Do you facilitate disruptive environments in order to engage GenY, digital natives?
Are you involved in the gamification of the customer experience?
Do work for a 'social' business?
Will banking as we know it be disrupted by dramatic consumer behaviour shifts?
Can anyone tell me what any of the above actually means? Really? In plain, simple language? Because, seriously, if you can't explain what you do to your grandmother - you don't understand what you do. Trust me, I used to edit a newsletter on derivatives
trading.
Let's dissect one of these sentences. The last came from Bank 2.0/Movenbank founder Brett King.
"Banking..." - Ok, straight forward enough, most people know what 'banking' is, wouldn't call a buzzword. But should I assume you mean 'retail banking'? We're not talking about investment banking or merchant banking or transaction banking, correct?
I just want to be clear.
"...as we know it..." Who's 'we'? This is right up there with 'People say...'
"...will be disrupted by dramatic consumer behaviour shifts." Which behaviour and how and where is it shifting to?
Despite all the 'descriptive language' this sentence is pretty vague, actually. Is Brett talking about how customer 'pay' for merchandise, apply for mortgages, invest in pensions, choose the 'Spanish' option on ATMs just for the hell of it?
Really, I might conclude any of the following from that sentence:
- Retail banking customers in Manchester have decided en masse to communicate with in-branch tellers via America sign language.
- Corporate clients in Brazil have asked their bank providers to refer to their treasurers as 'Gary' (whether they are male or female) every other month (outside of leap years).
- Famers in Montana have demanded that all their credit card statements be delivered via signing cowboy grams.
All would be pretty dramatic and disruptive wouldn't it? I would even say it would change 'banking as we know it'. Do you think this is it what Brett meant?
Saying exactly what you mean, in plain simple language, is the best way to ensure you are understood by all (even by silly journalists trying to be funny on a Friday).
I'm not trying to pick on Brett (he's not the only 'flowery' language offender) but he did admit on Twitter "...Problem is if I have to eliminate those buzzwords, I have nothing left to talk about..."
My challenge to him is - try it.
Now, I owe the title of this Friday blog to Aden Davies (@Aden_76). We have a number of fun events coming up at Finextra next year - a big mobile event and, of course, Social Media Days. I'm going to think up some, oh-so-cool, badges for all the buzzword
lovers out there.
Our list so far:
- GenY/Millennial
- 'Game-changer' (special edition travel Scrabble for the worst offender)
- Digital Native
- Engagement
- Leverage
- Synergies
- 'Social' -(without defining what you mean)
- Distributive
- Innovation (when it isn't new!)
- Gamification
- and anything 2.0
Can you think of anymore? Answer via carrier pigeon, please.