3 ms·

The people who concern themselves with the things you list here are likely to be or may become your customers. If you don't understand them then you will never

The people who concern themselves with the things you list here are likely to be or may become your customers. If you don't understand them then you will never be able to sell to them. There's nothing wrong with taking time away from the monitor and getting out to see a movie or talk to another human once in a while. Perspective is a wonderful thing.

21echoes 13y ago
if you think the only reason you'd want to be in the same culture as most people who live near you is because they "are likely to be or may become your customers"... jesus, i don't even know how to respond.
ritchiea 13y ago
yeesh, the only reason it's worth understanding the things other people care about is to better understand how to sell things to them?
ggreer 13y ago
Sorry to be rude, but that's a rationalization. The best way to understand potential customers is to talk to them. If you can't talk to them, there are surveys or other methods. But keeping abreast of pop culture is the worst market research you can do besides consulting a Ouija board. "How do you know people want what you're making?" "Well I watch a lot of Duck Dynasty..." A better argument could be made for using pop culture as common ground when socializing. Although in my experience, if someone brings up a current event that I don't know about, they're usually happy to explain it. And there are lots of ways to socialize that don't involve pop culture or current events. My favorites are games and sports (playing them, not watching).
- chrsstrm 13y ago
  Two sides of the same coin; talking and understanding go hand in hand. You don't have to participate in it, you don't even have to _get_ it, but being informed is what we're getting at here. And of course there are more reasons to be involved in your surrounding culture other than selling to people. Not knowing prior that you were into sports and games, one could incorrectly assume you meant a person's 20's were all about serious business, so framing a response in that context would make sense. I get all my pop culture info in the 5 minutes waiting in line at the grocery checkout reading the covers of the tabloids. It's kind of surprising you wouldn't accidentally pick up some info in passing. And by the way, World War Z was pretty good, I would recommend it.

21echoes 13y ago

if you think the only reason you'd want to be in the same culture as most people who live near you is because they "are likely to be or may become your customers"... jesus, i don't even know how to respond.

ritchiea 13y ago

yeesh, the only reason it's worth understanding the things other people care about is to better understand how to sell things to them?

ggreer 13y ago

Sorry to be rude, but that's a rationalization. The best way to understand potential customers is to talk to them. If you can't talk to them, there are surveys or other methods. But keeping abreast of pop culture is the worst market research you can do besides consulting a Ouija board. "How do you know people want what you're making?" "Well I watch a lot of Duck Dynasty..." A better argument could be made for using pop culture as common ground when socializing. Although in my experience, if someone brings up a current event that I don't know about, they're usually happy to explain it. And there are lots of ways to socialize that don't involve pop culture or current events. My favorites are games and sports (playing them, not watching).

chrsstrm 13y ago
Two sides of the same coin; talking and understanding go hand in hand. You don't have to participate in it, you don't even have to _get_ it, but being informed is what we're getting at here. And of course there are more reasons to be involved in your surrounding culture other than selling to people. Not knowing prior that you were into sports and games, one could incorrectly assume you meant a person's 20's were all about serious business, so framing a response in that context would make sense. I get all my pop culture info in the 5 minutes waiting in line at the grocery checkout reading the covers of the tabloids. It's kind of surprising you wouldn't accidentally pick up some info in passing. And by the way, World War Z was pretty good, I would recommend it.