Anthropologist Turned Tech Founder | AI-Powered Research Platform for Deep, Scaled Insights | Bridging Human Understanding & AI @ EmpathixAI
Here's the biggest 🚩 brand managers make when trying to understand their customers: They settle for surface-level data from outdated research methods. If you want to truly understand your customers and reduce churn, you need to focus on 3 different routes: 1. Understand your customers better 🧠 2. Act on that understanding faster ⚡ 3. Do it at a scale that actually moves the needle 📈 But here's the kicker: The market research industry is still relying on methods developed in the 1950s! 🤯 As an anthropologist, I've seen firsthand how some of these traditional research methods often fall short. (Imagine trying to understand the ocean by looking at a glass of water or making assumptions about the ocean.) During my fieldwork, I once spent an entire year conducting just 75 interviews. It was in the context of a broader ethnographic study and it was exhausting, time-consuming, and still barely scratched the surface of the insights I needed. That experience taught me a crucial lesson: sometimes, the most valuable insights come from unexpected places and unscripted moments. So, how can you dive deeper and truly understand your customers or the people at the center of your research? - Instead of just age and location, explore social, emotional, and behavioral factors. - What are your customers' values, attitudes, and lifestyles? - Don't just ask "Do you like our product?" Ask "How does our product fit into your daily life?" Better yet ground it in lived examples. - Sometimes, the most valuable insights come from seemingly unrelated areas of your customers' lives. - Pay attention to the specific words and phrases your customers use. They can reveal underlying emotions and motivations. - Don't just focus on the average user. Your most extreme users (both positive and negative) often provide the most insightful feedback. - Ensure your research methods allow for anonymity and encourage candid responses. - Use surveys for the 'what' and in-depth interviews for the 'why'. Remember, the goal isn't just to confirm what you already know - it's to uncover the unexpected. That's where true innovation happens. By diving deeper into customer insights, you're not just reducing churn. You're building a foundation for long-term customer relationships and sustainable growth. What unconventional methods have you used to understand your customers better?
