Whether you are the business owner, CEO or vice president of marketing, you know your business inside and out. You have a higher level of knowledge and understanding of your product or service than anyone else could hope to have.

Which is why you are absolutely the worst person in the world to be objective when it comes to deciding how to best market your business. That’s right – the absolute worst.

Why?

Because you know too much. You ask questions that no one else would think to ask. You notice features or benefits that are too obscure for the average consumer. Simply put, you are on the inside, trying to pretend you’re someone on the outside looking at something new or foreign to them. It simply cannot be done. You can’t “erase” what you know.

Even if you fit the demographics and psychographics of your perfect customers, you still can’t think like them.

Does that mean you shouldn’t be involved in your company’s marketing? Of course not. But it does mean that you need to listen carefully to what others think. You need to surround yourself with professionals, within and outside your organization, who will tell you honestly when you’re about to walk in the parade naked. Because you aren’t going to be able to see it for yourself. You see what others can’t.

Listen to what your customers have to say and solicit their feedback. You need to talk to lost clients and find out why they left. In other words, enjoy the many benefits that come along with your vast knowledge. But to make sure that asset does not also become a liability, be sure to balance your bias with more objective perspectives.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and the author of “99.3 Random Acts of Marketing.” He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com.

© Drew McLellan