You don’t know what you don’t know

One of the most dangerous habits a marketer can develop is thinking that they/their life experience is an accurate (and the only) filter.  We’ve covered aspects of this topic before.

That’s a very narrow lens to use.  But, with a slight twist, your single lens view finder could become a kaleidoscope with all the colors and images mixing up and showing you a completely different way of seeing the world.

Let me give you an example.  I read an article about a new product/trend that is beginning to bubble up across the globe — women only cab or car services.  When I first read it, I thought — wow, are we talking segmentation too far?  But as I kept reading, my middle-class white man perspective melted away.  I’m embarrassed to admit it, but it never occurred to me that women would be attacked after getting into a cab.  But, according to what I read, it happens.  In London alone, an average of 10 women a month are attacked.

Here’s how the Pink Ladies, a women-only cab service in the UK is solving that problem for women. 

"Booking is done over the phone, and a text message is sent to the customer to let her know the vehicle is approaching, which means she doesn’t have to wait outside. Drivers are trained in self-defense and will wait outside a customer’s home after a drop-off to ensure she gets in safely."

Bravo to someone who turned the kaleidoscope to see the picture in a new way and develop a profitable and customer centric new solution.

Here’s my question to you marketers — how do you make sure you’re looking through a kaleidoscope and not a single lens view finder?