Entry Strategy
Selecting an appropriate market entry strategy will be critical in enabling Lawrence Casey Associates, LLC to make a successful market entry into the Japanese market. As an independent consultant to Ambit Energy, he is bound by the law to act in accordance with the terms and conditions outlined in the Keiyaku Shomen’s contract when entering the Japanese market. Larry should consider embracing strategic alliance as the most appropriate approach to entering the Japanese market.
The U.S.-Japan Council can help Larry make a successful entry into the Japanese market. The U.S.-Japan Council is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2008 to strengthen the relationship between the United States and Japan (Calder, 2014). The organization’s primary goal is to promote ties among the Americans and Japanese through innovative programs in leadership and programs. It offers a unique platform through which Japanese and Americans can engage in education, leadership, and business activities. The organization has its headquarters in Washington, DC. It has regional offices and staff in Hawaii and California in the United States. In Japan, this organization has an office in Tokyo.
The organization has been very helpful to small and medium entities in Japan and the United States, and as such it will be very instrumental to Larry as he plans to enter the new market (Calder, 2014). For a new firm that has limited resources, such platforms can be very instrumental when planning to enter a new market (Neubert & Lesniak, 2013). This strategy is specifically appropriate because it seeks to promote cross-border investment between citizens of Japan and the United States.
Currently, U.S.-Japan Council has 600 members across the world. 512 of them are in the United States, 82 are in Japan, and 6 are in other countries. He can visit any of the offices of this organization in the United States at any time that he feels he is ready to enter the Japanese market.
When he visits the USJC offices, he should clearly explain his interests to the officers, and request for a contact of a specific agent of the council in Japan. There are a number of agents in Japan, and it will be upon Larry to choose from the list that he will be offered. Henry Seiichi Takata, the director of Syn Tech Japan Company Ltd and a board member of U.S-Japan Council, is the most appropriate person that Larry should contact. He is currently working in a technology company in Japan but makes frequent visits to the council’s offices in the United States. Once Larry gets Henry’s contact details, he should reach out to him, explain his goals, and ask for further guidance.
Larry will need to develop a comprehensive proposal about his plan in the Japanese market so that Henry can determine the best way of helping him. Henry will then evaluate the proposal, based on the conditions in the Japanese market, and provide appropriate advice. The council will not only help Larry in understanding the Japanese culture but also enable it to overcome the language barrier. Through the council, he will have a better insight into the Japanese market, laws in the country, challenges to expect, and how to overcome them. Henry will inform Larry on how to reach out to specific clients in the Japanese market. It will be easy to coordinate various activities without Henry having to travel to Japan.
Marketing and R&D Strategies
Marketing Strategies
After selecting the appropriate market entry strategy, the next step is to market its brand in the host country. He needs to reach out to the individuals who will be interested in operating under its brand in the Japanese market. Keiyaku Shomena’s contract outlines what Lawrence Casey Associates, LLC can and cannot do in its marketing campaigns. Larry should target young professionals in the energy sector (either men or women) who are currently working in Japan’s capital, Tokyo, when developing its marketing campaigns.
The targeted individuals should be earning an annual salary of at least $ 98,000. Tokyo will be the appropriate location because of its high population and high number of professionals. About 200 people in this city are willing to change to Ambit if the brand is promoted in the right manner. They are professionals in the energy sector who can benefit significantly from this brand. Based on the selected entry mode, the most appropriate strategy will be social media marketing.
As Zimmerman and Blythe (2013) say, when selecting an appropriate social media marketing strategy, it is important to understand what a firm seeks to achieve. The goal, in this case, is to enable Larry to make an entry into the Japanese market. LinkedIn will be the most desirable strategy that Lawrence and Casey Assiciates, LLC should use to achieve the desired goal.
LinkedIn marketing will be specifically appropriate for Lawrence Casey Associates LLC because it will enable it to target a specific group of professionals who are of interest to this company. He should create a LinkedIn company page where he will describe his business to the target audience. On that page, he will put an appealing message to the target audience about this company, especially the strength of the brand in the market. He will also need to explain to the target audience why it is important to use the services of this company. Larry should understand the needs of the target market and develop a message that focuses on meeting these needs (Triantis, 2013).
The campaign can also involve the use of the Simple Notification Service (SNS) to reach out to a specific target audience. When using this strategy, Larry will start by developing a topic which the target audience must find interesting. The topic should be suitable for clients in Japan. The targeted clients will then subscribe to specific topics they find interesting. Using a fully-managed messaging service, Lawrence Casey Associates LLC will then send texts to these potential clients about emerging issues in this industry. It will be acting as an expert adviser to these clients. Audiences who find the message informing can easily become a potential client in the host country.
Research and Design Strategies
Keiyaku Shomena’s contract limits Lawrence Casey Associates, LLC from engaging in research and design activities because Ambit Energy is currently its primary client, and its activities in Japan should not be seen as a conflict of interest. However, it will have to engage in market research to understand local needs. Given that the firm will target major cities where it is likely to get more clients such as Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, Kobe, Fukuoka, and Osaka, it will need to understand the local issues that they are dealing with at the moment.
Before engaging in active social marketing campaigns, Larry will need to conduct a market scan to understand the major problems that these firms are dealing with in the Japanese market. Issues such as green energy and nuclear energy management should be given priority when conducting the market research (Prange, 2016). With the information collected from the market research, Lawrence Casey Associates, LLC should come out as an entity that can solve problems faced by the top energy companies in the country.
Challenges
When using strategic alliance as a strategy to enter the Japanese market, Lawrence Casey Associates LLC should understand that there are a number of challenges it must address. One of the biggest challenges that this firm should be ready to deal with is cultural differences in the United States and Japan. Strategies that were successful in the United States may not achieve the same success in Japan (Bebenroth, 2015).
Larry will have to conduct a detailed market research to understand the local forces in Japan. The fact that he is not willing to relocate to Japan poses a further challenge. He may not get a true picture of the local market in Japan when only relying on online data sources. He may, therefore, be forced to rely on information from Henry Seiichi Takata who is currently in Japan. Given that the research will be conducted in his absence, he will not be assured of the accuracy of such data.
Lawrence Casey Associates, LLC should also be ready to deal with the possible competition within the council. There may be other consultants within the council offering the same products, and as such, it will need to convince its targeted clients that the products offered under this brand are unique. It is also important for this firm to be prepared to deal with the laws and regulations that define how firms in Japan should operate. The Japanese government has set a legal environment that defines how firms should operate and relate with other entities. Larry has never worked in Japan and it may take a while for him to understand the legal forces in the country. He should address all these major issues if it expects to achieve success.
References
Bebenroth, R. (2015). International business mergers and acquisitions in Japan. Tokyo, Japan: Springer.
Calder, K. E. (2014). Asia in Washington: Exploring the penumbra of transnational power. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press
Neubert, M., & Lesniak, M. (2013). Global market strategies: How to turn your company into a successful international enterprise. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Prange, C. (2016). Market entry in China: Case studies on strategy, marketing, and branding. New York, NY: Springer Science and Business Media.
Rosenberg, M. A. (2012). Business advantage. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Triantis, J. (2013). Navigating strategic decisions: The power of sound analysis and forecasting. London, UK: CRC Press Group.
Zimmerman, A., Blythe, J. (2013). Business to business marketing management: A global perspective. London: Thomson Learning.