safety in numbers

Earlier today, a colleague remarked,

“Anyway, it’s really different when you actually meet these people,
compared to just seeing them as numbers in Excel.”

A superb observation.

‘Data’ can only tell you so much about people.

Meeting those people and actually talking with them will tell you much, much more.

Because everybody’s different.

We all have idiosyncrasies, peculiar thought processes, and varying perspectives and opinions on the world.

And the best way to really understand these is to investigate them for yourself.

There’s a time and a place for large-scale market research too, but it answers specific briefs.

For everything else, there’s no substitute for experiencing your audience’s world first-hand.

Ask Ruby – she does it all the time.

So, stop hiding in the numbers.

Get out there and talk with people.

Seth has some great thoughts on this too.