As marketers grounded in digital, we may think we know everything about consumer empathy. But the truth is this: you can’t really understand your consumers until you’ve spent time getting to know them. Desk research and anecdotal references merely scratch the surface. Even advanced ethnographic research and trend-spotting still leave plenty of unanswered questions. In short, our concept of consumer empathy research is still a work-in-progress.
It’s not enough anymore to create a portrait of a demographic or illustrate a persona. We need to get closer to consumers – hear their stories and see their environments. Research alone merely yields cardboard cut-outs – clichés and caricatures of who we think our consumers are – but not who they really are.
A recent experience I had drove this home for me. In August, I flew to Vegas to attend Camp Organic – our marketing boot camp — imagine Project Runway for marketers. After being divided into five teams, we were given a 36-hour assignment: come up with a marketing campaign idea to launch a new type of book publishing concept targeted to a specific persona. My team was given the “Joe the Plumber” persona – the blue collar guy made famous by the McCain/Palin campaign – not exactly a big reader.
We set out in the sweltering 110 degree heat to find Joe the Plumber, visiting truck stops, construction sites, diners and betting parlors. We talked to lots of men, aged 35 to 60, who worked in a variety of blue collar professions – truckers, security guards, and builders. We expected to find later-day Archie Bunker types: conservative, macho curmudgeons. But what we found was actually the opposite.
See, there is no such thing as Joe the Plumber – the angry, frustrated redneck.
Joe the Plumber is actually Frank the Explorer.
This guy is smarter and better-read than you may think; he is knowledgeable about world politics, the environment and other people. Open-minded and brimming with adventure, he’s most likely on his second career – and has plenty of disposable income for travel. Satellite radio is a passion of his; he listens to it while he works and commutes. We found that this demographic could be a boon for book publishers after all.
By spending three days really talking to Marty from Kenosha and Hal from Tampa, we fell in love with our persona. We admired his generous spirit, learned from his life experiences and laughed at his quirky humor. But mostly we wanted to make life better for “Frank.”
Loving Frank fueled our creativity and intelligence, delivering substance to our ideas – in a way that static research never could.
This is the true test of consumer empathy – loving your consumers – rather than just thinking that you know them.
Have you ever felt the love?
Ben Arno
VP, Account Lead, P&G
Comments
Connections
What a fantastic article–I plan to share it. Thanks!
Totally feeling the love….thanks for taking the time to write this. I enjoyed it very much. Great insight.
I guess the most importat thing you discover wasn’t Frank, but the fact that stereotypes are a common ‘virus’ in our profession.
Take Frank the Explorer, for example. You spent three days talking to Marty and Hal and you found out that the “Joe the Plumber” stereotype was wrong, or at least not 100% accurate and valid for the whole target.
That’s great. It’s a great finding that opens a new window and starts new discussions. But let’s remember that this is just another discovery about Joe (or Frank); and it’s not the only one, nor the last one. It’s just a different one.
In order to avoid “Frank the Explorer” to become the next “Blue Collar tereotype”, we need to keep the conversation alive and the desire to understand more about Frank (or Joe) running wild. Otherwise, we will soon be talking about how Frank the Explorer is not what we thought.
I know what I’m talking about, I have been working in the Hispanic market for a few years, and few consumers are so stereotyped as Hispanics. Wrongly stereotyped, I should add.