As communicators, we’re obsessed with buckets. We’re always putting people into buckets.
Target audiences. Key demographics. Influencers. Fans. Detractors. B2B. B2C. Prospects. Flying Purple People Eaters. Whatever.
We’ve gotten far, far too mired in our textbooks and comfortable with the idea that if we generalize someone into a bucket, we don’t have to think too hard about how to deal with them. We genericize what we say and how we say it. We want a blanket answer for communicating effectively, one that skims the commonalities and ignores the subtleties.
But wait a cotton-pickin’ minute. Do you put yourself in a bucket? When you’re interacting with a company, do you give yourself nametags that say “I’m a key influencer” or a “target market”, or are you just a guy that wants to buy a new lawnmower or a new server farm for your company?
Don’t talk to me about scale. Don’t try and tell me you can’t communicate to crowds of people and not make each one of them feel as though you’re talking to them (as well you should be trying to). It’s not about quantity anymore, or using labels as excuses for communicating lazily. It’s about thinking just a bit less about what bucket someone lands in, and a little more about the quality of what we’re saying to them – as sentient beings – in the first place.
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From my old manufacturing days we would talk of a “lot size of one”, which meant each item could be customized for a particular customer, giving them a best-fit solution. So if you need to think in terms of buckets, think of a “bucket of one” – treating everyone as the individual that they are.
Global Patriots last blog post..Doctors Without Borders – Part Two
From my old manufacturing days we would talk of a “lot size of one”, which meant each item could be customized for a particular customer, giving them a best-fit solution. So if you need to think in terms of buckets, think of a “bucket of one” – treating everyone as the individual that they are.
Global Patriots last blog post..Doctors Without Borders – Part Two
“Hello my name is Beth and I put people in buckets.”
Well, formerly anyway. For years marketers have been taught to fit customers into a demographic model. Then that switched to a psychographic model. As if people are all of the same mindset just because they have the same income level or like luxury items. And perhaps, to a certain extent they are, but as individuals they really aren’t. You can have a bunch of Jeep lovers in PA, but they have their individual preference for exactly which Jeep model and why (I am sporty & single, I want a Liberty or I am sporty but have a dog & kids and I want a Commander or I am sporty have a wife & kids, but don’t want them coming with me, going for the Wrangler).
I believe the issue is that marketers & communicators are never really allowed to have conversations with their clients, customers, prospects, etc. 1-to-1 marketing tried to solve that dilemma issue years ago, but is was still database driven based of of “-graphics.”
Once marketers get that opportunity to interact (whether on- or off-line), that’s when the light bulb goes on.
I used to think Twitter was silly (hated it really), but now, it’s invaluable. All those tweets really build a character of the people you interact with. And then when you meet them in person, it’s like you already know them well and you can move past the ‘getting to know you’ phase into a deeper relationship. Imagine that from a business perspective…wow!
Good food for thought Amber, thanks!
“Hello my name is Beth and I put people in buckets.”
Well, formerly anyway. For years marketers have been taught to fit customers into a demographic model. Then that switched to a psychographic model. As if people are all of the same mindset just because they have the same income level or like luxury items. And perhaps, to a certain extent they are, but as individuals they really aren’t. You can have a bunch of Jeep lovers in PA, but they have their individual preference for exactly which Jeep model and why (I am sporty & single, I want a Liberty or I am sporty but have a dog & kids and I want a Commander or I am sporty have a wife & kids, but don’t want them coming with me, going for the Wrangler).
I believe the issue is that marketers & communicators are never really allowed to have conversations with their clients, customers, prospects, etc. 1-to-1 marketing tried to solve that dilemma issue years ago, but is was still database driven based of of “-graphics.”
Once marketers get that opportunity to interact (whether on- or off-line), that’s when the light bulb goes on.
I used to think Twitter was silly (hated it really), but now, it’s invaluable. All those tweets really build a character of the people you interact with. And then when you meet them in person, it’s like you already know them well and you can move past the ‘getting to know you’ phase into a deeper relationship. Imagine that from a business perspective…wow!
Good food for thought Amber, thanks!
Amen! Stop wanting to categorize – treat people like people.
Caleb Gardners last blog post..Messy is the new neat
Amen! Stop wanting to categorize – treat people like people.
