I wish I had a dollar for every corny fishing analogy used when talking about customers in our business. Ok, so I wouldn’t be rich, but I’d have, like, seven dollars. But who can resist a blog with cute kids in the picture?
Pay attention.
I recently took a fantastic striper fishing trip at Lake Texoma with my two boys, Cooper and Carter. I decided to hire a fishing guide for a couple of reasons..one, more fish..two, my A.D.D. kicks in pretty quick when having a line in the water for more than 10 minutes.
I started thinking about why people hire guides when heading out on a fishing trip. Simple…they seem to have more success catching fish.
The Guide understands the behavior of the fish. He studies them. He knows what motivates them. He knows what is important to them. He knows when they are hungry. Heck, he even knows when they're in love. He knows that certain things bother them, makes them uneasy. He is patient, calculating, and pays attention to the smallest of details. He prepares.
He knows where they are going to be. If he miscalculates on their location, he wastes little time adjusting his plan.
He knows his business. He doesn’t operate on hunches.
In the digital landscape, we need to understand the behavior of our customers through research. We need to know what information moves them in the direction of our products and services. We also need to know where they are going to be in the digital space and set up camp there. On the clearest of days, with the most talented fishermen and the best bait, all is for naught if we drop our lines where they aren’t. Conversley, if we are in the right place and our bait is wrong or even worse, missing, we get the same result. We have to beat them to where they’re going and welcome them when they get there. Otherwise, we miss the boat. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
Why do we treat this like a game of chance? Like no other time in history, we have great bait.
It’s called data.
Without it we’re casting a bare hook.
Who’s your Danny?
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