The Evolution of Line Messenger and its Affiliated Business Services in Japan
In my 12 years as a career coach specializing in social media marketing management for foreign companies in Japan, I’ve witnessed the phenomenal growth of digital platforms, particularly messaging apps. Among these, Line Messenger stands out as a quintessential success story, offering a unique perspective on the evolution of communication technologies in Japan and their integration into business practices.
The Birth of Line: A Post-Disaster Communication Solution
Line’s journey began in 2011, following the devastating Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Japan’s need for a reliable communication tool, especially during times of disaster when traditional networks fail, catalyzed the development of Line by NHN Japan, the Japanese arm of the South Korean company Naver Corporation. It quickly evolved from a disaster response tool to a ubiquitous social platform.
Rapid Growth and Feature Expansion
The app’s rapid adoption was fueled by its user-friendly interface and innovative features. Emoticons, or “stickers,” became a cultural phenomenon, transforming digital communication into a more expressive and nuanced form. Line’s expansion into a comprehensive platform offering free voice and video calls further cemented its place in the Japanese digital landscape.
Business Integration: A New Frontier
Recognizing the potential in the business sector, Line introduced various services tailored for companies. Line Official Accounts allowed businesses to directly communicate with customers, providing personalized marketing experiences. This feature was a game-changer for foreign companies entering Japan, as it offered an immediate channel to connect with a broad, yet targeted audience.
Challenges with Line Messenger’s Corporate Integration: Mondo Marketing’s Experience (2017).
Line Messenger’s integration into the corporate sector showcased both its innovative strides and the hurdles it presented, especially for foreign entities and companies entering Japan. Line Messenger, recognizing the potential in the business sector, introduced various services tailored primarily for Japanese companies without having an international mindset (in our experience). This focus, while beneficial for local entities, inadvertently created barriers for international businesses seeking to leverage these tools.
Mondo Marketing, aiming to establish its presence for our clients entering Japan, encountered significant challenges with Line Messenger’s platform. For instance, when applying for a business account, our application was rejected due to Line Messenger’s limited domain types recognition. The platform was primarily configured for traditional and Japanese corporate domains, and as a result, our “.marketing” domain was incompatible. This issue highlighted a critical limitation of Line Messenger’s system: a lack of adaptability to modern, globalized internet standards.
Further attempts to circumvent this obstacle, such as using a generic public domain email like Gmail, were also unsuccessful. Line Messenger’s stringent policy of requiring corporate domains for business account registration underscored a broader issue in the Japanese business environment – a certain rigidity and lack of international perspective, which has historically hindered Japanese businesses from expanding abroad effectively.
Our solution was to register a “.jp” domain and build a microwebsite in Japanese, a common practice among foreign companies facing similar challenges in Japan. This necessity to adapt to local digital practices is indicative of a wider issue prevalent in many Japanese business platforms, often referred to as “legacy systems.” These systems, while functional, tend to lag in adopting modern infrastructures and technologies, limiting their usability and appeal to international businesses.
The introduction of brand-specific generic top-level domains (new gTLDs), such as ‘.marketing’, ‘.cafe’, or ‘.ai’, has expanded the domain name landscape, allowing for more specialized and brand-specific online identities. Unfortunately, platforms like Line Messenger, designed with a traditional mindset, have been slow to accommodate these modern innovations, restricting their accessibility to a broader, global audience.
Despite these challenges, Line Messenger’s Official Accounts feature, which allows businesses with traditional gTLDs to directly communicate with customers, represents a significant advancement in personalized marketing. This was particularly impactful for foreign companies entering Japan, offering a direct channel to a broad and targeted audience. However, for Mondo Marketing and similar entities, the return on investment (ROI) in using Line Messenger’s business solutions was diminished by the platform’s complexity, lack of English support, and overall incompatibility with modern, global business practices.
In addition, we found that LINE’s integration requirements were better suited to Japanese B2C entities or major Japanese brands. The strategy our client had for Japan was not compatible with this approach. The Line Platform requires a series of complicated steps that required a full-time employee to go through all the requirements and to use a platform that must be downloaded to achieve good results.
In addition to the costs associated with this approach, the required amount of work to achieve followers was calculated to be too expensive for their market strategy. Investing in such campaigns requires a long-term approach. This is a very, very long-term and expensive market entry strategy.
A recent study indicates that those fees were significantly reduced from our 2017 business model. That is (in my opinion) a reason to suspect that business might not have been as good as it could have been.
Line Pay and E-Commerce: A Step Forward
Despite these hurdles, Line’s introduction of Line Pay showcased its potential in Japan’s burgeoning fintech sector, offering an integrated e-commerce solution. This development, along with Line Works for internal corporate communication, reflected Line’s alignment with Japan’s digital evolution and corporate efficiency.
Cultural Sensitivity in Marketing
Line’s success also underscores the importance of cultural sensitivity, aligning with Japanese aesthetics and values, a crucial insight for foreign companies aiming to penetrate the Japanese market.
Embracing Future Technologies
Line’s ongoing adaptation, including its ventures into AI and blockchain, points to a platform evolving beyond messaging, signaling new opportunities for businesses willing to adapt and integrate these technologies.
Conclusion
Line Messenger’s journey in Japan offers vital lessons in adaptability, cultural sensitivity, and technological innovation. It serves as a reminder of the complexities and opportunities in leveraging such platforms for deep connections with the Japanese market, a critical consideration for foreign companies navigating this unique landscape.