Beginners

Useful Japanese Language Resources for Beginners

The most useful and important way of integrating into a culture is to learn the language. For people who are thinking of going to Japan for business, I would highly recommend for you to learn the basics. Chances are the people you encounter will speak relatively good English but it sets a good impression if you know some of the fundamentals. For example, if someone asks if you are doing well you can reply with げんきです (genki-desu) and it sets up a more intimate connection. This may sound obvious, but first impressions are everything in Japan. Knowing the language is advantageous, it will help you stand out and ensure that…

Challenges

Mistakes That Big Brands Made When Entering Japan

If your company decides that it wants to enter the Japanese market, that’s great news! You’ve taken the first step towards expanding your business and seeing success in Japan. However, before going forward, it is important to be aware of the traps and pitfalls of previous Japanese market entry strategies. There have been many giant global brands that tried to take on Japan and failed. Some wait for many years and try again successfully, while others remain notably absent in the minds of Japanese consumers. Here are some of the reasons for the failure of large companies’ entry into Japan. Consumer Mistrust and Lack of Confidence One of the many…

Crowdfunding in Japan

2019 Japanese Tech Trends

Japan is one of the top leading countries in terms of technological advancement and innovation. Technological advancements such as contactless payments and an efficient train system have seamlessly blended into Japanese peoples’ day-to-day lives. As we move forward into the future, there are more and more demand for IOT devices, gaming console accessories, and much more. Here are some trends we have listed below and some products related to it: AI (Artificial Intelligence) / IOT (Internet of Things) AI and IOT has slowly been entering into peoples’ lives through virtual assistants such as Siri, Amazon Alexa/Echo, Google home, and many more. They were made to execute everyday simple tasks for…

Crowdfunding in Japan

Top Tech Gadget Websites Japanese Consumers Turn To

With so many tech products out there in the market, it is difficult to tell what Japanese consumers gravitate towards to. With hundreds of blog, media, and e-commerce websites out there, we have compiled a list of some of the top websites people look to for recommendations, opinions, and reviews. These websites will keep you up to date with everything you need to know.   Media Websites   Gizmodo Japan has been around since 2006 and they cover a wide range of technology, science, and design news . Their Youtube channel consists of reviews on new and upcoming products. The best part of their reviews? They quickly get straight to the…

Challenges

Our Top 5 Best Selling Products and What You Can Learn About the Japanese Market

Since Gloture launched in 2015, we have released a large number of products on our Japanese e-commerce website, allowing Japanese consumers to enjoy a variety of the latest gadgets, accessories and lifestyle items from across the world that have been made possible with crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Naturally, some products are more successful than others. Our best performing items are those that effectively cater to Japanese people’s interests, improve their lives, offer innovative and unique products, that are well-designed, simple and WORK. To best illustrate these points, this post will look at Gloture’s five best-performing products from our e-commerce site and explain what each product does right, and what…

Marketing in Japan

Understanding Japanese Consumers and Their Technological Interests

According to the World Bank, Japan is ranked as the third largest economy in the world. If you are a technology company trying to enter the Japanese market, there are some things you need to understand before you begin. Even the most successful companies, such as Apple, had difficulty penetrating through the Japanese market with their products at first. Japanese consumers are known to be very selective with high expectations. We will discuss below some of the many things they look for in a tech product.   Details As more and more Japanese consumers actively search for the most unique tech products, it is important for your product design to not only…

Crowdfunding in Japan

What Makes Gloture Different From Other Crowdfunding Companies in Japan?

So you decided you want to expand your company to the Japanese market, but you don’t know where to start. Doing everything your own would be too risky, especially if you don’t know much about the Japanese business culture. It tends to be more strategic and thorough with their decisions and they really emphasize on building trust within business partnerships. Since the 1970s, more and more U.S. high-tech companies sought to enter the Japanese market in hopes to introduce cool innovative products to Japanese consumers and enjoy profitable business. Over the years as the Yutori’s (millennial’s) buying power increases towards online platforms, it is important to focus on the trending…

Crowdfunding in Japan

Want to Enter The Japanese Market With Free PR Service?

If you are a product maker who have set your sight on expanding to the Japanese market, there are 2 important steps that will help reaching your goal: Being connected to the Japanese consumers Having your product featuring on the Japanese local media How can you achieve this easily? We are Gloture – a Japanese crowdfunding agency, experienced in supporting oversea campaigns to be launched in Japan. At the end of 2018, we developed our own E-commerce platform! We are particularly interested in quality gadgets and life-hack items, targetting the 25-45 years old people in the prime period of their life who have interest in improving their lifestyle. So, how can…

Marketing in Japan

Taking Part In Large Tokyo Trade Shows

Being able to exhibit your product is an effective way to get your name out to many people at once. Not only do trade shows attract new investors, but they also allow the general public to see exciting new products and be the first to hear big announcements from big companies. Trade shows that give public access to new and unreleased products always prove to be a hit. The annual Tokyo Game Show took place from September 20th to the 23rd. The first two days were reserved for media-related people, and the last two being open to the public. Given the popularity of video games across the world for all…

Marketing in Japan

What Color To Make Your Japanese Website

What was your process for designing your website? Did you look up the common trends in other websites for companies in your area? Or did you focus on being unique? One of the most important things that may get overlooked when making a website is the color scheme. Certain colors hold special meanings in Asian cultures. For example, black traditionally represents sadness, fear, or even death. You will find that websites in Japan tend to stay away from darker tones. This may be a result of this belief, or maybe it is just because dark websites are hard to look at. Perhaps a mixture of both. So what color palettes…