B2B SaaS Sales in Japan Introduction B2B SaaS sales in Japan is likely a black box for many companies considering entering Japan. This may be one aspect that causes companies to have trepidation in entering the Japanese market. The Japanese sales landscape is quite different from other markets. The SaaS sales landscape has evolved in the US with product-led growth…
SaaS Sales in Japan: The Impact of Resellers, Distributors, and Partners Introduction Sales in Japan are highly nuanced and one unique aspect is the high reliance on resellers, distributors, and partners. Resellers, partners, and distributors are a key part of selling software. They are so integral that even Zoom, a very product-led growth (PLG) driven company, relies highly on partner…
Solution Optimized for Japan: Mackerel’s Unique Position Introduction Mackerel is an infrastructure monitoring tool created by Hatena, a Japanese company. Hatena is most well-known for its content-related software, Hatena Blog (blog hosting), and Hatena Bookmark (social bookmarking). Mackerel was first released in beta in May 2014 and released the GA version in September 2014. Analyzing Mackerel is interesting because it’s…
Gaining the Trust of Japanese Buyers: Building a Local Presence Introduction The first step in selling to Japanese buyers is to gain their trust. Japanese buyers have seen foreign companies enter the market and leave rapidly when these companies miss their revenue targets. Certainty is a major factor in Japanese companies’ and the early departure of some companies has increased…
Importance of Localization for SaaS Products in Japan Introduction Entering a new country, region, or territory is one way to get new customers. New customers are great, as they provide immediate new revenue and potential expansion revenue. Entering a new market can be tough, as every country has its own nuances. Japan is especially particular in how things operate, but…
SaaS Entering Japan: Limited to Large Enterprises? Introduction Whether it’s creating a new revenue channel through focusing on a new territory or seeing demand from increased leads or customers, going after global revenue is a consideration for most businesses. There are tradeoffs to going after global revenue. Many parts need to be worked on which may distract teams from going…
SMEs Key to SaaS Adoption in Japan Introduction Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) make up 99.7% of all companies and employ 69.7% of the workforce. SMEs in Japan are a majority both in terms of number of companies and the number of they employ. Despite being the biggest portion of the Japanese economy, they are the most behind on IT…
SaaS Adoption in Japan Introduction Digital transformation (DX) has been a big focus for Japan, especially with the digital competitiveness ranking dropping three spots to 32nd in 2023. A part of the DX push is to increase the number of startups through the Startup Development Five-year Plan. One side of the story is increasing the availiability of software services available.…
Options for SaaS Companies to Enter the Japanese Market: Why We Started Nihonium Introduction The Japanese market is highly nuanced. Both the language and processes are unique. The Japanese culture contributes to the unique processes that manifest in Japan-specific CTAs, a dependence on resellers/distributors, unique sales processes, and a Japan-specific growth strategy. Global companies shy away from entering Japan because…
SaaS Sales in Japan: Importance of Partners, Resellers, and Distributors Introduction Selling in Japan is pretty unique which manifests in ways like a unique CTA and the Ringisho process. The initial growth motion may start out with product-led growth, but those who have exposure to sales in Japan may know the growth strategy evolves with the company. Overtime working with…
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