Perfect Timing

Communication can be ‘hit-and-miss’. A message that is clear for one person can be a mystery to the next. Choose any language and you will find it peppered with natural expressions that tend to confound any visitor.

When a Swede says “I didn’t just slide in on a shrimp sandwich, you know”

or an Armenian tells you

“stop ironing my head”

you may quite reasonably be very confused and wonder what on earth is going on.

Meaning very often depends on a shared understanding of the background behind what is said.

It could mean any number of things such as ‘2pm’, ‘peace’, ‘2 beers, please’ ‘victory’, or, if you are a Brit like me, something a whole lot ruder. If you don’t know, you may want to Google it. Suffice it to say that there is an equivalent gesture in America using just the middle finger. I think you know the one I mean.

Low Context communication?involves examining and stating all of the small details and meanings so that nothing is left to chance to misunderstand. Low Context communicators tend to spell out the small details. This may be because the exactness of the message is important to them or the success of the communication. Often it can be because they feel that the receiver does not have enough shared background and experience with the subject and so there is a risk of miscommunication.

On the other hand, High Context communicators tend not to express small details as they feel that the recipient understands what they mean in general. When working with people with whom they have an established relationship and history, they tend to follow this preference. When working with a new team member, this can present problems.

It is High Context communication then that is the cause of so many miscommunications on a daily basis everywhere around the world.

Take our JTB Brand Slogan for example Perfect moments, always

Sounds good, right? But what do we actually mean by ‘perfect’? I guarantee that your idea of a perfect moment and mine are probably quite different. That’s natural. Living and working in a diverse global environment, this is only to be expected.

This is a conversation that I find myself having with great regularity with JTB employees around the world. Our customers naturally have very high expectations. So what is the ‘perfect’ that we are delivering? Is it the same ‘perfect’ that they are expecting? That’s a tough idea to nail down.

However, this dilemma over meaning is not limited to JTB. It happens to any organization and brand of any scale or repute. It is a result of taking a whole philosophy and set of values and boiling it down into something short and punchy that will grab your attention and stay with you.

Take the Nike sports brand for example. Their slogan is of course ‘JUST DO IT.’ It sounds very empowering and energizing on the customer side but when you unpack it, what does it mean on a daily basis? If you join the company and on your first day as a total newbie, your boss high fives you and tells you to ‘just do it' you may have some nagging doubts about exactly what it is that you should do, why you should do it and by when. It just isn’t clear without the background.

Today, more than ever, we need to be thinking about what Perfect Moments, always actually means in the hearts and minds of our customers. Building customer experiences from the customer perspective first is the basis of Design Thinking.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered our attitudes and comfort levels when it comes to travel. While the desire is still there, the return to our former business will be tentative. If we want to know what ‘perfect’ means, we really need to stand in the shoes of our customers in this current climate. So what are some new key concerns? Safety, cleanliness, group size, proof of vaccination – to name but a few.

So how do we find out what ‘Perfect’ means? The answer is that we work on deepening our relationship with customers. This goes beyond the practice of reading the feedback surveys received after an engagement is complete.

In his book, ‘What Customers Crave’ Nicholas J. Webb says that in order to really build a relationship and better understand their idea of ‘Perfect moments’, we should ensure that we build 5 Touch Points into our engagement plan.

So let’s take this opportunity amongst all of this disruption, to recognize that more than ever, we need to understand our customers and deliver a new definition of ‘Perfect moments, always’ based on them.

Start by Asking Yourself

‘How well do I really know the ‘new normal’ pains, worries, needs and desires of?our post-COVID customers?’

Relationships and communication have always been at the heart of our business. Let’s make sure that while so much is changing, we always keep this in the front of our minds.

What Customers Crave: How to Create Relevant and Memorable Experiences at Every Touchpoint?by Nicholas J. Webb, James Foster, et al. 2016

Coming from a background in advertising in the UK in both customer?engagement and on the creative side, Alex De Vile is an accomplished corporate?trainer, facilitator, and intercultural expert, experienced in supporting the business?development needs of a wide variety of companies and industries, developing?customized curricula, creating customized materials and delivering effective?training solutions.?