Why do brilliant marketing strategies with massive budgets still fail spectacularly?
On this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, the Little Bird Marketing podcast, host and CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with guest and CEO Alexander Millet about the critical disconnect between what customers say they want and what they want. They explore how Brandtrust uses applied social and behavioral sciences to uncover the more profound human truths that drive real decision-making.
Traditional market research often captures what people say they want versus what they do. A perfect example of this comes from Netflix, which promoted Schindler's List to customers as it was reported as people’s favorite. Basing this decision solely on self-reported information, they failed to see what the data was saying– that these customers actually more frequently watched Dude, Where's My Car. When asked, customers answered what they thought was the most respectable answer, and probably even believed they had watched Schindler’s List more often. But the truth was found not in the self-reported actions, but the actual data. Millet explains that this discrepancy reveals the more profound human truth about self-perception, self-reporting and non-conscious decision-making. With this example in mind, it follows that brands should be careful what data is used as a base for marketing decisions. Their conversation reveals how brands can achieve better marketing effectiveness measurement by understanding the emotional and non-conscious drivers behind customer choices rather than relying solely on self-reported preferences. "Business challenges are [the same as] human challenges," Millet explains. "What's not commodified is understanding and asking the better, more beautiful question."
Millet emphasizes the importance of moving beyond surface-level market research insights to create strategies that deliver results, sharing how Brandtrust’s approach focuses on asking more beautiful questions that reveal authentic motivations, helping brands align their values with genuine human needs rather than assumed preferences. This methodology has helped clients pivot their strategies significantly, sometimes discovering that customers want consistency and reliability rather than endless variety and options.
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