Because I’m pretty vocal about being a Christian, I get clients who seem to give me answers that don’t match. I believe it’s because they want to influence me to view them as great people. We as humans naturally want people to like us.
Let me give you an example. When assessing a client I
usually ask them… what three goals would like to achieve before you die? And
they say:
1. Have our business increase by 10 times while having minimal responsibility.
2. Travel more.
3. And…aaa…build housing for underprivileged kids.
Well, I would say their only business motive is wealth so it
can support an affluent lifestyle. With this motive their brand will have no
engaging goal to tackle. Their employees will see through the lack of
leadership and the brand will almost always fall in the middle of the
competitive pack because the ownership won’t want to risk profitability on
innovation.
The rule of thumb in assessing a brands situation is: listen
to opinions but make diagnostics determinations on factual behavior.
Most people can’t articulate why they make the choices they do because they’re not in touch with their subconscious motivational drivers. So, they tell you what you want to hear or what they think should be the write answer.
Good post Guy. Interesting.
Posted by: Dina Meek | November 10, 2009 at 10:12 AM
Hummmm.... I say add this to your informational packet. Then when you have your first meeting set up and you are asking this question of the client, I'd love to know what they would answer then. Be great to maybe do a random blind study of it and compare the results. See if it has any impact on what a person answers. :)
Posted by: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=644115417 | November 10, 2009 at 11:37 AM
As the times get rougher and we see more corruption by those who can, I understand how easy it is to get distracted.
It's too easy to justify just where we put up our treasures and forget that we are only on a short journey.
Posted by: Sherrlyn Borkgren Photography | November 14, 2009 at 11:01 AM