Truly understanding your customer is crucial, but it's tough to separate biases from reality. Even harder to work out what’s bullshit from what people share.

The world is complex. Even when things seem bleak, many aspects of life are improving. *Extreme poverty has fallen, hunger is falling, child labor is declining, people have more leisure time and life expectancy is rising. All this shows the difficulty of grasping people's true challenges.

Economic factors and buying behavior are linked, but digging deeper is necessary to uncover the root causes behind purchasing decisions.

Consider understanding the broader market landscape that could potentially impact buyers' decisions. Go out, speak with people, hear from a range of people, and draw insight on what you find. Desktop research is great but experiencing the world gives you a better understanding than just reading endless online reports. 

Simple, cheap, and effective ways of going deep into research

1. Political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental analysis. Workshop it with a team and agree on the big things that are relevant.

2. Consumer, competitor, and company analysis. 

3. Speak with customers and non-customers of the category. 

4. Create a survey and send it out to customers and non-customers. 

5. Reach an insight based on the above. What trends can you see? What challenges do you see? What challenge can you identify that can inform strategy or a campaign?

Extra Reads

Brand diagnosis is the brand manager’s first job, so prioritise it - Mark Ritson (Article)

Thinking, Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman (Book)

Choice Hacking - Jennifer Clinehens (Newsletter)

These are all non-sponsored.

*Source: https://www.vox.com/2014/11/24/7272929/global-poverty-health-crime-literacy-good-news