Why? Why? Why? What a 3 Year Old Can Teach Us About Market Insights

Why? This is the favorite question of 3-4 year olds. Why? It is asked over and over until they get an acceptable answer...or the cliché parent response “because I said so." While I am certain that some days my kids asked me this question just to annoy me, most of the time they asked to better understand their world and how it worked. They were building their knowledge to help them know the right actions to take and/or why they should not behave in a certain way.

Marketers can learn a lot by going back to this simple question. Why do consumers buy from us? Why do they buy more from our competitor when we think our product is better? Why did this customers buy so much more than last year? Why can’t we get the best position on shelf? Why don’t our promotions perform better? Why did our last new product fail? Why does a new product launched under one brand outperform new products on another? Why? Why? Why?

Don’t settle for the quick answer—it may not be correct. Keep asking why. You may be surprised at the real answer—and the answer may provide insights for new opportunities.