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Japan’s leading service-oriented provider thathas generated more than 100 Japanese franchiseoffices. Interestingly, the new Japanese word is incommon use today.”Although the new vocabulary and savvy presshelped in Japan, the success enjoyed may nothave happened without the help of the U.S.government. The U.S. Commercial Service wasengaged to help find prospective partners.According to Nakajima, “They identify potentialpartners whose profiles parallel the company’sideal qualifications, and prearrange meetings forus. They also help identify key players in seniorcare policy.”She previously worked with the U.S. CommercialService when she ran a Blimpie franchise inPoland. “When I got to the United States,” sheadded, “I contacted the U.S. Commercial Serviceoffice in Omaha. There I received market researchas well as export counseling and requestedpartner searches that put me on the right pathto entering the Japanese market. I went on afranchising trade mission to Japan, where ourservices were showcased at Japan’s largestfranchise show. That’s where we met our Japanesepartners. They are an excellent resource forlearning about a country’s cultural issues andregulations. We use them to enter all new markets”Lessons LearnedWhat works in one market doesn’t always workin a different market. Having succeeded in Japan,Home Instead wanted to enter the WesternEuropean market, but faced new hurdles. In Japan,the public was not concerned with the price somuch as the type of service, whereas in Europe,price was a major concern. Instead of having tointroduce the concept of companionship, they hadto reclassify their services into three levels as away for clients to save money.“In Portugal, two men approached us aboutopening a franchise in Lisbon. They had beenunable to find the right level of care for theirailing parents without having to pay for unneededservices, and they wanted to help other familieswith similar problems. The men signed anagreement with the company in 2003 to start theirown franchise. This began the company’s threetieredmarketing strategy for Europe.”A surprise was that the franchises there didn’tsuffer because of economic problems in thatpart of Europe. The debt problems and highunemployment have not negatively affectedthe demand for care for seniors, in part becausepricing and service offerings matched marketconditions.Another lesson is the importance of buildinga brand in a niche market by positioning thecompany as a thought leader. Nakajima said:“We conduct and sponsor research. We takethis research and share it with people in thecommunities we serve. We apply other kinds ofknowledge, including what’s being learned aboutAlzheimer’s and the people suffering from it. Weturn this knowledge into training for the peoplewho deliver the services. The challenge is toinform government and policy people of what weare doing and learning.”Success Story: Home Instead Senior Care105