Hi there,
Sorry for the later-than-usual email today. I spent today at the University of Derby giving a guest lecture to MA Marketing students.
I was speaking about brand relevance in a changing world and how the most important thing you can do is remember that our role as marketers is to help people transform into the version of themselves they want to be.
I love spending time at universities. They're a melting pot of youthful energy, ideas, idealism, and inspiration. Today didn't disappoint.
We had some wonderful and thought-provoking conversations about sustainability, storytelling, lying in marketing, and what to do to change the 'institution of marketing' to serve humans and not just corporations.
Wow.
On the drive home, I witnessed road rage.
Someone was pulling out of a side road, with enough space to cross the road and join the traffic comfortably. But a driver approaching from the other direction disagreed.
He – let's call him Horace – sped up, honking his horn frantically, and flipped a couple of fingers at the first car, clearly yelling at them as he nearly swiped the back end of their car.
Madness.
I immediately thought, "What a knob". Even if it was a bit close, surely the kind thing to do is just take your foot off the gas and give them space. It's rush hour after all. Everyone's trying to get home after a long day.
And I'm sure, Horace, with his flailing arms, flamboyant fingers, and first-class honking, was cursing the existence of the first driver... saying how selfish and terrible a driver they are.
But we're both wrong.
Let's look at why.
But first, who spilt the milk?
Imagine walking into your kitchen and seeing milk all over the floor. The carton lying there is slowly emptying. And your partner is at the sink doing the washing up.
In that moment, what do you think?
Maybe something like, “For god’s sake, how hard is it to put the lid on properly?”
Then you start thinking how careless they are. Messy even.
All this, without asking a single question.
You didn’t see the moment it happened.
You don’t know if the carton split.
Or if they knocked it over reaching for something else.
Or if the cat did it.
You've fallen for the same trap as Horace and me.
You've fallen for the fundamental attribution error
The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to explain other people’s behaviour by blaming their personality or character, while overlooking the situation they’re in.
We explain other people’s actions by pointing to who they are, rather than what’s going on around them.
Someone cuts you up in traffic? They’re selfish.
Someone misses a deadline? They’re disorganised.
Someone doesn’t reply to your email? They don’t care.
But when it’s us?
We tell a different story.
“I was in a rush.”
“I’ve got too much on.”
“I meant to reply, it’s just been a mad week.”
Why?
Because we don’t have access to other people’s situations, only their actions. So our brain fills in the gaps with the quickest, simplest explanation.
The thing is, it's often wrong.
And this matters more than it seems, especially in marketing.
Because every time we interpret our audience’s behaviour, we’re making the same judgement call.
“They’re not interested.”
“They don’t value sustainability.”
“They’re too price-sensitive.”
Maybe...
Or maybe…
They’re confused.
They’re overwhelmed.
They don’t trust us yet.
If you misdiagnose the reason, you’ll design the wrong solution.
And so many marketing problems aren’t motivation problems.
They’re context problems.
What does this mean for you?
Let’s say your landing page isn’t converting.
The easy conclusion is that “People just aren’t interested.”
Or maybe...
The value isn't clear.
Or, the next step is buried deep, and they missed it.
Often, people aren’t rejecting you.
They’re hesitating.
And hesitation is something you can design for.
Don’t blame the person.
Fix the context.
The number one skill in marketing
...is empathy.
So before you write off your campaign or content as a flop. Pause.
Ask yourself:
Is this a motivation problem…
Or a context problem?
And if you need help diagnosing, give me a shout.
If this was useful, forward it to a friend.