June 28, 2022
What I learnt living and working in Japan. Lessons, insights and tips
June 15, 2022
What is Omotenashi ? 🌸Japanese Customer Service
To further explain the word let's dissect it, O is a polite honorific used as a prefix to words, the second part of the word is motenashi, which has many meanings such as to make welcome, to entertainment, and hospitality.
A further investigation reveals that the base word motenasu is a verb that means to treat, entertain, and make welcome. In a nutshell, omotenashi is a polite word meaning to welcome, serve and pamper the customer. In real life, it means to anticipate customer needs and act before they ask or notice.
An example to show omotenashi in action in Japan is when you visit a hot spring and stay in a hotel. When you arrive, you check-in, typically sit down in a comfortable chair, receive a hot towel and a drink, register as a guest seated in a comfortable chair rather than standing at the counter, and then accompany the staff to your room as they carry your belongings. As you enter a typical Japanese room with a tatami floor, and shoji screen windows, staff begin to set up the room for you and typically stay in the room for a few minutes. Typically they will place your luggage for you, open windows, and doors, and set up a table for you to sit and have refreshments. They will check that everything is ok if you need anything and then with your permission will leave the room.
When you leave your room for dinner in the hotel. Hotel staff typically enter your room during this time and set up your bedding for the evening by unfolding futon mattresses, pillows, and bedding. When you re-enter the room, you are surprised to see your bed already made, saving you time and effort. Japanese hotels often have a set package that includes the room, bathing, and food. All very convenient! The whole experience has been dissected and thought about to ensure that nothing is left to chance and that the customer has a great experience. In this example, the customer is pampered. The service is personal, seamless, and smooth.
Remember that in Japan this service is part of the experience, of course, you can still tip the staff if you are impressed. This is just one of the thousands of examples you will encounter as a customer in Japan and it is likely to change your opinion of what customer service is and should be as they take it to the next level.
#japan #omotenashi #customer #customerservice #experience #needs #anticipate #japanesecustomer #customerexperience #cx #example #business
Labels: Article
June 08, 2022
Five ways 🌸 Japanese culture is changing Western lifestyles
Japan is now a big manufacturer of clothing items and so when they create new products they get to decide the styles, designs, and colours. So we are getting many changes in the traditional products we once bought. A quick glance at Uniqlo’s fashion range reveals many new trends. Added to this we have seen children’s fashion mimic the designs of adult fashion.
2. Food
Food packaging in Japan is very advanced and wrapping materials are making it easier for manufacturers to keep food fresh and taste better. This innovation is driving new forms of packaging and we are seeing the widespread development of single-serve products including biscuits, chocolates, bread, coffee, rice, meals, etc. Japanese culture promotes variety and this means consumers want to eat many different things but in smaller quantities. Japanese cuisine is also gaining widespread awareness for taste and health.
3. Thrift
If you visit Japan you will notice that many things are small. For example: Houses, restaurants, food portions. Japanese culture encourages thrift and so people are always looking at ways to conserve. Many Japanese pack their own lunch and take it to work. The Cool Biz campaign each summer encourages workers to conserve electricity usage by reducing the setting of the air conditioner at the office and in return workers can wear a flexible range of clothes, like polo shirts and Hawaiian shirts.
Many Japanese in large cities don’t own a car and rely on public transport for all their travel needs. Many Japanese households recycle water from their bath and use it to wash clothes in the washing machine, which reduces their water bills. Home recycling of all packaging materials, metals, plastics and films, polystyrene, glass, and metal now means some households have daily garbage duties for recycling.
4. Technology
Technology is being used in Japan to add to daily convenience. This can be seen in many ways, shorter URL’s for websites and QR codes on advertisements, so a scan of your smartphone takes you to a website without typing. GPS systems alert parents when their children arrive at school by texting their phones. The development and use of robots in Japan for manufacturing, customer service, and nursing.
