Gut instinct often gets a bad press. In this world of omnipresent data, managers who proudly state that they make decisions based on what their guts tell them these days stand to be vilified. Yet gut instinct is apparently still heavily used – A recent survey by CEB suggests that marketers use data in only 11% of their decisions. Surely in this world of big data, more marketers should be utilizing it, but should marketers ‘throw out’ their gut instinct and rely on data? Would that lead to better marketing decisions?
I don’t believe so. Gut instinct is fantastic. A well-trained gut finds ways of pulling upon masses of experience to succinctly suggest a solution or an answer. The power of the human brain (the source of that gut instinct) is awesome. But like any powerful tool it needs to be managed, harnessed, if it is to be truly effective. So how then to manage gut instinct to create better marketing decisions?
Blend gut with data
When we at engage start off on any insight project, we start with hypotheses, and a lot of those hypotheses come from experience, and gut feel. Perhaps because we spend a lot of time doing this, perhaps our guts are well tuned – but a lot of gut feeling turns out to be true. But we don’t just go and present these ideas to clients: we test and check them rigorously with data. We trust our guts, but only so far.
Don’t trust the data either
Just because something feels good in your gut, doesn’t make it true. The same is true of data. Whilst the data doesn’t lie, the stories we tell ourselves about what it might mean are often fabrications. If a conclusion being drawn from data feels bad in your gut: check other sources of data and look for support for your uneasy gut.
Just because your gut is ‘right’ doesn’t mean it has the best answer
Relying on only one source of input is, most of the time, going to lead to weaker solutions than multiple sources. The same thing goes for gut instinct. Whilst a well-trained gut may rarely get things “wrong” that doesn’t mean it has come up with the best answer. Listen to your gut for sure, but listen to other voices. In the same way that we blend data from different sources to create insights, blend data, and other perspectives, with what your gut is telling you. Sometimes these other sources might contradict your gut: often they may help enhance a good ‘gut feeling’ into a great idea or solution.
Measure and review your gut
We all (I hope) recognize the value of measuring and reviewing performance for a wide range of activities from promotional impact to team performance. Why not, then, our gut? How good is your gut? How often does it make better marketing decisions? What is its strike rate? And no, I don’t want you to guess; I’d like you to actually measure. If our gut instinct was subject to a structured feedback loop of where it went right and where it went wrong, perhaps our guts could be trained to make (or support) better decisions.
In this world of big data it would be crazy to rely solely on gut instinct and experience. The world may have changed dramatically since those experiences and feelings were formed. But data shouldn’t replace the power of gut completely. Too often data gives an incomplete picture; or a one dimensional picture, and the talent of a great marketer lies in their ability to see beyond data and trends into true insight. Celebrate, love and nurture your gut instinct for sure, but subject it to the same rigor as you would for any other marketing decision. That way you get the best of both worlds, and you might find that your gut becomes more reliable, and therefore valuable, as time goes by.
If you’ve had experiences using your gut instinct to make better marketing decisions, please do share them below!
