Relentless

"Japanese marketers are not professionals in a technical sense; they seem to consider marketing too important to leave to experts."

"Why do Japanese marketers lack professional identity compared to the marketing specialists so common in Western firms?"

"A scientific approach to marketing, coupled with the technical complexity of the standard texts, easily distances the marketer from the mind of the customer."

"Buyers won't abuse sellers who try to serve, the way relationship marketing efforts can be abused in the West."

"The company is like an extended family. You may not like your colleagues, but you don't choose your relatives."

"For the Japanese a guarantee of satisfaction is like stepping on someone's soul, an intrusion of privacy."

"In Japan, the buyer with money is the master, the one with a product or service to sell is the servant."

"The Japanese want ice, not fire, in the belly."

"Since Japanese companies are generally very competitive in terms of product design, engineering, and manufacturing, the competitive edge of a company tends to be found in softer factors."

"Corporations are now able to provide products and services that fully cater to the needs of each individual consumer: mass customization."

"The Taguchi method springs from a philosophy that attempts to design the product around the user rather than imposing itself on the user."

"In mature markets for durable consumer products, Japanese product orientation and customer orientation are intimately connected."

"When they are uncertain, the Japanese hesitate, and would rather wait until more information is available."

"Information is the lifeblood of the Japanese traders."

"To focus only on the present industry and market is folly, and places the future of the company at risk."

"The Japanese way of business relies much more on personal relationships and an intimate understanding of the other person."

"Comfort dulls the motivational edge."

"Advertising agencies in Japan are much more powerful entities than in the West."

"Given that the product strategies are the cornerstone of their marketing effort, new product development by the Japanese is naturally important."

"The speeded-up development process increases competitive pressure and increases the pace of market evolution."

"The Quality Function Development technique is a good example of how Japanese engineers have influenced company marketing practices."

"Japanese companies use their new product churning to move markets in directions beneficial to their products."

"The distribution system in Japan is often manufacturer-controlled, more rigid than in many Western markets."

"In recent years, American managers have often been accused of being out of touch with their customers and their middlemen."

"The vision is spelled out in the Japanese company so that the employees become invigorated, can stop worrying about it, and can get on with the business at hand."