5. Medical
Cleanliness and the reduction of germs are a big priority for many Japanese households. For example: At a public library you can sterilize a book, ATMs deliver sterilized notes, and on a daily basis consumers access anti-bacterial wipes from their handbags and briefcases, clean their hands at shops with clear anti-bacterial gels, and can buy a wide range of detergent s with anti-bacterial attributes. It is common in Japan in new shopping centres to encounter restrooms with no touch doors, no-touch taps, and no-touch hand driers. Home monitoring of basic medical functions such as blood pressure and weight. For example: Omron’s range of cuffs for home blood pressure monitoring.
Local councils and companies offer residents and employees time to take an annual medical check. A check is undertaken in a few hours that offers many tests, for example, blood test, urine, height, weight, ultrasound, chest x-ray, etc., and then mail you the result in a week. All results are presented on a single page which can be easily compared to past and future results to quickly pick up any changes that may need attention.
In the Asian Century, Western lifestyles are being impacted more and more by Asian values in a wide range of areas. For the first time, we can experience, encounter, and enjoy these influences. As marketers, we also get a peek into a totally new and developing market, one with many new opportunities.
#cx #servicedesign #japan #japanesecustomer #lifestyle #marketing #japaneseculture
Labels: Article
May 25, 2022
Article: How do restaurants in Japan 🌸spoil their customers?
Take for instance the level of detail Japanese restaurants place on making a customer's visit pleasant and convenient.
The issuing of hot towels to wipe their hands, the glass of ice water, and the quick delivery of drinks.
Pictures on the menu show the food, sell its uniqueness and aid for easy and quick decision making.
Padded seats to make the dining experience comfortable. Plastic bags for placing your umbrella in if it's raining outside.
Folding the toilet paper in the bathroom so the customer doesn't fumble. Quick delivery of the food. Hot food that sizzles ensuring freshness and quality.
Topping up glasses of water, changing ashtrays full of rubbish, and wiping the table.
Quick delivery and high accuracy of the bill as most restaurants use electronic ordering systems generated from the table.
Quick processing of the bill and a warm and hearty thank you when finishing and leaving the restaurant.
Spoiling your customers is a great way to build loyalty and increase retention.
#cx #servicedesign #customerservice #restaurant #japanesecustomer #japan
Labels: Article, Culture, Customer Service, Food, innovation, Lifestyle, retailers, Trends
May 11, 2022
Five things to consider when recruiting 🌸 Japanese Students
Japan stands out as one of the most mature and stable economies in the region. From a recruiter’s point of view though Japan has always been considered a difficult recruitment market due to the high costs of visiting the market, doing business, and lack of access to market information. These factors are slowly changing and Japan is becoming more accessible and user-friendly as compared to many other student markets.
Recent signs of growth have been seen and reflect that the economy may be finally recovering from 15 years of stagnant economic growth. The rise of indicators such as the Nikkei 225 index has helped push this feeling throughout the marketplace and consumer sentiment has followed with small rises in the Consumer Price Index and inner-city real estate prices.
Japanese students enjoy studying abroad and each year thousands of them venture to an array of different countries to gain new skills. Based on recent research undertaken by MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology), the top five study destinations for Japanese students in 2005 were the USA, China, Europe, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
An important question to consider from an institutional viewpoint is why do Japanese students study abroad when there are currently over 500 government accredited Universities throughout the whole of Japan that offer a range of specialized courses in both Japanese and English formats.
Keiko Tanikawa, Managing Director of ISCS, believes that
“Japanese students are picking courses that are a complete package, for example, they select a course that is easy to enter, provides international recognition (so the qualification can be recognized in Japan and worldwide if they decide to stay in-country), and has work placement. So it’s easier to get a job”.
This view is echoed by Makoto Sanada, Student Adviser at MTSC, a Japanese education agency,
“Japanese students want a qualification, something that shows that they are licensed in the subject”.
Following recent high levels of unemployment amongst university graduates, many students are looking to further develop their overall skills including English, and specialized programs including MBA courses. Japanese companies have been cutting workers, so we have begun to see the demise of the corporate samurai.
"Young people are in no doubt about the direction employment is taking. They get the connection between useable skills and job security" according to Dr. Greg Story of Austrade.
