The good reasons and the real reasons

JP Morgan once said that people have two reasons for everything they do: the good reason and the real reason. Morgan was right. That's why I say you need to be sensitive to the explicit motives of people and the implicit ones. For example: we all need clothes. They protect us from the elements and address our needs for modesty. Those are the explicit needs. But if I buy an Armani suit, I am addressing my implicit needs. Maybe I'm trying convey my fashion sense, or my taste. Perhaps I want to send a message that I'm affluent, stylish, powerful or that my sartorial choices lean more European than American.

Another example might reveal something about consumers by the choice they make in cars. Let's say the decision is between buying a Toyota Corolla or a Prius. Both are practical and inexpensive cars. But the Prius might tell you something more revealing about the driver: his values, interests in the environment and energy conservation, maybe even his political leanings.

All of this comes under the heading of listening between the lines. It means hearing not only what people say they want but picking up on what they really want.