Your map, their territory

It’s true if you think so. Tattoo this inside your eyelids: even if they’re wrong,
what your customer thinks is true–to them. And, that makes it a stubborn fact for you too.

Want to know what they’re thinking? And why? Ask someone who knows: call a media rep or two and invite their research department for a visit. Ask them about your city. Open your mind to the possibilities that your view of the map may not match your customers’ territory (it probably doesn’t). Dig past the obvious age/education/income stuff. Get down to buying patterns. Where are they playing? What sub-divisions are growing? What’s the most popular vehicle in your town? What’s the internet usage? What percentage of people speak English at home? Spanish?

Rice University Professor Stephen Klineberg has been tracking Houston’s changing landscape for 26 years. In his annual report, he describes this once oil-centric city, which flaunted lack of regulation like a medal of honor, as growingly focused on ecological accountability and shifting social concerns. For instance, a bastion of white Republicans, Harris county is now slightly more Democrat and becoming decidedly Hispanic; Anglo Houstonians are expected to slip below the majority line in the next census.

His full report is available online by clicking here.

You live on one side of the counter; customers only visit the other. Seeking to persuade before gaining understanding is shooting in the dark. Persuasion demands understanding to create a pattern of predictable conversion. Next time you don’t understand where a customer is coming from, consider they could soon be going somewhere else.

 

[Originally published 15 June 2007]