can we agree on this definition?

Ever got off an awkward call with a customer and wondered if you were speaking the same language?

Something I’m guilty of: Assuming everyone defines a word or title the same way I do. Ask my wife and she’ll tell you I do this as much at home as at work. <sigh>

When it happens, it can feel confusing and frustrating. Especially when two or more people say the same words, but mean different things.

For example, we’re pivoting Accoil from product analytics tool to customer success tool. It turns out that “customer success” is not a universally understood term.

To some it means a team of people working to make sure paying customers get value from a product. To others it means literally that a customer is successful in accomplishing a thing (and here again, the “thing” varies greatly). And yet to others it can be the answer to “Did they renew or not?”

So something I learned from my business partner, Kate, is to ask “What does that mean to you?”

Meaningful conversations follow because everyone on the call now speaks the same language and, most importantly, understands each other.

It’s a simple question that saves a ton of confusion and time. Use it on your next call if you’re not sure everyone’s working from the same page of the dictionary.

Peter

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