It’s Not All Fun in the Sun
Japanese travelers come to Hawaii, and other U.S. Resort areas in huge numbers, spend 5 times what other travelers spend, and do it in less than half the time. Resort retail salespeople owe it to themselves and their stores to learn how to sell to the Japanese.
The first step is an understanding of some basic facts that attribute greatly to the huge amounts spent by our Japanese visitors.
The next step will be how to align yourself to successfully sell to the Japanese. Some companies exist on Japanese sales, some others can’t seem to crack the market, even though they may sell very similar products at fair prices. None of this is coincidental.

Shopping is Very Important

Two Big Factors are:

1. II OMYAGE - That means good OMYAGE, or souvenir. To qualify as good (II) OMYAGE your product must be in one of two categories:
A. Worldwide Name Brand Products: We all know who they are, and Japanese travelers spend millions on them.

B. Locally Made: Products that originated in the place being visited, or are in some way are unique to the place being visited.
The OMYAGE givers determine the amounts being spent. Visitors have all ranges of OMYAGE obligations to fulfill. Millionaires must buy trinkets, and workers often times buy gifts for millionaires.

2. SERVICE - In Japan, the customer is the King or Queen, OKYAKUSAMA. People who grow up in that culture expect good customer service. Companies, who learn how to combine appropriate service with II OMYAGE, will sell well to the Japanese.

We sell to the Japanese the same as we do to anyone.
1. Establish Communication.
2. Give Information.
3. Assist in the buying decision.

And… you do not have to speak Japanese. Most of them had 6 years of English in High School and will enjoy using it in your store.

Saying the Right Thing
Knowing what to say and when can make a big difference in selling to your Japanese customers. These phrazes will help you. Print them out, learn as many as you can, and don’t be afraid to read them aloud to your customers. They will appreciate your efforts to help.

Please try this on. - (As in jewelry) TSUKETE-MITE-KUDASAI (sue-kate-ay-me-tay-kuta-sigh)
Please try this on. - (As in clothing) KITE MITE KUDASAI (key-tay-me-tay-kuda-sigh)
How about this one? - KORE WA DOO DESU KA (core-ay-wah-doe-des-kah)
It looks nice on you. - TOTEMO ONIAI DESU (toe-tay-mo-oh-knee-eye-des-yoh)
Please wait just a second. - CHOTTO OMACHI KUDASAI (cho-toe-oh-mah-chi-cuda-sigh)
More expensive. - MOTTO T AKAI (moe-toe-tah-kai)
Less expensive. - MOTTO YASUI (moe-toe-yah-sue-ee)
Bigger (than) -MOTTO OOKII (moe-toe-oh-key)
Do you prefer this one, or this one? - KORE GA II DESU KA, SORETOMO, KORE GA II DESU
KA? (Core-ay-gaw -ee-des-kah -sore-oh-toe-moe-core-ay-g aw-ee-des-kaw)
I understood - WAKARIMASHITA (wah-car-ee-mosh-ee-tah)
I don’t understand -WAKARIMASEN (wah-car-ee-moss-en)
Thank you - DOMO ARRIGA TO GOZAMASHITA ( doe-moe-are-ee-got-toe-go-zye-mash-tah)
Your welcome - DOO I TASH IMASHITE (doo-ee-tash-eh-mash-teh)
Please come back again. - MATA DOOZO IRRASSHATTE KUDASAI
(mata-doe-zo-ear-ah- shot-teh-kuda-sigh)
One more phrase, Happy New Year - SHINNEN AKEMASHITE OMEDEETO GOZAIMASU
(She-nen -ah -kay-mosh -tay -oh-may -day -toe-go -zye-moss)

Gift Packaging
Since much of what’s being bought is OMIYAGE, packaging TEISAI (tay-sigh) is very important. These customers will want a separate bag; FUKURO (foo-koo-row) for each purchase. Be prepared to make this offer. Once your customers see that you understand the importance of gift packaging, they will buy more from you.

Royalty
The Japanese people understand that the customer is king. They institutionalize that philosophy in the term, Okyakusama; meaning customer.
The title “Sama” in Japan represents a very high, even a God-like person. Every customer entering a store in Japan is GREETED. This is something that westerners can learn from, and keep in mind when selling to Japanese customers.
My father used to say, “The two rules of selling are, number one, the customer is always right, and number two, when that is not the case, refer to rule number one.”
While that is good advice when selling to anyone, it is crucial when selling to the Japanese.

