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Selling SaaS in Japan

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Re: Selling SaaS in Japan

#21

Post by notpushkin »

Yash16 wrote: post #16

[dead]

> I don't like the idea of having a partner or co-founder because I have put in 100% effort while others might not contribute equally.

I get it – I’ve felt the same when I was looking for a cofounder too. It’s tricky to find a person that’s passionate about the same thing as you are. But I think it’s still worth it to be looking for one.

Of course, you can also hire a marketing guy, or just ask around to see if you can barter (e.g. help them with something IT instead). But I think having a cofounder is still great for motivation – if you do find the right person, that is.

Re: Selling SaaS in Japan

#23

Post by PacificSpecific »

dudeinjapan wrote: post #13

I run a successful SaaS biz in Japan. Its possible, but its waaay hard. The article is right in principle. Unless you are 110% all in on localizing and hiring lots of local staff, to the extent that you will give up priorities in other markets, its not worth trying. Otherwise its a waste of blood and treasure—a local player will eat your lunch. A consultant like Nihonium or whatever wont be able to help you really. L…

I'd love to hear more about this if you ever plan to write about it. Congrats on making it work!

Re: Selling SaaS in Japan

#24

Post by karim79 »

canpan wrote: post #9
karim79 wrote: post #4

Brilliant article and thank you for sharing. Local payment methods seem to be a really huge thing. For instance, I'm told that in India most people want to use Google Pay, and even street vendors have QR codes at their stalls. If anyone can weigh in on that I'd love to hear about it.

Working in that area in Japan. I think I can provide some answers. Payment: CC are mostly used for BtoC but if you are a BtoB SaaS you want invoice and a local presence (ie no tax or currency shenanigans for your customer). Hand on sales: Don't expect customers to sign up for a free plan and convert. Your conversion rate will be close to 0. Mostly scammers. Instead: Contact form, Cold call, go out to events, lots of…

In other words, don't bother from outside of Japan unless the SaaS has been fully translated into Japanese? That's what I'm getting from this response. Is that true?

Re: Selling SaaS in Japan

#25

Post by otabdeveloper4 »

s1mplicissimus wrote: post #7

> The process is different. You just can’t treat sales and go-to-market as a whole in Japan the same as you would in North America or Europe. As if the european market didn't consist of dozens of languages, legislations, cultures and histories. > When should a SaaS company consider reaching out to Nihonium? Aah, that's what the article is about

> As if the european market didn't consist of dozens of languages, legislations, cultures and histories.

Not really. They just use whatever the Americans give them. What are they gonna do anyways? Europe is a captive market. (As is the third world.)

Re: Selling SaaS in Japan

#26

Post by aurareturn »

s1mplicissimus wrote: post #7

> The process is different. You just can’t treat sales and go-to-market as a whole in Japan the same as you would in North America or Europe. As if the european market didn't consist of dozens of languages, legislations, cultures and histories. > When should a SaaS company consider reaching out to Nihonium? Aah, that's what the article is about

There is always that one person who writes that Europe is many countries. Yea, we know. But European countries also collectively represent themselves to the world through EU. Look at how Europe talks about the Greenland issue. It’s always a collective.

Re: Selling SaaS in Japan

#27

Post by felixding »

karim79 wrote: post #24
canpan wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Working in that area in Japan. I think I can provide some answers. Payment: CC are mostly used for BtoC but if you are a BtoB SaaS you want invoice and a local presence (ie no tax or currency shenanigans for your customer). Hand on sales: Don't expect customers to sign up for a free plan and convert. Your conversion rate will be close to 0. Mostly scammers. Instead: Contact form, Cold call, go out to events, lots of…

In other words, don't bother from outside of Japan unless the SaaS has been fully translated into Japanese? That's what I'm getting from this response. Is that true?

Translation alone is simply not enough. You'll need local presence, Japanese sales people, and patience (a lot of them).

Re: Selling SaaS in Japan

#28

Post by Elosha »

The same (want to see docs first, decide thoroughly, risk aversion, etc.) is true for Europe. We just are nearer in terms of sales, so we were greeted early with aggressive US marketing tactics, so it is ignored and wondered about why we don‘t just buy the damn thing.

Re: Selling SaaS in Japan

#29

Post by felixding »

I've been working in Japan as a product manager/engineer for a few years. The market is indeed quite different from other parts of the world. It's hard to build trust and get sales in Japan, but once you do, your customers tend to stick with you for a very long time (sometimes decades or even longer - not in IT of course). Simply localizing your app is far from enough. You'll need a sales team, preferably composed of Japanese people, based in Japan. And you'll need to be patient.

Re: Selling SaaS in Japan

#30

Post by karim79 »

felixding wrote: post #27
karim79 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In other words, don't bother from outside of Japan unless the SaaS has been fully translated into Japanese? That's what I'm getting from this response. Is that true?

Translation alone is simply not enough. You'll need local presence, Japanese sales people, and patience (a lot of them).

Thank you. I'm already on it.
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