I recently received a note in the mail from Oliver Peoples, a high-end sunglasses manufacturer. This shop, in [Costa Mesa, California] sent me a note [I live in Atlanta, Georgia] to let me know they are now rolling out an “ASIAN FIT COLLECTION.”
Some notables:
- I’ve never been to Costa Mesa, CA
- I don’t wear Oliver Peoples (I’m a Maui Jim guy)
- How the heck did they know I’m asian?
- How the heck did they know that I struggle with sunglasses because I lack a prominent caucasian nose-bridge and need extra support?
- #SCARY
What is even more interesting is that…
- Yes. I will now look at their sunglass line
- Yes. They targeted me just right as a potential customer
- Yes. I’m actually super impressed at their marketing
What can we learn from this? – Know who your customers are. Go the extra mile… maybe that might even mean doing some reconnoissance of some sort. It takes time and effort to really know who your real customers are and target/market them correctly. In Agile, we have a Product Owner for that role… but you can go beyond that. You can have other members of your team know your end customer as well.
Is it worth the work? I would say so.
I “like” this post!
Yes, I agree 100% that all team members can (and should)get to know your company’s customers. Reminds me of a quote from Peter Drucker, “Marketing is the whole business seen from the customer’s point of view.”
Cheers!