It was a beautiful spring day in one of the most coveted (and expensive), Melbourne suburbs to live (and buy a home) in. The tree-lined streets were beginning to sprout pink blossoms and the afternoon sun warmed the porches of restored Victorian homes.

There on one of those porches, behind a well-kept garden, in a favoured street, sat a man with his morning coffee in one hand and a coin that he was rubbing away on a ‘scratch and win’ lottery card in the other. He didn’t look up as we passed, he didn’t even notice us, or that fact that he had already won the lottery just by being able to sit right where he was.
The whole scene challenged my assumptions, that’s for sure.

It’s easy to assume that we know what people want because we know where they live, how old they are, what they earn and on and on. And just as valuable to look beyond demographics, segments and stereotypes to what the people we hope to serve do and why.

Image by Tina Leggio.