When Should You NOT Think Like a Customer?
By Anna Johnson on September 20th, 2008We probably all agree that, as marketers, our aim should be to understand our customers.
The better we understand them, the better able we are to develop products and services they want, and to market to them in a way that generates the best possible response.
You might think, then, that if we sell products and services that WE like and want, then – because we ARE our customers – we would have an advantage.
If we sell in a niche like the Internet marketing niche, for example, we would presumably have an advantage in that we understand what and how products and services should be sold.
Big mistake.
While we may well be in the market for the kinds of products and services we sell… we are NOT necessarily representative of most nor even a significant number of our customers.
Put it this way, I’m sure Rupert Murdoch watches Fox TV… but is he really the typical Fox TV audience member? Although you may or may not think that Murdoch’s politics sway what is shown on, say, Fox News, I submit that it would be CATASTROPHIC for Fox TV, let alone all the other News Corporation entities – ranging from The Wall Street Journal (since News Corp. bought the Dow Jones Company) to MySpace – to base its programming on what Rupert Murdoch likes and dislikes.
The same goes for you and I, albeit on a smaller scale. While we may well be fans and heavy users of our own products and services, it’s dangerous to assume that all, most or many of our customers are just like us.
A classic example relates to the use of popups, upsells and other devices that we may not particularly like. Well, if the data suggests that most of our prospects DO respond favorably to these devices… what does our individual opinion have to do with it?
While we are well within our rights to rule out using certain devices because they don’t accord with our values, we just need to remember – and accept the fact – that we may consequently be leaving money on the table.
In any case, when I suggest NOT thinking like a customer, I mean not not thinking like YOURSELF as a customer. Instead, find out what your customers really think and DO by:
- Performing market research;
- Asking them what they think e.g. via surveys; and most importantly
- Monitoring what they DO e.g. looking at your web and email analytics and financial performance)
September 20th, 2008 at 8:56 am
hi
as to thinking like the cusotmer may think i agree we cannot try to second guess them. but i also think that if you are in a niche that you love/like and you know others in that same niche, then chances are they are going to think like you and you like them. an example would be my favorite niche, gemstones. i love gemstones and some more then others and when i find others with the same attitiude it does not hurt me to assume what they want is what i have and so on.malso keep in mind, the word “assume” broken done goes like this -Ass U me (makes an ass out of you and me).
now if you are into affiliate marketing and just grab anything from the shelf at Clickbank or elsewhere your chances of finding people that like what you like may be slim to none. as mentioned you need to find like minded people who share the same interests and even if they done follow all of yours you can convert them because your base ideas are the same as theirs. they just need a good reason to think like you do.
common sense and a little work and you can think like anyone to sell items but you need to know what they are looking for and why and then how to change them to your way as you go.