If you’re looking to grow your business, you’ve probably considered exploring ecommerce in Japan. The country is known for its love of high-quality merchandise and convenience shopping, and the internet has made it much easier for businesses to operate there.

With the right guidance, your online store can flourish in the Japanese market, thanks to the country’s growing focus on sustainable and green purchasing. If you’re new to Japan marketing or to ecommerce, this article will help you get started.

Find Your Niche

If you’re new to Japan and to ecommerce, it’s important to find your niche. What is your expertise? What sets you apart from competitors? As an online store, you may have an idea of what you sell, but you’ll need to work out the kinks as you go. You don’t want to sell every single product available on the market, as there are dozens, if not hundreds, of competitors out there trying to capture your business. Focus on one or two products that you know well and feel confident about, and build your business around these products. If you can find a reputable manufacturer, you can also look into getting wholesale pricing on any products that you sell.

Find Your Target Audience

You’ve got your product. Now you need to find your target audience. Who is the audience you are trying to reach with your product? This is important because there are hundreds of competitors out there, so you want to find a way to stand out from the crowd. It’s easy for customers to become overwhelmed with all the choices available, especially if you have a large selection. If you don’t know who your target audience is, you’ll struggle to appeal to them and grow your business.

Explore The Country’s Biggest Cities

The first step to understanding ecommerce in Japan is exploring the country’s biggest cities. There are five megacities in Japan, all of which have a population of over a million people. Tokyo is the largest city in Japan, with a population of over 13 million. If you’re new to Japan and are looking to expand your business, exploring the biggest cities is a good idea. Start by looking into the buying habits of the city’s residents. Many big cities in Japan are very multicultural, with residents coming from all over the world. If you can gain a foothold in one of these cities, you can increase your chances of success in the country as a whole.

Curate A Mailing List

When you’ve got your product, you’ll want to collect email addresses from your target audience. You can do this by offering compelling content that is of value to your audience (e.g. insider tips, discounts, etc.). You can also encourage them to join your mailing list by giving them something of value in return (e.g. free samples, coupons, etc.). Just make sure that you don’t overdo it and seem like a spammer. There are several tactics that you can use to grow your mailing list, but keep it organic. The better your content is, the more people will want your content and be willing to give you their email address. With a large mailing list in place, you’ll be able to target your future marketing campaigns much more effectively.

Establish Yourself As An Authority

Once you’ve gained a decent amount of trust from your audience, you can start to establish yourself as an authority in your niche. People in your niche will want to hear what you have to say about the subject, and they’ll want to work with you. People are often more attracted to brands and companies that they know little about. If you want to succeed in the Japanese market, it’s a wise move to build up a brand for yourself. The more you establish yourself as an expert in your niche, the more people will want to work with you. You don’t need to be completely unafraid to promote yourself. In fact, some businesses in Japan have huge websites that are completely focused on marketing themselves.

Take Advantage Of The Country’s Nationalism & Pop Culture

Japan is a very proud nation, and they like to think of themselves as a bit of a culture shock to the rest of the world. Japan is one of the most territorial countries you’ll ever visit. One of the first things you’ll notice about Japan is that they like to keep their culture alive, and they do this by celebrating their nation’s history, art, and literature. If you can tap into this patriotism, it can help you succeed in the country as a whole.

One of the best things about Japan is their extensive pop culture. If you’re not familiar, Japan’s most famous export is anime, or animation. This may seem like a strange combination, but anime is very popular in Japan and is seen as a way for the country to celebrate their culture. If you can tap into this love of anime, you can use it to your advantage. Find the anime sets that your product fits into best and you’ll be able to use this media to your advantage. For example, imagine that you’re an erotica brand that sells anime-themed sex toys. You can use your site’s blog to talk about important historical battles, such as the one between France and Germany in the early 1900s.

It’s also worth noting that Japan is one of the most competitive countries you’ll ever visit. When it comes to business, they are often willing to go the extra mile to ensure that their business succeeds. One of the best things that can help your business is if you have a solid grasp of Japanese marketing. If you want to be able to take full advantage of all that Japan has to offer, start by educating yourself about Japanese marketing trends. Good luck out there.