Context-Building for Consensual Decision-Making

Introduction

Certain aspects of Japanese best practices are a manifestation of the unique business culture. Business culture is different in any country, but Japan has a few key differentiation. Decisions are made in groups, persuasion is based on application, and feedback is given indirectly. Business communication is also layered and nuanced. This blog post will focus on the best practices that have resulted from the consensual decision-making business culture.

The Importance of Context-Building

The Japanese business culture manifests itself in different forms and is a reflection of the Japanese business culture itself. The consensual decision-making business culture has affected best practices in multiple orders.

The Ringi Process

The Ringi decision-making process may be the reason why the Japanese business culture is considered to be consensual. The process includes a proposal to a committee. The committee decides as a group, unlike the US where decisions are usually made top-down.

The first step in the Ringi process is to put together a proposal, which is a context-building process. The prosper will collect information, which will be shared with the committee.

Part of the Ringi process includes Nemawashi. Nemawashi is a context-sharing process — Nemawashi provides the stakeholders with the necessary information to make a decision. The proposer will corroborate with each stakeholder and will ensure that the decision is made before the actual meeting. The Ringi process highlights Japan’s high-context, consensual decision-making culture.

Context-Building in Practice

As decisions are made in a group, making sure that the stakeholders have the necessary context and information to make a decision is a prerequisite. The context-building is an important first step in the overall decision-making process. In addition, not all stakeholders and decision-makers are going to be end users. This increases the level of context and information that needs to be gathered. The context-building for the decision-making process has manifested itself as certain best practices in Japan.

Long Websites + “Download Document” CTA

Information gathering is an important first step in being able to share the necessary context for the stakeholders to make a decision. Plenty of context must be provided to make any decision. To help build and provide this context, Japanese websites have two characteristics.

The first is the amount of information on Japanese websites. Japanese websites tend to be longer with more a lot information than their US comps. Websites in the US tend to have simple and clear messaging. Additional context is provided by a demo or a trial. The level of context needed to move to the next step in the sales process is lower for US buyers, as there are fewer decision-makers involved.

Japanese websites will have an abundance of information including a full section on efficiency gains and case studies. If this is not enough, the “Download Documents” CTA will give the visitor access to a deck with even more information. This unique CTA is one of the go-to CTA in Japan since this information will be used for context-building and internal discussions. This deck usually includes basic company information, such as incorporation date, product introduction, benefits of implementation, and additional/detailed case studies. The level of context needed for the Japanese buyer to move to the next steps of the sales process is much higher.

Data-Driven Messaging Resonates: ROI + Efficiency

Given that Japan is an application-first persuasion culture, application-oriented messaging resonates in Japan. This data-driven messaging also provides contexts for the benefits of implementation.

Many business discussions are practical with a strong emphasis on data and metrics.  The most common metrics are ROI and efficiency metrics. The weight that these two metrics carry is very representative of the application-first culture. Most Saas landing pages in Japan will have a section dedicated to improved efficiency, more so than US landing pages. These metrics will naturally translate into ROI. When creating a Japanese landing page, there should be a strong emphasis on metrics. This application-oriented messaging provides the context that decision-makers need to visualize the benefits they’d receive if they go through with implementation.

Importance of Case Studies and Social Proof

Another manifestation of the application-first and context-building culture is the importance of case studies and social proof. Successful case studies give the buyers a clear idea of the application. The more the overlap in application, the easier for the buyer to visualize the implementation of the product. Case studies are one of the most important sales collateral, which shows how important application-first persuasion is in Japanese business culture. Social proof gives another layer of validation further playing into the application-first business culture. Case studies provide the stakeholders with the necessary context for them to be comfortable with making a decision.

Conclusion

Consensual decision-making is a big part of Japanese business culture. This business culture has resulted in a unique evolution of Japanese best practices. Context-building is an important and necessary first step in consensual decision-making. The proposer needs to provide the stakeholders and decision-makers with the relevant information for them to come to a conclusion. This has led to longer and more information-packed websites. It has also resulted in a stronger emphasis on application-oriented messaging, as they also help with context building. If you are looking for assistance implementing the best practices to effectively navigate the consensual decision-making business culture book a call here.