3 ways to kickstart subscription business models in Japan

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This article was originally published in CFODive. 

While Japan may be ahead technologically on many fronts, it has lagged behind other Asia Pacific nations when it comes to subscription model adoption. Many of the country’s biggest enterprises are staffed by life-long employees and historically take years to come to a consensus on big changes. B2B subscription models in particular have simply not surged in popularity in Japan in the way they did in other Western countries – but now, the tide seems to be turning. 

Both B2C and B2B businesses are beginning to understand the potentials of charging customers a recurring fee rather than a one-time lump sum. Subscription models come with many benefits for Japanese businesses, including increased customer loyalty, more accurate forecasting, and better customer insights.  

So it’s no surprise that subscription models in areas such as automobiles, ecommerce, and home rentals are picking up steam in Japan. In fact, the Yano Research Institute estimated that the Japanese market of subscription services, covering eight industries, including fashion, eateries and entertainment, was worth ¥562.74 billion yen ($5.18 billion) in 2018, and will reach ¥862.35 billion yen in 2023.

With this shift to subscription-only just underway, what can businesses do to further speed up adoption in Japan?

Build brand awareness now ahead of mass adoption 

Brand recognition and trust are often more important to Japanese consumers and business customers than affordability, and many won’t make purchases from a brand that they don’t know well. According to the 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer, Japan ranked 26th out of 28 nations surveyed for their level of trust in institutions – especially in those with headquarters outside of Japan – and this translates into people’s trust in businesses trying to sell to them too. 

Subscription-based businesses should strategically market their product or service to their target audience to become more recognizable, using clear descriptions and avoiding buzzwords to minimize any ambiguity around what the product or service does. This creates simplicity in the messaging, making the brand seem relatable and capable of solving real-life needs. These businesses can leverage marketing tools like testimonials and customer ratings and reviews, which will help build trust amongst potential customers.

And while brand trust may come up top in Japanese buyers’ list of priorities, that also means charging an honest price too. By offering a fair pricing model to all customers, Japanese buyers will take note and will be more likely to stay loyal to the product or service that they feel isn’t trying to squeeze them out of every penny.

Educate internally on the potential of the subscription model 

One big hurdle to successful subscription adoption within Japanese companies is internal support for the switch. Many stakeholders within the company may be apprehensive to make such a radical change to the business model and will need convincing by strategic change-makers within the company’s leadership.

This Citibank survey of 580 senior executives in the Asia Pacific region found that nearly half of those surveyed believe that the subscription-based model will be widespread in their industries within three years, with some stating that it will be the industry standard by then. However, the same survey found that a lack of alignment on subscription objectives with organizations was hindering progress, with one of the most widespread concerns being a short-term decline in revenue.  

Business leaders in Japan must address these concerns and provide evidence and forecasting of the return on investment that a subscription model can provide. They can start preparing the company for the change by demystifying subscription models and drawing comparisons to popular news subscription services like Newspick and Yahoo Finance VIP.  

It will be necessary to embed the subscription model into company culture from day one. This means crafting a vision for the new norm by over communicating on where the company is going and how it will get there. Businesses should also make sure to implement the model with absolute clarity, with transparency around timelines and new incentives that better align with the subscription model. For example, they might adapt their sales compensation plans, project KPIs, and bonuses.

In order to gain consensus, businesses may also start running the subscription model alongside their existing model, and compare the performance metrics and profit margins of each approach in real-time to make the case for the switch to subscription. Once implemented, they could craft a feedback loop to understand the response and build consensus at all levels of the organization. All of this will create ample evidence and reason that going the subscription route holds great promise for the business.

Leverage technology innovations to make subscription a success 

Businesses seeking to kickstart their subscription model must make sure to have the right technology in place to make it a success and offer value-adding innovations to outstrip competitors.

As a bare minimum, companies moving to a subscription model should have customer service technology and automation tools to make payment processes easy for both business and customer, and to be able to provide more targeted offerings based on their usage of the product or service. Companies may also consider investing in a platform that optimizes the entire payment process in one place, while also integrating with other third-party systems to unify workflow.

