When building a customer segmentation for a large FMCG company’s household cleaning division we uncovered that one of the most valuable customer groups was a young downmarket customer who hated cleaning. We provisionally called this group ‘Dirty Debs’. What’s wrong with that you might ask. Well the problem was that it went against the conventional wisdom that had long been held by the client. The client didn’t think this group represented their typical customer, who they believed was middle age and middle England.

Now we had that type of customer too, but the reality is that most brand’s customer base is made up of a variety of different customer groups. When brands talk about ‘the customer’ as a sort of homogenous mass they are either referring to a meaningless average or a media target. In the spread of customers that buy a brand there will be a ‘Dirty Debs’ type customer who might be a surprise to the client.

As someone who is passionate about customer insight discovering a ‘Dirty Debs’ is a triumph but for many insight or marketing departments it is an uncomfortable truth that could create problems for them with their senior managers or executives. Rather than embracing the insight, they want to water it down or ignore it. Internal politics and the fear of challenging conventional norms outweighs being customer centric.

My example of ‘Dirty Debs’ is not an isolated example. I have worked with a retailer client where customer insight has shown changes in customer shopping habits that have been down played because they don’t suit the business model. I have worked with a financial services client where customer insight has shown their insurance product was mainly bought by customers who were not digitally savvy play down this insight because it didn’t fit with their digital led marketing strategy.

I have countless example of customer insight leading to uncomfortable truths, for me it is one of the most rewarding parts of what we do. And here’s the really interesting part. Eventually the uncomfortable truth lands. It might take time and will require a lot of persistence from people like me but it will land. You will be in a meeting and someone will drop the insight into a conversation or presentation.

Uncomfortable truths just need time and the right moment to be accepted.

Further Reading

If you would like to know how to build a compelling argument for changing business perception on customers - then read this blog on how data storytelling turns complexity into business outcomes.