Executive Insights: Perspectives for International Marketers on the Japanese Market

Abstract

“Marketing is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others” (Kotler 1991). This definition is based on notions of: needs, wants, demands, products, utility, value, satisfaction, exchange, transactions, relationships, markets, marketing, and marketers. The need for marketers to focus on consumer behavior flows from this widely held definition.

Yet, with this focus on consumers, little strategic note has been taken of the influence of key markets on other markets. For example, the United States—in particular, California—was a major influence on style and consumer tastes in the 1970s. The world witnessed the emergence of Silicon Valley and listened to Californian sounds, which were subsequently recycled through advertising and movies. The essential purpose of this article, therefore, is to highlight the importance of the Japanese market upon others and to offer a prognosis of the impact it will have.