Don’t Get Caught on Mount Stupid
In his book “Think Again,” Adam Grant introduces his readers to “Mount Stupid.” It’s a reference to the Dunning-Kruger Effect, in which, after gaining a working knowledge of a topic, most people become so confident in their expertise on the subject, that they are willing to speak as an authority on the topic.
As they continue to learn about the subject at hand, their willingness to proclaim their “expert” opinion dramatically falls as they realize previously unseen complexity or how much there still is to learn.
Too often, brands fall victim to this same phenomenon when it comes to their customers. For many reasons—the quick pace of business, teams that are spread thin, and endless priorities—brand leaders become overconfident in the customer insights they have, however limited or outdated they might be.
In order to protect against this, brands need to continually invest in research that will uncover more up-to-date customer needs and wants and more nuanced sentiments and segments.
Ongoing research can take many different forms:
An annual study, repeated cyclically to track how your customers are changing over time, ideally tied to a metric by which you evaluate the success of your efforts
A deep dive with your core customers to understand them in new ways or to gain their perspective on current trends
An exploratory study with new or growing audience segments you are interested in developing
Feedback sessions to understand what’s missing or confusing about your services
Customers are people and people are constantly changing. If you are not actively learning about your customers, you risk approaching your business problems from a place of false security. Armed with ongoing insights, you will be able to make better decisions for your brand and avoid getting stuck on Mount Stupid.
