I planted my garden over the last few weekends. A few wildflowers native to this part of the world (trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit), some herbs, and the usual impatiens, fuchsia, and such. [Yes, it's true, I do have a few domestic skills.]
For days after a new plant goes in, it's a certainty that the squirrels will dig it up. I replant every morning. This morning it was the hanging planter of morning glories.
Why do squirrels do this?
It came to me this morning. They do this because they can smell something in the freshly dug dirt. They know it has recently been disturbed. And this is a good place to look for snacks -- perhaps nuts that other squirrels have buried. It must be, otherwise why would they bother?
I've been annoyed with this behavior for years, but have never stopped to de-construct it. From a squirrel's point of view, it makes perfect sense.
And so often this is what we need to do when we study customers. Especially when their behavior seems irrational. Because behavior is not random. It is purposeful. If it is random, the randomness itself is purposeful. It may not be rational in the conventional sense, but it achieves a result, it tips the odds, or it has been rewarded in the past. There are reasons, there are patterns, even if the patterns are unconscious, or seemingly irrelevant.
We cannot change our customers. But we can understand them if we work at it.
