Joe (Jaffe) says yes they are: But this survey says: TV Ads Not Dead. Of course, real life lags thought leadership. Still, it's instructive to remember how real people behave in reality. Jaffe is the best-selling author (Life After the 30-Second Spot) and soothsayer whose opinion of the 30-second TV commercial I happen to share. No matter what some surveys reveal (see above). Which all leads into today's sermonette about surveys, focus groups and the indispensability of good marketing instincts that are enabled by the marketing gene. In my Lessons Learned in Silicon Valley, available for free on request, I riff at length on the hazards of relying too heavily on customer research and surveys. I am not an opponent of focus groups. I believe in the usefulness of surveys and polling. I think it's helpful to have as much data as possible factored into your marketing decision-making process. But here's the rub: data is not information, information is not knowledge. Wisdom about your customers and your prospects is based upon real knowledge. Which results from the detective work guided by the gut instincts you develop over time. Data points are no more and no less than data points. Numbers don't lie. But can they can deceive. And this is the problem with relying too heavily on what the research tells you. You avoid deception by a more thorough, visceral understanding of what's happening in your marketplace. And there is no substitute for spending time in the field which helps force you to see your company and your products from the outside, the way your customers do. Caution: Just "being with customers" is not immersing yourself in their world and playing cop. The way to ensure that your inner Kojak or Columbo is working the street is to build IMPACT: Investigate. What priority issue do you want to find out about? Are you looking for a segment that might promise higher profitability? Are you hearing rumblings that your next release needs certain functionality that may not be there now in the prototype? Is there a bottleneck somewhere in the purchase process? Meet. Who do you need to talk to? Where are they? Identify them and pick their brains. Most people are only too happy to show what they know. Particularly if they’re unhappy. And if they want to give you an earful, just sit there and listen. This is primary research! You’re not going to get this stuff from IDC and Forrester. No knock on those people. They’re smart and do good work. But they don’t buy your stuff. They expect you to buy theirs! Probe. Play cop. Ask essay questions. Get people to open up. Apply what you’re learning and what you’ve learned, immediately. Convince your customers that they are being heard by showing them how you are applying what they’re telling you; and convince your cohorts in sales and engineering that what you’re learning is doing everyone a service. Track and monitor your progress and set up your next field expedition. In short…become a chief customer officer.