I'm still pre-launch, but I've attended (and presented at) a couple conferences / industry events for my SaaS in Japan. You can get a lot of traction by getting out there and actually talking to people. Networking is important (probably this is the same anywhere?) and talking to other presenters is as important as talking to potential customers, because you can get that relationship going for mutual benefit.
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.
One thing I agree with the Japanese on is that documentation is king! One major reason I decline various software demos or testing opportunities is the lack of proper documentation or screenshots. Maybe it's because I am from SEA; I tend to hesitate to confront people or ask questions, especially during a demo.
Great insights on selling SaaS in Japan! I found the emphasis on documentation being "king" particularly valuable, especially how it helps those who hesitate to ask questions during live demos. It’s a good reminder that GTM strategies must be tailored to specific cultural and regional nuances.
People will move to selfhosted for a while, find out it's more expensive to maintain, switch to SaaS and then a couple years later will switch back to selfhosted. It's an endless cycle
The "download service documents here" (something like サービス資料ダウンロード) call to action part is true. But everything else sounds like a marketing fluff for the company in the article. Like yes, the process is longer, but it's mostly due to risk-aversiveness of most of the companies.
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. Like any good consultant, they will be there to tell you things you already know. The motivation to do it needs to come fundamentally from your own company.
And even after doing all that, VCs will still undervalue your company vs a similarly sized US company.
It is interesting to see how the Japanese market validates the idea of sharing information instead of hiding it. I get annoyed when companies hide their features behind a contact form because I just want to do my own due diligence. Giving people the information they need to research independently seems like a much better way to sell software.
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.
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.
The point about documentation is spot on, but there's another technical hurdle often overlooked: payment infrastructure. In Japan, B2B is still heavily dominated by bank transfers (Furikomi). If your SaaS billing stack only supports credit cards, you'll hit a wall with larger enterprise clients who expect to pay via monthly bank invoices. Localizing the billing logic is almost as important as localizing the UI.
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[ 2.5 ms ] story [ 41.6 ms ] threadLocal 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.
In no-trust society like India, where fake note, torn notes, fake coins can strike anyone. UPI is blessing to most.
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
A consultant like Nihonium or whatever wont be able to help you really. Like any good consultant, they will be there to tell you things you already know. The motivation to do it needs to come fundamentally from your own company.
And even after doing all that, VCs will still undervalue your company vs a similarly sized US company.