A large sports apparel company long assumed its target audience was the male athlete between the ages of 18-25. They had no reason to question the data from their tech stack, so their marketing strategy was primarily directed to young male athletes.

But they were missing something.

When the brand was able to look at both their customers and prospects, they quickly learned that while they were selling lots of product, it wasn’t just to those young male athletes. Instead, buyers included moms and wives purchasing for their sons and husbands. The insight resulted in an expansion of their market, including target audience, customer experience and messaging. Now, the brand talks directly to this segment about previously ignored product attributes such as how easy the clothes are to clean and their overall durability.

If the anecdote sounds familiar, you’re not alone. It’s an all-too-recognizable story. Why then do brands continue to lack key insights for their marketing efforts?

...continue reading this postin AdWeek where it originally appeared.