The changing marketplace provides insights that can be helpful for education institutions and recruiters, these include the increase in “Freeters” and “NEETs”, changes in the types of courses being studied, and employer needs for job-ready employees, and the changing role of English.
The term “Freeter” is a Japanese word that has been made by combining two words, the first word, "free" from English, and the second word “Arbeiter” a German word relating to work.
The meaning is aimed at young people primarily between the ages of 15 and 34 years of age who have graduated from education but who engage in part-time work.
The term is used to describe both young men and women and seems to have a rather negative connotation with older members of society who are relying on the young to pay for the national pension system.
Figures released by MEXT show that the number of “Freeter’s” in Japan has more than quadrupled in the past 20 years” from 1982 to 2003.
The Japan Institute of Labor classifies “Freeter’s” into three distinctive and separate groups these include the moratorium type that wants to wait before starting a career.
This type can be linked to Western University students who take a year off after completing their studies and may travel before starting their careers.
The dream pursuing type. “Freeter's” who fall under this category may attempt to work in glamour fields such as show business and the no alternative type, may remain in part-time employment as they have no other choice of jobs that match their skills or experiences.
Recruiters could repackage an existing course or develop a brand new course that allows “Freeter's” a chance to upskill or to further develop skills learned in part-time work.
Young people not in education and training or “NEETS” represent a sizeable market in the Japanese education market. According to the government, there are about 850,000 “NEETs” in Japan.
“NEETS” have been so described as they are seen to live off allowances provided by their parents and are undecided about career and their role in society.
It is felt that they lose motivation and self-confidence by not actively participating in society. According to Saori Kan of the Daily Yomiuri in the article,
"Society needs to get serious about NEETS"
she outlines that at present,
“About 520,000 people under the age of 35 were considered NEET's as of the end of 2003”.
Free weekly employment magazines are now important mediums for a large number of young people in Japan.
Education institutions have an opportunity to develop courses and training to meet the needs of these young Japanese and to help them make a start or a restart toward their life’s journey.
Over the past thirty years, the courses selected by female university students have changed dramatically as seen in MEXT research.
For example: in 1970 the number of females taking Social Science courses at University was 11.9% whereas in 2004 the number had risen to almost 30%. Changes have also been noted in Agriculture based courses which have increased by 1.6% and Engineering up 4% over the same period.
These changes provide insights for institutions to develop individual marketing plans based on gender whereby individual courses are targeted specifically to the need of the student.
The message developed to attract a male Japanese student to enroll in an Engineering course would be different and unique compared to that developed for a female student.
Recruitment fairs in Japan are the battleground for recently graduated Japanese students who have returned home from studying abroad.
Seas of grey-suited men and women shuffle through the required paperwork to register and enter these fairs.
Allowing them the chance to attend information sessions, meet companies face to face, collect brochures and make an impact with company recruiters in individual appointed interviews.
Competition is fierce. Individuals get to events up to two hours earlier than the official starting time, in the hope that by lining up they will have the first opportunity to meet with employers of their choice.
Seats found at the front of company booths are prized as candidates can have better eye contact and possibly increase their chances of getting noticed.
Company booths have seating for up to twenty people and presenters click through PowerPoint presentations on the hour for the length of the fair.
Japanese employers are looking for graduates with more skills and experience to help them navigate the ever-changing marketplace that includes both domestic and international markets.
Experience gained in a foreign market is also looked upon favourably.
Small employers who haven’t the budgets to undertake extensive staff training is keen to hire those with experience.
Recruiters have the chance to develop work experience as part of the course offering.
English is a skill that is still much prized in Japan and will continue to be so into the future. TOEIC a guide to English proficiency is an important measuring device but fluency is becoming a key skill. The ability to participate using English is now seen as a desirable attribute.
In the past one member of staff was assigned as the English speaker but now employers require a higher usage of English by all of their employees. Institutions that can develop a student’s English fluency have the chance to meet a need.
As demand from Asian countries continues to dominate international recruitment, Japan can be seen as a stable and mature market with unique opportunities for education Institutions to explore.
This article was published in “Education Marketing Journal”, Higher Education Information Services Trust, (HEIST), The United Kingdom in March 2006.