In addition to that, companies can attract customers by offering innovative solutions to their services that they are unlikely to find elsewhere. For example, Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido has created a subscription-based IoT solution that allows users to assess their skin condition. Customers don’t need to manually order more cartridges as this is done automatically once their previous ones are almost empty. 

Japanese companies that fight the tide of subscription-based business are unlikely to be able to keep up with those that embrace change, especially given the initial success of existing subscription-based offerings. In order to drive momentum behind the subscription model in Japan, organization leaders should focus on increasing brand awareness, making the case internally, and leveraging the top technology innovations to streamline processes and add value for customers.

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Mike Jennett, Director of CloudBlue Platform Strategy, is an accomplished business and technology executive. With a deep focus on product development and go-to-market strategy, he plays a pivotal role driving strategic growth and market expansion. Mike’s career is characterized by his adeptness in driving technological advancements and his commitment to leading digital transformations with experience including IDC where he was VP of the Mobility and Digital Transformation IEP practices, and HP where he held numerous leadership roles. Mike’s expertise is also reflected in his published works and contributions to multiple tech publications. Mike holds a B.A. from California Polytechnic University.
Having previously to strategic product management, agile transformations, and user experience in CloudBlue, Taylor Giddens heads the Services & Solutions team where he ensures smooth delivery, operations and solution growth for our partners and customers.

The team includes technical account management, managed services, support, custom solution development, and customer enablement.

Prior to CloudBlue, his resume boasts leadership of some of the world’s largest companies during their digital transformations and marketplace launches. Taylor is a practitioner of servitude leadership when it comes to enabling his team to drive positive outcomes on the road to operational excellence.
Laurens van Alphen, a visionary entrepreneur with over 29 years of internet technology expertise, serves as Director of Technical Managed Services at CloudBlue, responsible for Operations and Delivery of CloudBlue SaaS.

As a Dutch racing champion and car enthusiast, he brings the same drive to the tech realm, steering Keenondots from a managed hosting firm to a global cloud enablement leader. Laurens is celebrated for his outcome-driven leadership, deep industry insight, and passion for balancing business innovation with client engagement.
Lincoln Lincoln is CloudBlue’s Head of Global Sales; having been with the company since November 2017. Leading CloudBlue’s global go-to-market organization, he’s responsible for driving accelerated and sustained mutual growth with CloudBlue’s customers and partners, as well as forming new customer partnerships across the Vendor and Provider ecosystem. As part of CloudBlue’s leadership team he is responsible the organisation’s revenue and continued market leadership by delivering and supporting products, services and solutions to organizations in established and new markets around the world.

Before joining CloudBlue, Lincoln was AppDirect’s Regional Director, Asia Pacific & Japan, responsible for forming, building and leading AppDirect’s business and operations across the APJ geography. He built and led AppDirect’s fastest growing and highest performing region globally within 3yrs.

Before joining AppDirect, Lincoln was EMC’s Practice Manager, Cloud Service Providers, APJ, working with the leading Service Providers to maximise their Cloud Business presence & market success. Lincoln joined EMC in 2007, and has over 20 years’ experience in the IT industry, having been based out of Singapore, Australia and the UK. Prior to EMC, he was in range of sales and channel positions at Symantec and VERITAS.

Lincoln has an Honours degree in Business Administration from Kingston University in the United Kingdom.
Brent Clooney is the Executive Director and Associate General Counsel for Ingram Micro Inc., and lead counsel for CloudBlue.

Brent is a Canadian based corporate lawyer with more than 20 years of experience as a strategic legal advisor both in private practice and as in-house counsel to large multi-national companies. Prior to joining Ingram Micro in 2008, he worked at a well-respected corporate law firm in Toronto, Canada and later served as general counsel for Toshiba Canada. During his 15-year tenure at Ingram Micro, he has held positions of increasing complexity and responsibility, and since being promoted to his current role in 2022, Brent is the legal lead for both Ingram Micro’s Canadian and global cloud businesses, as well as CloudBlue.

