Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

I made this brilliant observation in about hour twelve of a recent road trip with a client. It was dark, we were weary…and rapidly getting downright silly as we tried to keep awake and on the road (New Mexico is a BIG state and very dark at night.)

But, wait a minute – as silly as this sounds – we marketers forget this human factor all the time. We talk, talk, talk about targets, messages, focus, etc. etc. And, then we revert to assuming that: a. Everyone thinks (and lusts) like us; b. What we’re selling is just as compelling to the target as to us. Well, guess what? Humans are human. We don’t think the same (or logically.) We don’t always want what we should (nicotine patches to stop smoking come to mind) and we buy for the silliest reasons (”It’s got a cool label!”), then rationalize the decision three ways from Sunday.

For example, I don’t think the same as, say, the target market for ringtones (So, no, you shouldn’t hire me to help market to Gen X/Y/Z.) I just want the darned phone to work when I need it (and be able to see those tiny little “user friendly” icons on the buttons.) I couldn’t care less about downloading the latest and coolest ringtones (despite what the spammers seem to think.) Hmmm…I could be interested in a cell call announcement that’s a recording of Sean Connery saying, “Mary, my love, you have a call.” (George Clooney would also be good.) Now, those sexy tones would be worth 99 cents to me! So, there ya go. Humans are human.

(P.S. Happy Friday!)

Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting