Listening: A Strategy and Change Blog | Hosfeld & Associates

Noticing the gap between what consumers say and what they do.

Recently the radio industry was rocked by the results of using new listening measuring devices to monitor listener behavior. Called “People Meters,” the devices “listened” to the sound in the room of the person wearing them, and recorded what stations they picked up. Prior to the use of these devices, people kept journals of how many hours a day they listened to particular stations. What people reported was that they listened to National Public Radio stations and classical music stations. What the People Meters revealed however is they were actually tuning into easy listening , oldies and country western stations. This is something like reporting that you read National Geographic, Scientific American or Town and Country magazines, when in fact you’re actually reading People, Cosmopolitan or Seventeen.

The difference between what we know we should do and what we actually do is something that smart marketers have noticed for a long time. It’s a lesson many forgot in the dot.com bubble days when focus groups asked people to evaluate whether or not they would use a certain Web technology in the future.

The Hartmann Group, a Bellevue research firm, has explored the gap between our so-called “new thrift” and the actual purchase behavior of many consumers. We clip coupons for the grocery store, but then go out and buy an iPhone. This phenomenon helps us understand why people report that sustainability is very important to them, but their purchase behavior doesn’t necessarily confirm it.  Read more here.

“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday’s logic.”
— Peter Drucker

By Kathleen Hosfeld

Freeze and wait. That’s been the reaction of many to this time of economic uncertainty. While that works for animals who camouflage themselves in their surroundings until danger has passed, its wisdom only goes so far in the human marketplace.

This strategy assumes that the “danger” will indeed pass, and that things will “get back to normal.” Early signs, however, suggest that the old status quo has been disturbed permanently. How much consumer and corporate behavior will change for good remains to be seen. Many agree, however, that this crisis has changed them in fundamental ways.

In this time those that are thriving are doing something fairly counter-intuitive. They are moving in the direction of their hearts, and doing the things they long to do. As a result, they are stepping out of stagnant eddies into places where new energy and activity are flowing.

I recently watched a short film called Lemonade that tells stories of people in the advertising industry who used their layoffs as a call to action. By unleashing the power of what was meaningful to them, their lives and careers were redirected in important ways.

Around Thanksgiving 2009, I wrote a small blog article titled “Let the Beauty We Love Be What We Do.” It’s a challenge to counteract fear with a move toward what we love.  What do you feel called to do? Now is the time. Take your own career or your organization in a direction you have always longed to go. It may not make sense and yet it’s the right move.

Yesterday’s logic is to focus on the numbers – the numbers you can hit or the numbers you can earn. The new logic is to find the place where you can make a difference, the place that is meaningful to you, and let that energy carry you forward.

No-cost places to start include:

• Watch the Lemonade movie.
• Read the blog article I wrote and spend some time thinking about the beauty that you love.
• Reconsider your value propositions for key stakeholders.  Are they compelling to you? Do they speak to your desire to make a difference in the world?  Use our free value propositions worksheets for this exploration.
• Start a conversation in your workplace around the question: “How do we want to make a difference at this workplace, through this work, or using the assets and resources we have available to us?”

I’m interested to know what changes you decide to make. Let me know.