In his book Inside the Mind of the Shopper: The Science of Retailing, Dr. Herb Sorensen shared the story of a store that wanted customers to enter on the left-hand side.
Specifically, the store wanted customers to enter on the left, shop clockwise, and finish on the right.
Why?
The heart wants what it wants, I suppose.
So, they made the right-side entrance difficult to reach.
Problem solved, right?
Not exactly.
Shoppers did begin entering on the left, but once inside they immediately headed to the right side of the store.
Flummoxed but undeterred, the manager of the store placed several pallet displays to act as obstacles.
“This will prevent those simpletons from cutting through to the right,” the manager likely thought to himself while laughing maniacally.
He was wrong.
Instead of seeing the pallet displays, giving up, and turning around, the customers refused to be denied.
Like a cat with a small box or a large-headed child with staircase railings, the customers pushed their way through the pallets.
They wanted to begin their shopping spree on the right-hand side and, doggone it, nothing was going to stop them.
Inside the Mind of the Shopper
No one’s quite sure why, but American shoppers like to shop counterclockwise.
We start on the right, loop around, and end on the left.
It’s theorized it’s because we drive on the right side of the road, but that’s neither here nor there.
You see, the WHY doesn’t matter.
We just do.
And because we do, companies like Wal-Mart and Kroger design their stores and display their merchandise accordingly.
The mistake the store in Sorensen’s story made is it tried to go against this mindset.
Instead of catering to its customers, it expected them to happily agree to a paradigm shift.
Now, sometimes a paradigm shift is necessary. Sometimes, the old way of doing things is outdated or flawed.
But most of the time?
You’re far better served catering to your audience than forcing it to bend to your will.
This is why it’s important to know your audience.
Know them inside and out.
And once you know them, cater to them. Write emails that will appeal to them. Create content that answers the questions keeping them up at night.
Write for them, not for you.
In short:
Make it about your audience and you’re golden.
Make it about you and there’s not enough pallet displays in the world that’ll be able to prevent your audience from going where they want to go…
Elsewhere.
How to Know Your Audience
When you know what makes your audience tick…
When you know what, as Jon (Morrow) likes to say, “keeps them awake at two in the morning”…
It makes your job as a solopreneur, creator, writer, etc. so much easier.
What kind of content should you create?
Content your audience wants.
What kind of emails should you send?
Emails your audience wants.
What kind of courses should you launch?
Courses your audience wants.
“But Kevin, you whimsical but dashing scoundrel,” you say.
“How do I know what my audience wants?”
You ask them.
Whether you have one reader or thousands, the best, easiest way to discover what makes them tick is to ask them.
That’s what I do. Case in point:
Since you joined my email list, I’ve asked you multiple questions for the purpose of learning more about you.
I didn’t ask them just to be friendly (though I am a friendly person), but because I know the best way to help you isn’t by GUESSING what you need.
It’s by knowing what you need.
Looking forward to learning more about what makes you tick in the days, weeks, and months to come.
Rooting for you…
Happy to have you as a subscriber…
Talk to you next week.
