I love data. I really do. But I often find myself erring too much on the side of numbers instead of something a bit less sexy.

A perfect example is when it comes to your position in the market.

Sometimes I’ll run a split test between two value propositions and compare click rates. Or maybe I’ll use traffic data or search data or whatever to try to figure out which message is “resonating”. Or maybe I’ll do surveys and then rank and chart my results.

But the way I’ve honed in on the right message time and time again, especially when it comes to positioning, is a dead-simple list of exactly one thing:

• Listening

I’ll hop on the phone with a customer or prospect and hear them talk about their challenges. I’ll listen to our support team work through client goals and requests on their weekly meeting. A few days ago, it came in the form of sitting quietly in the back of a conference session and hearing the room give their perspective on databases and marketing without skewing the conversation by jumping in with my side.

To sum this up in a sentence, I’d say this.

Talking is when I share our message, but listening is when I discover it.

So, time for more listening.

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