This research compares marketing practices in Japan with those in the United States. The findings of this research are presented within the contexts of consumer behavior, market segmentation, price maintenance, distribution, branding, product guarantees, advertising, packaging, and direct marketing.
Japanese consumers are moving from passive status to involved participants, often dictating what the end product will look like (Mummert, Orr, and Yorgey 14-19). The Japanese younger consumer demands to be involved and to be heard. The Japanese market is becoming a consumer--driven marketplace, although the evolution has not reached the point where the Japanese marketplace is comparable to that in the United States within this context. The Japanese consumer, however, is moving in the direction of dictating where and when they buy and from whom.
The principle of face-to-face business transactions has long been considered an essential ingredient for success in the Japanese market ("SunExpress" 40-42). Japanese customers tend to be fascinated with the promise of fast, quality mail order sales, but also remain skeptical that a direct marketing company can live up to its promises. The consumer in the United States, by contrast, has embraced direct marketing.
In the past, segmentation in Japan was done by demographics (Mummert, Orr, and Yorgey 16). Segmentation in contemporary Japan, however, tends to be based on product and service preferences or lifestyles. A similar transition has occurred in the United States
The stranglehold certain Japanese brand-name manufacturers had on their respective markets is beginning to loosen (Buxbaum 69-70). In the past, Japanese manufacturers tried to maintain suggested retail prices to ensure a fair profit for its dealer networks and to cover the costs of returns and rebates. Whereas in the past, Japanese consumers had little choice but to pay the manufacturers' suggested retail price, now...