Comments on: Blurring the Lines

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 16:54:06 +0000

Exactly guys, I think it’s about shifting your point of view to that of the community. And when you do that, you allow yourself to become a part of the community, and at the same time, that allows the community to also see themselves as brand owners as well.
It’s all about matching your wants and needs to that of the community. I think this can easily be accomplished in most cases by having a simple shift in mindset.

By: dave

dave — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 12:41:12 +0000

I totally get the company – community connection Mack and thanks for presenting it with masterful economy!
Would this not be a great characteristic to look for in a prospective company to work for?
I think so.

By: Stephen Denny

Stephen Denny — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 16:27:39 +0000

Harley is a great company to illustrate this point of ‘being the company’.
I remember being interviewed by Prince Tennis about 20 years ago (or was it 200? I forget) about being their Promotions Manager for everything right of India and left of Hawaii. I was to negotiate licensing, get racket placements, and spend roughly 80% of my time on the court.
This sounded like a fun job, but I ended up not moving forward. What didn’t feel right was their deep questioning of whether, as a top 40 ranked singles player (division 3, NCAA), I could really hang with top pro’s on court. I wasn’t sure that was the point, figuring we’d be trying to build a business somewhere in all the fun. But it spoke to their culture — which I didn’t really fit in.
“Knowing” and “being” give you insights you can’t get with research alone. You still need to do your homework, because you can easily get way to close to your subject to be objective, but you need the first-person view.

By: Paul McEnany

Paul McEnany — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 02:09:30 +0000

Perfect story, Mack. Harley is definitely a company truly committed to its community above all us. Great stuff…

By: Gavin Heaton

Gavin Heaton — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 21:51:12 +0000

Great story, Mack.
Willie’s comment goes to the heart of an approach that permeates the Harley Davidson ethos. People who work for Harley are often also their customers. It is not just hanging with the community, they are full-fledged, initiated members.
All marketers dream of brands that inspire that sort of trust!

By: Becky Carroll

Becky Carroll — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 19:25:59 +0000

Great post, Mack. I don’t think that all executives are as cool as Willie and can necessarily “hang out” with their customers, but someone at the company should do so! And not just in the role that we see them as our customers, but also in the other roles that customers play when they are not interacting with our products or services. One can be a high tech executive by day and a hard core gamer at night. As you so aptly stated, traditional market research isn’t going to give us the necessary insight into that customer’s needs and behaviors.
Interacting with them at every touch point will begin to get us there.
Thanks again, Mack!

By: Mack Collier

Mack Collier — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 16:50:41 +0000

Andrea I love that quote from Ogilvy. This is what I have never understood about companies that say ‘we need to understand our customers’. Why can’t you just JOIN them? As Willie knows, the best market research can sometimes be done on the back of a motorcycle.
Tammy, you are EXACTLY right! When Tim talks to Masi about what the customers want from the brand, is he giving them numbers he’s collected from doing market research, or feedback he’s gotten from blog readers and other cyclists he’s ridden with?
All about blurring those lines…

By: Ann Handley

Ann Handley — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 15:58:23 +0000

Great post, Mack, and I love the line from Andrea: “Relax and let it blur….!”
Nice!

By: Tammy Strnatka

Tammy Strnatka — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 15:42:42 +0000

Sounds a lot like Tim Jackson and Masi.
Good advice for small business owners too. Hang with your customer.

By: Lewis Green

Lewis Green — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 14:21:07 +0000

Mack,
So simple yet so hard. I agree with Willie–to know our customers we need to live, drink and shop where they do. We need to do more than survey and analyze. We need to reach them and understand them where they are. Thanks Mack.

By: Where's the sausage?

Where's the sausage? — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 14:01:03 +0000

Don’t try and understand the consumer. BE the consumer

Many companies spend millions trying to understand the consumer,and much of this often seems wasted. Hours, days and weeks are still spent watching eight strangers drinking cheap wine trying to remember which brand of toothpaste they bought 3 weeks ago,

By: David Taylor (from Where's the Sausage)

David Taylor (from Where's the Sausage) — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 13:32:10 +0000

What a great story. I’ve written in my books and blog about how true insight comes not from trying to uunderstand the consumer…but by BEING the consumer. This is why Nike don’t have to pre-test their marketing. As they hire only active sports particpants (not couch potato sports fans like me) they have a company full of consumers.

By: Andrea Learned

Andrea Learned — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 13:21:19 +0000

Yes! I love Willie Davidson (and thanks for the post, Mack). I think this David Ogilvy quote tells it well, too:
‘Bear in mind that the consumer is not a moron. She is your wife.” (..or your brother, daughter, friend, colleague etc) You can’t become simply Mr. or Ms. Corporate when you step into your office building (literally or figuratively) every day – or you lose touch with your own reality as well as your customer’s. Think of all the wasted energy in trying to keep that line crisp and clear! Relax and let it blur.