Why do people build such big houses?

On my ride this morning I popped down a no-exit road and discovered there were no builders at a mansion that's been under construction for the best part of 2 years. Time to be nosey.

You only get a hint of its size from the road. I pedaled around to the front and OMG - the place could house about 3 generations of a good catholic family and a fair few of their cousins! It would be half a day's work to just vacuum the place.

I'm guessing it's been built by someone who has had time to amass a pile, so they're unlikely to be a spring chicken. If the 2.5 kids have yet to fly the coop, they're probably not far off.

Had they constructed something a little less palatial, with those savings they could fund the building of a fair number of schools in Nepal and transform the lives of many.

But they haven't made that choice. Nor has another huge new build just down the road. Having a massive home for just a few people doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

This is a great demonstration of how irrational people can be. It shows the power of self-interest.

The lesson here? Talking about your product or service is pretty pointless unless you can connect it to self-interest.

The next question then becomes, what is the nature of your customer's self-interest? Guesswork will not get you there. You have to ask them.

Those answers can unlock value for you. That is the power of having decent qualitative insights - the best growth hack you are going to find!

That's what I help marketers do.