a thought #1 (listening/ mind-reading)

By alice | November 11, 2008

What’s the difference between a product where the creators listened to what you wanted, and a product where they seem to read your mind?

One is rational, considered, makes sense. The other can be magical. It can also be kind of frustrating- the “why didn’t I think of that?!” crazy feeling. Reading your mind doesn’t mean knowing what you think before you said it. Most of us pretty much say what we think exactly when we think of it, sometimes we even say it first, then realise we thought it. Listening to what people want is a relationship-building skill, but reading people’s minds is a skill of wisdom, understanding, deep insight that comes from a knowledge of people but also a knowledge of the universe and How Things Are (you can get this knowledge by living plenty of life, meeting tough challenges and spending time in contemplation).

Trusting that people do already know you, your needs, what you want sounds old-fashioned, and the idea of the company knowing best for its customers is definitely out of date, but the way human beings work means a new kind of “authority” will always emerge from times of revolution; we like the feeling of being cared for, and having to read several hundred reviews on every single car before buying one wears us out after a few years. Jeremy Clarkson, for instance, is entertaining, but some people no doubt actually follow his car advice as well as laughing at his TV antics. If Nigel Slater says something tastes good, that’s good enough for me. People buy Apple for the complete package effect. And so on. I think big brands are gurus in this way: if Miuccia Prada says lace is modern again, then let it be lace. If I suggested lace, nobody would take any notice (so it wouldn’t catch on).

Because that’s the thing about mind-reading: half the time, it’s not mind-reading at all, just trust-based suggestion, welcomed with open minds. The “oh yeah!” moment of recognition we experience when coming across an appealing new idea is where mind-reading and innovation marketing meet. Could be either. It’s a good moment, either way.

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6 Comments »

6 Responses to “a thought #1 (listening/ mind-reading)”

Shefaly Says:
November 11th, 2008 at 1:50 pm

Alice

Good post. I think you are referring to ‘an idea whose time has come’, when a latent, unarticulated need is no longer latent, and is now articulated, and serviced.

Finding a way to predict when these emergent trends will crystallise is of great interest to politicians and to marketers alike. Much ink has been spilled and time spent thinking about what makes it work. Some of course know it intuitively but some others have formally studied it. Some see a small creative inspiration and run with it; some sit down and deliberate and create.

Many times, at least in fashion, I think it is about consumers’ boredom with the same-old, same-old. e.g. think how hemlines used to vary with stock indices, both rising simultaneously. For SS-09, some have decided to keep hems long (depressed markets) whereas others are keeping hems short (optimism? or a new trend? or a recognition that a minority, e.g. petite customers like me, always wear short hems no matter what the trend du jour may be so let’s feed their tastes and get others to aspire).

I disagree when you say that lace may not take off if Alice says so but may do so if Miuccia Prada says so. All trends start with individuals and someone like MP might notice a particularly cool person and decide to develop it as a ‘trend’. That stylish, cool person could be Alice or someone similar who refuses to bow to trends dictated by magazines or catwalks.

My tuppence but good post, thought provoking per usual.

pseudoKu Says:
November 11th, 2008 at 8:37 pm

Alice,

I love this post. I was just having a discussion with a friend about hypnosis and I feel “brands” and “coolness” are a way of hypnotizing the masses ;)

alice Says:
November 11th, 2008 at 8:57 pm

Glad you liked it! cool

Krishna Says:
November 17th, 2008 at 12:36 am

The basic difference is passion – of the manufacturer/marketer/product manager/R&D team that is entrusted with customer delight.

In the feedback driven product development, the above set are essentially after-thinkers. They wait for the customer nudge. In the visionary mode, it’s their heuristics in action – in that they outthink their customers/users.

That is not to say, these are necessarily influenzers or thought leaders. They just had their timing right – it occured to them just as you were about to need it. The conditions were just ripe for even a faint spark from an old match to start a forest fire, not that the spark had some exceptional quality about it.

alice Says:
November 17th, 2008 at 9:55 am

I love the way you put that. Sparks, passion, vision, yes.

Stuart Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 2:43 am

Yes, there are many ways of reading people, countless cues, not all of which are always consciously recognized by the person reading the other. There is a lot of intuition, which really means unconscious perception of events and activity around the central figure, which to each person is naturally themselves, since each person sees things around them from their own perspective. There are also active influences within any form of advertising, even speech, which change the course of those picking up on them, some intentionally, some not. However, every creature is always seeking to preserve or improve the status of it’s interests, and subsequently influences everything in it’s world.