Bad attitudes
A couple years ago a journalist tweeted about a question they like to ask at the end of interviews that yields a disproportionate amount of insight: “Is there anything I haven’t asked about that you’d like to talk about?” I’ve used a version of in stakeholder interviews with similar results (humbling ones, considering how much time I spent writing the rest of my questions). The answer is usually along the lines of “Hmm not really. Well, maybe just that… [deep, thoughtful, and valuable take].”
It doesn’t work at scale for consumer research, but we have something to compare attitudinal (i.e., survey) data to — actual behavior.
When I was at Condé Nast we had access to a particular column of behavioral data that added a ton of insight to our work. Because hundreds of millions of people around the world visit Conde’s websites and YouTube channels each year, we knew at least part of what they were doing in their free time, at an audience segment level. We could what their stated interests were and how those matched up (or often didn’t) with how they spent their time.
What people say and do are often not the same. Nor are their behaviors and attitudes necessarily consistent. Why? Research on attitudinal data shows that our biases are, unsurprisingly, tilted in our own favor.
Most people think they’re above average at almost everything. A meta-analysis of a number of studies shows that people rate themselves as above average in creativity, intelligence, dependability, athleticism, honesty, friendless, and on and on. Provide people with a survey about almost any trait and the vast majority will rate themselves above average. — source
Working on launch positioning and campaign for a Volkswagen model in 2018, we saw a contradiction in the survey data. The target audience over-indexed in activities like golf, wine tasting, and spending time with their families (I lovingly called these “cul-de-sac activities”). They also over-indexed in driving fast and seeing themselves as risk-takers. They were rather nerdy dads, but they still saw themselves as that young guy with a big, open road ahead. We took this contradiction to mean they had a hidden fire burning inside that we could potentially stoke.
In an episode of On Strategy Showcase, professor and Wieden + Kennedy strategist Marcus Collins discusses the how brands can use culture to connect with their audiences (his book on that topic is on my coffee table, waiting for me to dig in). It often seems that we’re swimming in information and only need to let the insight splash out, but it’s not that simple. As he says, “We mistake information for intimacy.” The map is not the territory.
From the world that I occupy the first couple hours of each day comes Billabong’s legendary tagline, “Only a surfer knows the feeling.” As I sit with salt in my eyebrows and eyeballs gently stinging from this morning’s strong breeze, I am feeling that feeling, one that’s a bit like being hugged by Mother Nature herself.
We are seldom able to articulate how we feel, much less how we’ll act in the future. Good questions can help draw intimate truths out of us, but our real lives are much messier than full of contradictions than they ones we report in surveys. We have to question what people say about themselves.
There’s no one formula to hedge against bad attitudinal data. It’s rich and convenient, but can lead us toward decisions that fail to create desired behavior, so take it seriously rather than literally. Then use behavioral data to understand what people actually do with their time and money. And look for contradictions within all of this that need resolving. That’s what people are feeling but not telling us about.
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I write these posts, 3-MINUTE MONDAYS, every other week. My goal with them is to share a snippet of insight into how to do strategy, build teams, and grow. Comment here or message me on LinkedIn if you want to chat. — Ben
