inside the mind of the consumer

This is on a similar theme as an earlier cartoon I drew in July.  I have to remind myself sometimes that my brand is not the most important thing in a target consumer's life.  I think a lot of brand positioning statements are written as if the consumers are constantly thinking and obsessing about the brand.  When I hear the description, "brand loyalist", I envision a groupie with a logo tattooed on her forehead.

Obviously, even "brand loyalists" have complex lives completely separate from our brands.  As marketers, I think it's good to remember the actual role that we play in consumer's very human lives, and not overstep the significance of a brand of, say, "pickle relish".

I've always like the word, "inconceivable", ever since The Princess Bride.

Comments

[Mike Morris]

Absolutely on target and yet likely to get you strung up if said in a meeting. I work for a company that makes beans - very important to us, not so much to the consumer. You should see the stares I get when I say our products are tertiary to the consumer at best.

[Nick Bush]

Excellent - and thanks to the Church of the Customer blog for directing me here! Until fairly recently I worked at a well-known telco. Although we, rightly, put a lot of effort into understanding the customer's experience with us we always had to remind ourselves that most of the time they would rather not have the experience with us in the first place.

Also very timely as I am about to do a post on my blog on customer surveys.

[Stephen Johnston]

Wonderful, spot on!
Good to find you here Tom. Let's meet up for coffee in London before long.
Cheers,
Stephen

[Jeff Flemings - blog editor]

Thanks for the insights (and fabulous cartoon) Tom! I frequently cite this mantra to clients and internal teams; usually to blank stares or even hurt expressions. Do you need a tissue? I ask. Yes the agency believes in the client's product. Yes we use the product. Yes we love the product. But our job is to create marketing that works, which has to start with reality. So please bear with us as we let the consumer's true feeling wash over you.