Jottings from Japan

The writing is on the wall. On the floor. On the pillar. Hanging overhead. And then there were arrows to point the way. Long (165 meters) and broad (1 foot). Color-coded. 7 pointers within 10 feet of each other. All directing me to Mita line platform.

Signage at Jimbocho Station

None barring me bothered to look at these signs. They didn’t have to as it is the only corridor that leads to the platform.

Later in the evening when I met Shimada-san, that venerable veteran of bar banter; I mentioned what I saw in passing.

“Happy hours make me sick and sad”, he said, drawing deep from the chilled draught placed in front of him. Sometimes, when sober, he is tangential.

I knitted my brow and looked at him enquiringly while wiping the froth off my upper lip.  “Sick I understand; by overreaching ourselves during the short and merry window the happy hours offer us. But, sad!?”

“You miss my point. Count the number of Happy Hour mentions in this establishment” said Shimada-san.

My eyes swept the establishment, all 10X10 of it. “Six” I said. “Nine”, he shot back. “You left the two placed at the entrance and the one in the restroom”. “And I will tell you why I am unhappy”, he continued in the same breath.

“I don’t need to be told 9 times when the happy hours are. More importantly I don’t want to be reminded that they are going to end. It is not only insulting to my intelligence but also being insensitive to my feelings.”

“Mmm.. you have got a point there”, I conceded.

A typical crossing with pedestrian and cyclist stop signs

“Ofcourse I do! And it is not just the happy hours that I am miffed with. Every waking hour of my existence, I am bombarded with such inanity across every walk of life. Speaking of walk, see this”. He thrust his smart phone in my face and showed a snap.  “Every 20 meters you have a crossing, whether on the main road or the by-lanes. And at every crossing you have a stop sign for the pedestrian and the cyclist; and as many as there are the paths branching out from there. There are a zillion announcements at sub-way stations, in trains, in buses, on where to sit, when to get up, which side to get off, what to watch out for…” He paused to take a big swig.

“May be they are trying to be helpful? Or considerate about those that cannot help themselves and need?” I proffered an explanation.

““I thought about it many times, including the platform signs you mentioned; but couldn’t fathom what the reasons are. At best it is what you said; but I think they are plain saving their…skin. Sort of “we told you so many times” in case something untoward happens. This way the responsibility is not theirs anymore”, Shimada-san sputtered. “Still, it is not the government/quasi-government/utility companies that I am most shaken by. It is when I see ads that start resembling a tin of sardines split wide open or a webpage that looks like a much stirred colony of ants”

No-smoking floor stickers – 1 each for people walking in opp. direction

Raising the fourth pint to his quivering lips, with a tinge of sadness he added “Japan is known for high context culture where amongst other things the communication is seen as an art form – a way of engaging someone and where the message is indirect (as opposed to that of a low context – where the message is direct & things are spelt out exactly the way they should be followed)” And it is sad to see, most communication experts ignoring that aspect and continuing with their peripheral observations with little or no empirical evidence that shows one needs to be spoon-fed.”

The happy hours are nearing an end, and the conversation has taken a slightly somber note. “This is serious”, I interjected, knowing not what else to say in the face of such impenetrable verbiage.

“”Japanese want more information compared to other countries” they say” continued Shimada-san, as if speaking to himself. “And add:

*  people will not take the next step until everything is clarified

*  they lack confidence and need clear instructions before they can act”

“I don’t think so, and I can’t say what else either. But my gut-feel is that the over abundant communication hits a blind spot amongst a good many who know what they need to do and carry on with not even a fleeting glance. And a few others, like me, notice such over-abundance and feel annoyed, as I see it as an affront to my intelligence. Not good”

Those two words sounded more ominous than the bell that rang, heralding the end of happy hours.

Images courtesy: Self and Shimada-san

One of the things that you notice early on in Japan, even if you are not a proponent of digital media and/or a student of the net consumption behavior, is that the Japanese rarely type in a URL. Even the companies/brands do not advertise their URLs as much as they refer to keywords/QR codes in their communications.

A similar observation with statistics was shared and the question (title of this article) posed, by a marketer in a recent discussion. Banking on “I am thinking aloud” and adding for good measure “and I am not an expert in the digital field, but..” I ventured forth with my response that this could be because:

• Most of the URLs are in English; and Japanese are not comfortable with the language
• The default language settings on keyboard are Japanese, and it is not worth the effort to switch on to Roman script just to key in the URL

Though the response met with “seems logical and commonsensical” comment from the marketer and murmurs of agreement from the domain experts in audience, I wanted to find out for myself.

With the help of my good friend and colleague Nariya-san, I quickly did a dipstick study (40 respondents). The following are the results:

• 100% used search to visit a website for the first time (one more statistic reinforcing the observation)
• 50% visited the same site again through search, while a good 43% used bookmarks to visit it subsequently (convenience kicks-in along with comfort)
• 80% said the reason is difficulty in keying the English URL and 20% said it is because the default language settings are in Japanese (validating the hypothesis)

Further probing (and discussion with experts in the field, Craig and Shimada-san) revealed that it is:

• Easier to spell the URL incorrectly as most Japanese are less familiar/comfortable with English language (for non-Japanese sites)
• Less cumbersome to type in the theme or associated words (in Japanese, transliterating)
  • In the search box where one has the search engine as the homepage in their browser
  • Using the address bar as search box (fewer keystrokes since you do away with .com or .co.jp) and clicking on the link once it is displayed
  • It works well for Japanese sites too, as a Japanese URL can be composed of characters from three scripts – Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana; and it is difficult to type in the exact URL using the language settings

That must satisfy the stakeholders in the SEO/SEM field as it looks like the business is here to thrive for a long time to come. It did make me a happy person momentarily by validating the “loud thinking”.

Still, the initial elation led to one motherhood question, having been on the client side earlier (now I take their side) – What are the implications for the marketers?

• Do they have to continue investing in multiple keywords (even misspelt ones, just in case)?
• How can they get users to bookmark once they visit the site through search, so:
  • Next time they do not risk losing out the consumer to competitor, since purchasing a keyword at a higher price does increase the chances of staying on top of the results; but the user could as easily click the 3^rd or 8^th result, if found relevant.
  • Can subsequently reduce spends as they would be paying for fewer new click-throughs
• Is the behavior same across demographics? Or are there any idiosyncrasies that one has to take into account?
• What about other markets where the keyboards are set to non-Roman script language defaults? (E.g.: Arabic, Chinese)
  • Are there any best practices that one can use from across these markets to increase chances of higher click through and lower spends / cost per clicks (or such metrics)?
• Should they be investing in local language URLs, simplified with characters from one script? E.g: Kanji, or Hiragana, or Katakana and not a mixture of all or some of the scripts
• What of search through mobiles/smart phones? Does the SEO/SEM tactics have to be any different over there? Will it necessitate an investment reallocation?

(As an aside, what is the implication for Yahoo, if more people are using the address bar as a search box? It could be a double whammy as it

• Does not have a browser unlike Google or Bing(IE) and
• Is not a default browser on Safari or Firefox (it is there as an option, but not necessarily default).

Is it likely to lose share of market in search in years to come?)

Soon more marketers are going to ask the SEO/SEM fraternity to help find answers for the above posers, beyond the existential keyword purchase or meta-tag tinkering.  Let the search for the answers begin now.

It pays not to throw caution to wind and pour passion into a soliloquy, especially when socializing during Friday evenings after a grueling week. The next thing that hits you is on Monday morning you are scrambling to dish out a presentation on a subject you barely scratched the surface of, to an audience that you know practically nothing about, and in a venue which is usually reserved for stand-up comedians and thrives on improving its patrons’ missile launching abilities!

Few weeks ago I did just that, extremely passionately I believe, on how from being a naïve networker in real life I transformed into a connection collector online; and more importantly the benefits that accrue from such metamorphosis!

(A naïve networker is:

* happy brushing aside most of the event invites under the pretext of having to spend time with family

* forever and intently staring into the blackberry screen, avoiding the possibility of smiling sheepishly at complete strangers, and waiting for a familiar voice to call out my name or slap me on my back

* attending seminars and symposiums which are purely academic in nature to which flocked fellow naïve networkers, forced by their bosses)

A day later I was asked to walk the talk. “Why don’t you…on using Linkedin effectively” was the terse challenge from Gil, my good friend who doesn’t waste time in preambles. Laughing nervously I agreed and a week later was wiping sweat off the brow and bathing tonsils in pure amber liquid getting ready to put myself up for screwtiny.

Googling didn’t help boost the morale, in the run-up to the presentation; as there were zillions of contributions on that matter. So I took the hard but less often tried path of understanding the audience – a deed made possible by networkers RSVPing their willingness to attend on various forums (Thanks to Blick, who promoted it vigorously on Linkedin, Meetup, Facebook and Twitter).

