How’s the view from inside the bottle?

It happens all the time.  The business owner believes that they can be objective about their own business.  Impossible.

I hate to be so emphatic — but if you own the joint, you cannot see it from the same lens as someone on the outside.   Here is a Drewism (phrase that is uttered repeatedly over time)  "You cannot accurately describe the outside of the bottle if you are on the inside."

Mark True, over at REL Online, has a great post about tough love for entrepreneurs.  He asks the question "What do you think is the single biggest marketing mistake committed by new business owners?"

If you own or run the business, you have a grossly disproportionate amount of knowledge about the industry, the product/service and your specific business.  All of that makes you uniquely qualified to be biased.

Think you can shake it off and become objective?  Think again.  It’s sort of like knowing that Santa isn’t real and then trying to go through the entire holiday season believing the old guy is really coming down your chimney.  You can simulate the belief — but it’s tainted with what you know.

So how do you get objectivity?  You put together an advisory council.  You do research.  You pay attention to what social media is saying and doing.  You hire an outside expert.  You ask your customers.  You ask the people who opted not to buy.

But you don’t rely on your objectivity.

Marketing truth:  You cannot accurately describe the outside of the bottle if you are on the inside.