You know what they say when you assume…
You know what they say when you assume…
One of the best pieces of advice I ever got as marketer was someone telling me “It’s not about you, it’s about the customer and you are not always the customer.” You would be surprised how often companies don’t follow this simple and obvious advice. As a marketer it is easy to fall into the trap of doing what would appeal to you and not necessarily your customers. Your perception of the market and reality are not necessarily the same. The reality is your circle of experience is a very small sample size. This is what data is for. Data is evidence in black and white that can either make or break your assumptions.
A good example of this is smart phone ownership. Because you have a smart phone and everyone you know has a smart phone, you incorrectly assume a majority of the population has one. This simply isn’t true. The data suggests merely 16% of the U.S. population owns a smart phone. Even if you are accounting the most likely people to have a smart phone (HHI >$50,000) it’s still only 31% of the population. I will concede that this data is a year old and is probably slightly higher now, but the fact remains smart phone ownership is nowhere nearly as high as people perceive. Do you know or do you think you know if your customers own smart phones? If you think you know and you are making marketing and business decisions on this assumption, you are doing yourself and your marketing dollars a disservice.
Don’t assume you know your customer, get the data, because you know what they say about when you assume.
Comments
Excellent reminder about "fact-based marketing" over "faith-based marketing."
I stopped by Verizon Wireless today to check out the Motorola Droid in person. I'll probably eventually get the smartphone, but I'm amused by Verizon's creative accounting. The "$249" phone will ring up around $450 at the register with a one-year contract, before they mail a $100 debate debit card a few weeks later.
Data-driven or not, I'm sure Verizon chuckles at its smartphone customers every time it charges their credit cards.
You will have to consider aspect inside an important challenge for one from all of the most beneficial blog sites for all of the net. I actually can suggest www.capstrat.com !
Leave a Comment