Why impressions make all the difference

When I’m writing this column, we know that the Netherlands will play the Czech Republic in the eighth final. A game to look forward to, especially as I am a big football fan. By watching the games on tv I realise how important impressions are. The feeling of a half-empty stadium is totally different to that of a sold-out stadium.

It is similar to when I am at the office: a half-empty office feels different to an office filled with people. When there are people, I feel the energy and the collective energy (positive and negative). When there aren’t many people, I don’t experience that as much, and it is more difficult to follow the situation. I am happy that we are slowly moving towards a time we can see each other in the office again. It allows everyone in the company to look each other in the eye and understand how things really are. A real impression of how things are going, just like the football. Artificial crowd noises at a match gives some impressions, but the emotion of the game is best felt in a packed stadium.

It also underlines the importance of interpretation when observing data. Everything starts with counting and observing, followed by interpretation. This applies to coaching people and forming a new team, but also to tracking your brand and observing what is and isn’t being sold. Interpretation starts with understanding where to look and knowing what’s important. At DVJ, we do that by understanding more and more from our clients. Science gives us insights from data and methodology, and conversations with marketers and insights managers help clarify what things mean and how to apply them in practice. Therefore, I’m very happy with the activities we have planned for the upcoming period. We have held many vision interviews on our profession and will be questioning over 1,500 marketers in Europe to understand how to interpret data even better.

The most important thing is that we really use all these impressions, observations and data. And I think that this can only be done by people. Just as the excitement of a match is best felt by looking at the supporters, and the situation at work best read in the eyes of your colleague. This interpretation of data makes all the difference and helps our clients turn information into value and decisions.