Beware of marketing cuts!

Although in times of crisis the tendency is often to cut marketing expenses, certain specialists recommend that companies should, on the contrary, take advantage of this drop in activity and action by their competitors and double the effort to increase market share*.

When trying to penetrate Asian markets, notably the Japanese market, this is even more vital. Doing business in Japan needs much more time than in the West. Indeed, the Japanese strongly favour trading with people they already know.

This means that companies have to devote lots of time and money and simply persevere not only to establish, but also to cultivate these relationships. These efforts generally tend to be compensated by the durability of the business relationship and the loyalty of the partners.

As the crisis ends, those who persisted in their relationship efforts will be in a better position and will be strides ahead of their competitors.

* Michel Salmon, Lumas http://www.lesaffaires.com/utilitaires/detail-auteur.fr.html?id=396