“Sukoshi”
This is a “re-birth” of this information from the early days of this Blog. We are still seeing large numbers of Japanese visitors in the United States, and I continuue to see American salespeople feeling handicapped because they cannot speak Japanese. It’s a fact that you don’t need to speak Japanese to sell to the Japanese!

English Taught in Japan
Japanese students today must take 6 years of English to graduate from High School.
Anyone under 40 (approx.) has had major exposure to English.
The older the person, the less practiced the English is.
Many Japanese hide their English abilities for 2 big reasons:

1. They are not comfortable with their pronunciation, and do not want to embarrass themselves.

2. They can understand you, but you can’t understand them. Nice buying edge.

Your goal with this program is to get your Japanese customers to admit to their understanding of English, at least a little bit, (sukoshi). You can achieve this by demonstrating your interest in their language, and your willingness to mispronounce it.

To help you, I offer what I call Hauole Phonetics, in parenthesis.

It all starts with the GREETING…The first impression in Japan, for customers is a greeting at the door with “IRRASSHAIMASE”, (ear-ah-shy-maw-say), meaning, “Welcome to our store”. This is good to know, however (unless you are Japanese), your initial greeting should be in English. You do not want to sound patronizing.

In Hawaii say, “Aloha”, they will have fun returning the greeting, and you have already begun to establish communication.

You can now (if you want to) add to “Aloha” with a follow up comment, in Japanese, as clumsy as you might say it.

OPTIONAL GREETING ADDITIONS:

Welcome IRRASSHAIMASE (pronounced> ear-ah-shy-mah-say)
Good Morning OHA YO GOZAIMASU (pronounced> ohio-go-zye-moss)
Good Afternoon KONNICHIWA (pronounced> cone-eech-chi-wah)
Good Evening KONBANWA (pronounced> cone-bon-wah)

Your first 2 Japanese phrases to learn are:

1.) “Do you understand English?” - EIGO GA WAKARIMASU KA? (pronounced> Egg-oh-gah-wa-car-eee- moss-ka)
Nine times out of ten your customer will reply, “Sukoshi” (a little bit). Then you say:

2.) “I don’t understand Japanese.” - NIHONGO GA WAKARIMASEN (pronounced> knee-hone-go-gah-wah- car-eee-moss-sen )
More times than not, your customer will laugh, and communication has begun.

Using these two phrases will begin communication and establish which language will be used. Copy them; carry them with you and practice them until you have it down. Any other Japanese phrases you can learn will serve to add to this experience and your communication, but none are necessary beyond this point with most customers.

In future posts I will add more information on selling to the Japenese.

Japanese Gift Giving
Americans buy souvenirs for themselves when traveling. It’s different in Japan, and understanding this difference can lead to large sales.

Senbetsu
When Japanese people travel, their friends give them money. This money (SENBETSU) is not to spend on a good time, but to bring back a gift (OMIYAGE) to the giver. People in Japan like being able to point to some nice thing in their home and say, “My friend brought me that from Hawaii (or wherever.)”

Get on the List
The Japanese traveler must keep accurate track of the amounts given, and must spend “at least” the amount given. It is so obligatory that some spend their entire vacation shopping. Because the money was given to them, the cost is not a factor. This is one of the reasons that the Japanese visitor spends so much more than those from other places in the world.
When you have a Japanese visitor in your store, ask, “Are you shopping for Omiyage?” If not, he or she will point to themself, meaning, “No, I am shopping for me.” If they are shopping for Omiyage point to the things you sell that make good Omiyage, and say. “II Omiyage.” “II” (prononouced eee) means “Good.” Omiyage is pronounced Oh-Me-Ah-Gay.
To qualify as good OMIYAGE your product must be in one of two categories:

A. Worldwide Name Brand Products: We all know who they are, and Japanese travelers spend millions on them.

B. Locally Made: Products that originated in the place being visited, or are in anyway unique to the place being visited.

The givers determine the amounts being spent. They have all ranges of OMIYAGE obligations to fulfill. Millionaires must buy trinkets, and workers often times buy gifts for millionaires.