing customers", we naturally have to think about how to maintain it for a long time without harming customers and whether it has value.

Managing customers is a comprehensive, all-round job, which includes considering customers and creating value from four aspects: products, services, marketing experience, and brand. Managing customers is managing assets.

As for marketing customers, they are obviously more utilitarian and deliberate.

I am not denying marketing here, but I am saying that we should return current marketing to customer value, design marketing actions based on customer needs, reduce malicious marketing and violent marketing. We can even create sustainable growth without marketing.

We should reflect on the fact that we have placed too much emphasis on advertising, promotion, and inductive marketing in the past, and underestimated the value of word-of-mouth communication generated by focusing on products and services and managing each customer well. Today, the Internet and social media are so developed that everyone can be a communication point.

Customers are learning more and more information. If we want to achieve harmonious, healthy and sustainable growth in the future, perhaps we should learn from the Japanese corporate philosophy: focus on products and manage customers.

I used to have a guess that the ultimate goal of marketing is to eliminate marketing. Enterprises do not need so-called marketing, they only need to manage customers. No great enterprise has developed only by marketing. In the end, it is still about managing customers and creating value.

Author: Yan Tao

Source: WeChat public account "Yan Tao San Shou"