#highereducation #internationalstudents #recruitment #japanese #insights #japanesecustomer #students
May 10, 2022
Five ways to grow your business using 🌸 Japanese Customer Service techniques
The Japanese never do anything by halves, it's 150% or nothing. Customer service is a great example. If we look at Japanese customer service we can see that every point of contact with the customer has been thoroughly dissected, planned, and catered for. Japan has a tradition whereby customer service is deeply ingrained into the culture and is reflected in everyday life.
For example, in the Japanese language, there are a specific set of words, sentences, and structures that is used just for talking and dealing with customers called Keigo.
It is a very polite form of speech that is used in shops, on the telephone, and in advertising. For Example: as you enter any store in Japan you will be greeted with the words irreshaimasae, (welcome to our store).
The store attendant will greet you okyakusama, (my customer). It is the beginning of a company's contact with a customer and sets the tone for the ongoing relationship.
Body language is another component of Japanese customer service. As you enter a store in Japan the shop attendant will welcome you and offer a deep bow to acknowledge and welcome you to the store. This occurs at convenience stores, banks, greengrocers, bicycle repair shops, and restaurants.
Let me provide an example of everyday customer service that I experienced while living in Japan. Needing a TV, I purchased an all-in-one model from a local electrical store and arranged the delivery.
Delivery day came and as a customer, I was excited to be receiving my new TV. In true Japanese style, at 9.55 am, five minutes before the agreed time, I heard a van pull up outside my apartment and my building door open. A delivery driver in a light blue uniform with white gloves, a hat, and a name tag knocked at my door gently and called my name. Clipboard in hand he confirmed my purchase and asked me to sign a delivery receipt. He then gave me a deep bow and returned to the van to retrieve the TV not before bowing again and saying, chotto matte kudasai (just a moment please). He removed his shoes at the entrance to my apartment, took off his hat, and placed the huge box on the floor of my tiny room, two meters by two-meter wide room, typical student accommodation.
Then he opened the box, removed all the packaging, and asked where I would like the TV positioned in the room. Then he connected the aerial and switched the set on and checked that everything was in order. He collected all the packaging, looked at me and bowed, thanked me for my purchase, and walked out of the room backward still facing me. When he reached the front door he put his shoes back on, replaced his hat, and then bowed one more time before leaving the building. Everything was set up and working by 10 am, the agreed delivery time.
After a few weeks of use, the video player stopped working and the tape could not be ejected. I returned to the store of purchase, spoke with the sales staff, and explained the problem. Store staff took down my details and called the manufacturer in front of me and made an appointment for a service call in two days' time.
On the day and time arranged, the representative from the manufacturer visited my apartment. I expected him to collect the TV and return it to a service center for repair so I waited at the front door of my apartment block with the TV. He got out of his van and looked at me and motioned me to take the TV back inside. The repairman carried his tool kit and a blanket inside. He removed his shoes at the entrance, bowed as he entered the room, and then neatly unfolded the blanket and placed the TV on it. A few minutes later the whole unit was unrecognizable. Pieces of metal and plastic were all over the blanket.
Quickly the problem had been found and rectified with a new part. The problem was wet playing heads caused by condensation. If I was to use my rice cooker in the room, I had to open the window to let out the hot fumes otherwise the video player heads would be damaged. With a smile, the repairman reassembled the TV and packed up his tools. The problem was found and fixed within 20 minutes of arrival.
How can you grow your business in five ways by applying these service techniques?
1. Fully dissect your business and understand all the points at which a customer has contact with your company. Plan how you want the customer to be treated and set up a system to meet your requirements and then test the system until it works well every time.
2. Hire the right kind of people to work with customers. People who are patient and like working with people. Train employees in all aspects of the business, not just one job function.
3. Hire enough people to make sure that every customer is well catered for even at the busiest times.
4. Equip your frontline staff to handle a problem from start to finish.
5. Plan to be in business for the long term so your customer service becomes your best marketing tool. Higher customer retention leads to higher sales.
#japan #japanesecustomer #casestudy #customerservice #business #growth
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Labels: Article