Caleb Gardners last blog post..Messy is the new neat
You are so right! Businesses and even small business owners like myself constantly do this. It’s so ingrained in us to try and reach our target audience, but how do you know somebody that lives on a farm in Iowa isn’t interested in what you have to say or sell? Fortunately, I think the explosion of social media will help us all get out of the buckets we create for ourselves.
Scott Mahler-Datex Medias last blog post..Content Management for Your Business Website
You are so right! Businesses and even small business owners like myself constantly do this. It’s so ingrained in us to try and reach our target audience, but how do you know somebody that lives on a farm in Iowa isn’t interested in what you have to say or sell? Fortunately, I think the explosion of social media will help us all get out of the buckets we create for ourselves.
Scott Mahler-Datex Medias last blog post..Content Management for Your Business Website
Great advice. We need to focus on individual people not groups and categories.
Philippas last blog post..Wedding Rings – History
Great advice. We need to focus on individual people not groups and categories.
Philippas last blog post..Wedding Rings – History
Marketers need to be able to tie initiatives to results. A strategy for them to determine successful initiatives is to tie them to segments or buckets of folks they would hope respond.
I think there is much room for improvement – rather than basing those buckets on demographics, behaviors or prior history, there is room to step up the level of personalized marketing that companies do. YOU make a brand purchase decision for your own reasons and it would behoove marketers to understand and connect with you to figure out those reasons. There may be other people who make that brand decision for the same reasons (and THAT would be an OK way to group folks, in my opinion), but it has nothing to do with where they live, their age, or that they made a similar purchase last week. There is a ton of room for improvement on how marketers get that insight – and what they do with it.
One other note – if marketers do group folks into categories based on personalized beliefs, they also need to recognize that people change over time. Markets are constantly changing and that causes values and beliefs to change. I eat out less and might choose a cheaper brand of a product to be more conservative in this economy. Marketers need to connect with customers to understand those shifts.
As always, Amber, great thought provoking post!
Adam Cohens last blog post..Do Alternate Payment Methods Help Retailers?
Marketers need to be able to tie initiatives to results. A strategy for them to determine successful initiatives is to tie them to segments or buckets of folks they would hope respond.
I think there is much room for improvement – rather than basing those buckets on demographics, behaviors or prior history, there is room to step up the level of personalized marketing that companies do. YOU make a brand purchase decision for your own reasons and it would behoove marketers to understand and connect with you to figure out those reasons. There may be other people who make that brand decision for the same reasons (and THAT would be an OK way to group folks, in my opinion), but it has nothing to do with where they live, their age, or that they made a similar purchase last week. There is a ton of room for improvement on how marketers get that insight – and what they do with it.
One other note – if marketers do group folks into categories based on personalized beliefs, they also need to recognize that people change over time. Markets are constantly changing and that causes values and beliefs to change. I eat out less and might choose a cheaper brand of a product to be more conservative in this economy. Marketers need to connect with customers to understand those shifts.
As always, Amber, great thought provoking post!
Adam Cohens last blog post..Do Alternate Payment Methods Help Retailers?
Great post Amber. Or was it a rant? Beth, love your line “All those tweets really build a character of the people you interact with.”
Character. Interestin word to throw around in this space as well…thats a blog post in an of itself.
But back to Amber’s pt.,I liken what marketers do or did sometimes, to the way the Air Force does their job. They do it from 30,000 feet and have no idea of the impact of what they do because they are so high up. They base their decisions on high level numbers or the impact that they see from above; but if they were to choose to get closer, the more their perception of reality might change.
Marc Meyers last blog post..The rush of discovery to the head
Great post Amber. Or was it a rant? Beth, love your line “All those tweets really build a character of the people you interact with.”
Character. Interestin word to throw around in this space as well…thats a blog post in an of itself.
But back to Amber’s pt.,I liken what marketers do or did sometimes, to the way the Air Force does their job. They do it from 30,000 feet and have no idea of the impact of what they do because they are so high up. They base their decisions on high level numbers or the impact that they see from above; but if they were to choose to get closer, the more their perception of reality might change.
Marc Meyers last blog post..The rush of discovery to the head
Great post. My takeway: always remember that you’re communicating with a person first. Yes, understanding their demographic can help you craft a more relevant message, but it’s a message to a person – not to a demographic bucket.
