BlueSky Thinking Summary

The article presents a nuanced approach to understanding consumer behavior beyond the data by highlighting the necessity to find out people's grounds for their purchasing decisions.

According to Gina Fong, a consumer anthropologist and assistant marketing professor at the Kellogg School, it is necessary to break through the "firewall" standing between consumer actions and what really motivates them to act in the particular way.

She comes up with insights invisible in traditional data by deeply observing and immersing herself in consumers' lives.

Here are her tips for marketers: insights precede raw data, embed oneself in the consumer's perspective, translate those insights into tangible ways.

For example, getting a feel for the frustration a consumer has when avocados turn brown, an in-store strategy was designed that would enable improved sales.

Similarly, how living conditions make a trash-bag user dependent on the durability of the product helped a company in their marketing.

These insights underscore the value of going beyond numbers in order to really understand and address consumer needs.

Ready to unlock the 'why' behind consumer behavior? Step into their shoes, not just their data!