Brent holds a law degree (LL.B.) from Queen’s University, a Psychology degree (B.A. Honours) from Lakehead University, and has been admitted to the bar in Ontario, Canada since 2002.
Anurag serves as the Head of Product Management for CloudBlue and is responsible for product direction and driving innovation. His leadership has been marked by a keen focus on customer needs, growing the ISV ecosystem, and ensuring the continual evolution of CloudBlue’s product portfolio.

Anurag joined Ingram Micro in 2017 and has been instrumental in, positioning CloudBlue as an industry leading monetization platform for MSP’s, Telco’s and Distributors. Previously Anurag worked at Oracle and Microsoft where he managed many technology projects and programs.
As VP of Engineering of CloudBlue, Rony oversees the development and engineering efforts of the company. He is a recognized leader with more than 25 years of experience in Technology and Product.

Prior to joining CloudBlue Rony lead the R&D efforts at Tripwire acquired by Thoma Bravo, and Cedexis acquired by Citrix. Rony is a leader with extensive experience in transforming both complex technology problems into products that customers love and disjointed organizations into agile high performing teams.
Coen is a distinguished leader and entrepreneur in the realm of cloud technology. Currently serving as CEO of Keenondots and the Global Director of CloudBlue SaaS. He is passionate about driving innovation, fostering collaboration, and leading high-performing teams to achieve transformative results.

With a background as Managing Director of INTO Cloud and a pivotal role as Director of Products of KPN, he brings a wealth of experience in steering organizations through the complexities of the digital landscape.

Beyond the boardroom, Coen is a marathon enthusiast, demonstrating endurance and discipline in pursuit of both professional and personal goals.
Alyson has over twenty years of experience in demand generation, marketing automation and data management. She is responsible for leading the strategy and direction of the company’s brand, performance, and digital marketing.

Prior to CloudBlue, Alyson served as Ingram Micro’s Director of Global Business Intelligence Marketing Automation driving channel partner campaigns. Her tenure in marketing leadership at prestigious companies such as Western Digital, Ocean Institute celebrates redefining marketing campaigns and building top performing teams based on trust, experimentation, and results.

Alyson resides with her husband and three children in Orange County and is an active volunteer and donor within her children’s sports and education programs.

Darek Tasak is leading Customer Success & Value Creation for CloudBlue. In his role, he looks after CloudBlue customers globally during the entire lifecycle of our relationship: from the initial on-boarding, through in-life account management, always ensuring they build successful businesses leveraging our technology. Additionally, he is also in charge of Partnership & Alliances, as well as Pricing Management for everything we commercialize.


Before CloudBlue, Darek managed Ingram Micro’s Services division for hi-tech customers in Europe & APAC. His prior experiences include also launching and leading pan-European services business for TDSynnex, as well as strategy consulting with Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

As President of CloudBlue, Uddhav is a distinguished leader and visionary with nearly two decades of platform-building experience. He is an industry leader in digital commerce, the subscription economy, and monetization platforms.


Notably, at SAP, he spearheaded the transformation of their platform business into a multi-cloud platform-as-a-service, offering enterprise and developer-friendly subscription models. At Pure Storage, he championed the efforts to successfully disrupt the storage industry by creating revolutionary Storage-as-a-service, AIOps-as-a-service, and Disaster Recovery-as-a-service offerings with cutting-edge features and establishing a sophisticated subscription commerce infrastructure that is channel-friendly.


At CloudBlue, Uddhav guides and empowers businesses to rethink their monetization strategies by unlocking the power of digital ecosystems and marketplaces. CloudBlue provides enterprises with a mature multi-tier, multi-channel marketplace and monetization platform that enables usage-based subscription models and global delivery of Anything-as-a-Service solutions. Uddhav has played a pivotal role in shaping the future of the subscription economy through his innovative thinking and impactful contributions.

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