Being an impassioned marketer is a good thing---except when it clouds your judgment about making marketing decisions. From time to time, we can get caught up into thinking that what we like or don’t like is best for the product. Most times, we need to heed the call of our customers.

This has happened to me professionally a few times.

One time, I was peer reviewing a report prepared by a colleague. The format of a table looked a little funky, and the point my colleague was trying to make wasn’t coming across. I suggested to re-format it to present it in a different way. She responded, “Well, I don’t really like that. I think it looks better like this. Plus, I don’t like cell shading.”

In another instance, as software product managers, we were discussing what kind of a keyboard shortcut to assign to a feature. Most of us were leaning toward one option, based on past experiences and user feedback. One colleague offered up a contrary point of view. “I think that combination of keystrokes is odd. People won’t like that.”

In each case, emotions and personal preferences were inserted into the process. Unless we buy our own products and are clones of our customers, we should instead step back and let the market guide our decisions. There are times when making a firm decision in absence of or contrary to market data is necessary. In fact, Apple does this well because their products have created or essentially defined market segments. But when the data is present and easily accessible, we should strive to use it to make decisions. Remember: You are not your customer.

It’s too easy to get caught up into thinking that whatever we like or don’t like is a mirror of our customers. Savvy marketers know when to make an executive decision, and when to base it on user preferences, experiences, and expectations.

How about you, MP Daily Fix readers?  How often are you basing your marketing decisions on gut instinct vs. quantitative/qualitative data from the field?