I recently got a chance to brew a batch of beer with the professional brewers at a local brewery by me. Beer brewing is a remarkably scientific, exacting process. There’s calculations and formulae to consider. Exact temperatures and volumes to adhere to. But invariably, things change as the brew day unfolds, and suddenly the plan set by the data has deviated. Instincts are needed to figure out what has to happen next.
In 2019, instincts get a bad rap. There’s a huge narrative around data driven decision making, and for good reason. We’ve got easier and deeper access to data than ever before, and with it we can move past subjective decision making and the errors it can cause, and instead trust in the data to guide us.
I think this is a fine sentiment in most cases. But when work truly goes off the rails, or when the data cannot be trusted yet, good instincts are uncommonly useful. Especially in marketing, a maddeningly complex blend of science and art, if it were simply a numbers game, we’d all be pursing the exact same strategy. And at times, it even looks and feels that way, given how much pursuit of “best practice” has homogenized many a company’s marketing strategy.
Yet it’s the deviations—the areas where companies take a chance, or try something despite the data not supporting it—where the interesting stuff really happens. We can’t be afraid to use our instincts, and shouldn’t dismiss solid experience in areas of crisis.