13 February: Market Research

Last Christmas Eve, I found myself talking with a friendly young man who introduced himself as Spike. Dapper in appearance and enjoyable to talk with, Spike fielded the usual get-to-know-you questions of place of residence (Greenville, SC), schooling (Baylor), and occupation (marketing with Brains on Fire), but you can’t say that you work for a company like Brains on Fire (www.brainsonfire.com) without elaborating a little. Brains on Fire is a marketing firm which implements the tried and true idea of getting to know your customer, but adds a new twist: they begin every marketing strategy by working in their client’s facility for at least two weeks. They want to get to know their clients from the inside out, shoulder to shoulder. Following this, they seek out the sorts of people who give their clients a glance and try to discover what sort of communities they form. In so doing, they hope to track what grabs the customer so as to help form a bond to the company which exceeds mere economics to the level of fanlike loyalty. They sum up their strategy as follows:

The question isn’t “what can we sell this person?” It’s “what can we do to keep this person and make them even happier?” So we hereby present the cycle (i.e., marketing strategy) that takes a customer to fandom. From like to love. From transaction to relationship. From you (i.e., your organization) being just another, to the one.

Now, the previous post looked at Gordon Brown’s ability to field questions concerning Britons in each district of England. One of the fantastic things about his responses is that they were not only factual, but they conveyed a sincere appreciation for the constituent’s interests. Brown got amongst the people (by proxy, for sure) to learn the questions they were asking and to find out how to best package the answers. This isn’t new, though; Paul did the very same thing.

“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. ... To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” (1 Cor. 9:19-23; ESV)

Just like Brains on Fire, he knew that to communicate with people on the outside, he had to get inside their world. So, let me ask you:
- What are the things your non-Christian neighbors are talking about in their leisurely hours?
- What are they worried about?
- When is the last time you did something for them or asked for their expertise on something?

Can you answer any of these questions? If you can, it’s because you’ve gotten to know your neighbors and freed them up to ask questions to get to know you. We should be ready with an answer (like Gordon Brown), but we have to be aware of what concerns them, too.

Brains on Fire gained notoriety because they have go out and among their clients (and clients’ clients) to discover what mattered to them. They have succeeded in helping organizations communicate to potential customers that they were worth joining; but they had to seek out people to know.

I think you get the point.

Journaling: Write out the name of one non-Christian neighbor (in a loose sense of the term) and what he/she cares about. Then write out a prayer for that person.