Where it goes wrong is when demographics become dogma. I remember a car salesperson trying to talk my then-pregnant wife and I out of buying an XTerra because “this car isn’t really made for people like you – it’s made for the younger generation that really likes to get out and have fun.” We weren’t flattered and we bought an XTerra – elsewhere. And we loved the heck out of it.
Russ Somerss last blog post..If You’re a Regulator, Your Regulatee Is Not Your Customer
I respectfully disagree. It is important to understand the business goals of the marketing project. The following are areas of need that Social Networking can fill:
· Market research and intelligence
· Customer/partner education
· User groups
· Product innovation
· Competitive analysis
· Peer-based support
· Company-wide collaboration/learning solution
· Thought leadership/leads
How you move forward with the project will be different based on the need you are filling. Therefore, establishing what the objectives are out of the gate require you to put them in a bucket-whether you want to or not. Some advice is universal, but the X’s & O’s of the project differ.
Derek Showermans last blog post..Making Conferences More Social – Part 2
Great post. My takeway: always remember that you’re communicating with a person first. Yes, understanding their demographic can help you craft a more relevant message, but it’s a message to a person – not to a demographic bucket.
Where it goes wrong is when demographics become dogma. I remember a car salesperson trying to talk my then-pregnant wife and I out of buying an XTerra because “this car isn’t really made for people like you – it’s made for the younger generation that really likes to get out and have fun.” We weren’t flattered and we bought an XTerra – elsewhere. And we loved the heck out of it.
Russ Somerss last blog post..If You’re a Regulator, Your Regulatee Is Not Your Customer
I respectfully disagree. It is important to understand the business goals of the marketing project. The following are areas of need that Social Networking can fill:
· Market research and intelligence
· Customer/partner education
· User groups
· Product innovation
· Competitive analysis
· Peer-based support
· Company-wide collaboration/learning solution
· Thought leadership/leads
How you move forward with the project will be different based on the need you are filling. Therefore, establishing what the objectives are out of the gate require you to put them in a bucket-whether you want to or not. Some advice is universal, but the X’s & O’s of the project differ.
Derek Showermans last blog post..Making Conferences More Social – Part 2
As with everything, I think that a balance is needed. You can have these “buckets” but that is not the end-all-be-all. You need to have a holistic view in order to successfully communicate with your audience – and to better understand and feedback that is gathered. I have to agree though that quality over quantity wins every day of the week.
Mike
Mike Pascuccis last blog post..Trolls = Bad?
As with everything, I think that a balance is needed. You can have these “buckets” but that is not the end-all-be-all. You need to have a holistic view in order to successfully communicate with your audience – and to better understand and feedback that is gathered. I have to agree though that quality over quantity wins every day of the week.
Mike
Mike Pascuccis last blog post..Trolls = Bad?
Segmentations are hypotheses. And, like hypotheses they are meant to be tested, proved wrong, refined and improved with the learnings that marketers glean in the real (unbucketed) world. Marriage of a good segmentation (or hypotosis) and measurement of real world outcomes for optimisation generates meaningful results.
Mark Taylors last blog post..Search Not Immune
Segmentations are hypotheses. And, like hypotheses they are meant to be tested, proved wrong, refined and improved with the learnings that marketers glean in the real (unbucketed) world. Marriage of a good segmentation (or hypotosis) and measurement of real world outcomes for optimisation generates meaningful results.
Mark Taylors last blog post..Search Not Immune
Discretion in all things. During my travels I learned that a lot of national/regional generalizations are true to some degree, and the same can be said of buckets. You still must treat people as individuals but if discussions go in a general direction then the excuse is likely “of course, they are (bucket/nationality). More or a fallback position than a driving part of the discussion.
It is enlightening when you realize that you’ve been bucketed, as Russ said above. That is when probing questions can open the salesperson’s eyes and realize that buckets are NOT lead-ins to the conversation.
Discretion in all things. During my travels I learned that a lot of national/regional generalizations are true to some degree, and the same can be said of buckets. You still must treat people as individuals but if discussions go in a general direction then the excuse is likely “of course, they are (bucket/nationality). More or a fallback position than a driving part of the discussion.
It is enlightening when you realize that you’ve been bucketed, as Russ said above. That is when probing questions can open the salesperson’s eyes and realize that buckets are NOT lead-ins to the conversation.