The simple analysis threw up an obvious and intuitive picture. The Japanese networkers had

a)    Far less connections (on an average) on Linkedin

-          Language limitations;

-          Longevity (or lack of it) of Linkedin usage

-          Limited focus on expanding network beyond the immediate circle of colleagues, alumni

-          Largely comfortable meeting face to face and exchanging business cards

b)    Fewer/no recommendations

-          Accomplishments seen more as an outcome of team effort than individual’s endeavor

-          A duty-bound mindset that seldom asks for favors

As the chart above suggested, the primary focus of Japanese networkers is to expand their professional network; that of expat networkers was to milk their network more.

The assumption proved largely right, with the Japanese networkers seeking information/pointers on expanding the network; and the expat networkers’ interest in how to leverage, how to seek more recommendations; how to get value addition from existing network. The Japanese networkers also were vary about confidentiality (What information to put on profile, and how much of it) and privacy (What if my boss/company reps see it).

The conversation serenedipitously seemed well timed, as Linkedin announced its plans to start operating from Japan in 2011. And given my interactions that night, I believe the task for Linkedin is cut out if it is looking at accelarating the penetration amongst Japanese networkers before some competitor does a  MIXI on them:

* Address the issues of language barrier; confidentiality; privacy and

* Position itself as a forum for advancing professional knowledge and expertise than carrying on with the strongly associated perception of an online talent stock exchange.

If it is able to address that, Linkedin Japan will have the highest proportion of paid accounts across all the markets it operates in. Once you convince Japanese of the value you bring to the table, they don’t mind opening up their wallets. The number of invites for dinner / drinks I got is the source of my conviction. That said, I vowed that I will not talk myself into giving another talk. I am happy dishing out advice from behind a console.

(A link to the presentation I made is here: http://www.slideshare.net/ivak99/using-linkedin-effectively-presentation-at-pinkcow-may17)

Friday nights are usually the most educating and illuminating times in Tokyo, for people keen on developing their cultural understanding. After stoically and methodically dispensing off with one’s duties through the whole working week (Japanese are the world’s hardest working with only 33% of employees availing all their allotted paid holidays – Ipsos/Reuters survey) most people put their briefcases down and have a good go at the Izakayas or (m)any such watering holes dotting the landscape in and around work places. Wisdom flows and no premium does justification to the wealth of information or insights one can be privy to, while partaking in such cheerful classrooms.

I was privileged to be part of one such session not so long ago. Over the usual cries of Campai, conversation meandered from the sublime (What is Hair Make? Why do most of the hair salons have that in their boards?) to the mundane  (What could Japan do to boost its economy? Does closing Pachinko parlors for few hours/days every week do the trick?). Along the way, as is the wont during bacchanalias, the topic of food cropped up.

For starters, a minor difference of opinion amongst those present regarding the pre-eminence of Tokyo as the world’s gastronomical capital was settled quickly by bringing few facts to the table:

• Quantity – Tokyo is home to over 160,000 restaurants
• Quality – Most number of Michelin stars awarded. 197 to Tokyo compared to 96 for Paris and 56 for NY

Served next was the choice of places to eat. Given that most of us are salaried persons, Michelin ratings definitely acts as a good filter on deciding which choices we could steer clear of, if only to save the burden of a tidy bill on a tiny pocket. Names of eateries were tossed in and their menus and relative merits were being discussed at length and in juicy details. Shimada-san, sipping on his Shochu silently till then, stepped into the discussion and announced in a deadpan voice “Before you decide, look at the cabbage salad”.

Shorn of bells and whistles, this is what he said – “A place which takes lot of care to choose, chop and serve the salad well is the one which will ensure there is top-notch taste in every dish that it prepares, presents and places in front of you. At places that do not take pride in what is served on the side, quality is a matter of chance. They may get it right few times, but that is not by design.”

That was something to chew on. This same philosophy attention to detail in every facet of work, which otherwise get relegated to the back-burner in the typical 80:20 world, is what sets Japanese goods and services apart. Kaizen may be well known on the manufacturing side, but beyond that in every walk of life and everyday work, presenting things with every chink ironed out is so integral that it takes a while for a person from an alien culture to appreciate the seemingly undue emphasis that countrymen, clients and colleagues place on being prim and proper. Once you start understanding that, you will savor doing business in this part of the world. That, to me, is some food for thought.