Full Text By David Raths, Special To Inter@ctive Week

American companies have trouble researching the buying habits of Japanese customers. The reason: Traditional market research has been expensive to conduct in Japan and has been marred by a huge cultural gap.

Cold calling is unheard of. Japanese consumers are wary of talking to strangers without a high-level introduction. Beyond that, they are reluctant to criticize in person because of the culture's emphasis on courtesy.

So the Internet may prove to be the perfect tool for conducting market research in Japan.

"The Internet is the first channel that provides direct querying capability, privacy, intimacy and anonymity -- a combination that is ideally suited to the Japanese communication style," says Tim Clark, president of TKAI Inc. (www.tkai.com), a Portland, Ore., consultancy.

Clark has helped companies such as Amazon.com Inc., Cyberian Outpost and United Media (Snoopy.com and Dilbert.com) research competition, conduct surveys and do in-depth interviews of their Japanese customers -- all for a fraction of the cost of doing research on the ground in Japan.

A surprising amount of information can be gleaned from doing some basic searches of Web sites, mailing lists and listserv discussions. Entering a product or service category into a Japanese search engine and counting the number and quality of sites devoted to that product or service is a great starting point, Clark says.

Perhaps the most potent market-research weapon the Internet offers is the ability to do online surveys. By creating a Japanese language banner ad leading to a questionnaire, TKAI clients have enjoyed response rates as high as 50 percent. "Visitors are thrilled to see Japanese language text on the site for the first time," Clark says.

The Internet also eliminates focus group bias, where one dominant personality can sway the other participants. Japanese respondents are truthful and follow instructions to the letter when queried in a private setting, which the Internet allows.

Use of multiple-choice questions and hypertext coding provides an "automatic" translation function, Clark says. Respondents create and transmit computer-readable records that can be downloaded into databases.

In preparation for creating a Japanese language site, DFS Group Ltd. surveyed Japanese Internet users about their overseas travel plans and experience, says Gale Wallmark, director of marketing research. DFS, a retailer of duty-free and luxury merchandise in Asian markets, found the efficiency of online surveys appealing. Focus groups typically query 100 respondents. By going online, DFS interviewed 11,000 shoppers.

Why Net-based market research works with Japanese consumers

It provides anonymity, intimacy and privacy.

It offers direct querying, which gives marketers the chance to interact with their subjects.

It saves time. More than 10,000 respondents can be reached in as few as three weeks.

Participation is high. The response rate for Web ads in Japanese characters and language is as high as 50 percent. David Raths is a Portland, Ore.-based free-lance writer.

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