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I looked out the window and saw rain.
And I smiled.
That's a first for me. I know in other places, waiting for rain to break the drought is a common occurrence. But in NY? I cannot remember another time in my 3+ decades that it happened - 2 months with nary a drop of rain.
There were brush fires.
In Prospect Park.
If you're not a New Yorker you may not realize how odd and unusual that is. Brush fires and forest fires happen in California. Not in our city of tar and concrete and plenty of rainy days!
But to tell the truth, what bothered me most wasn't smelling smoke from the recurring fires. Or even hearing, for the first time ever, that we should conserve our water.
It was the thought of another dry winter with no snow that I hated. You see, last winter we didn't get any snow. A couple of flurries here and there that didn't stick.
My kids were really disappointed. So we told them we would take them on a midwinter trip all the way upstate.
“Up there”, we told them, “There's always pleeeenty of snow.”
We booked a really cool yurt 30 minutes from Albany that included use of the snow shoes and skis on premises. We planned a fantastic itinerary, the highlight of which was dog sledding.
But guess what?
We pulled up at the yurt to find just a dusting of hard crusty snow on the ground. Sure, it was cold. The lake was frozen.
But snow? Not one flake came down. The snow shoes and skis sat forlorn and abandoned in the yurt. Our snow boots and pants stayed packed in a suitcase. And the dog sledding activity turned into dog carting.
We had an absolutely wonderful time on the vacation. But there's no denying that the snow drought was super disappointing.
Why am I telling you all this?
Because again and again, I see one thing - you can never assume anything about what drives your customers.
Any person seeing me smile at the rain would assume they knew why. “Oh, she's glad the drought is over and she doesn’t have to worry about conserving water.” Or maybe, “She probably was sick and tired of the smoke from forest fires.”
But they’d be wrong. When I saw that rain, my first thought was, “Yay! Hopefully that means we still have a chance of snow this winter.”
Why does it matter? Because if you were trying to sell me something based on your assumptions about my joy at the rain, your efforts would fail.
Over and over, I'm reminded of why deep Voice of Customer research is the number one most foundational aspect of all marketing. Do it right, and you're set for success. Don't do it, or do it wrong? You're setting yourself up for lots of wasted marketing dollars as you create content that completely misses the mark.
If you want to hear more about how I help uncover the real motives driving your potential customers, let's talk.
Dreaming about snow,
Chavy