Hey Nokia: don’t label me

One of the interesting running themes of the Nokia (NYSE: NOK) World conference has been the way Nokia is splitting consumers (i.e. us lot) into 12 distinct segments, which are being used to help the firm design its new mobile phones.

The categories are based around what you do in your life and how you use mobile technology. This morning, the company’s VP of sales and marketing in Europe, Phil Brown, showed a slide with all 12 listed. Which one are you?

- Pragmatic Leaders
- Life Jugglers
- Mature Acceptors
- Family Providers
- Simplicity Seekers
- Style Followers
- Image Seekers
- Life Builders
- Style Leaders
- Young Explorers
- Technology Stylist
- Technology Leader

Source: Mobile Digest

Your motto is connecting people, and to me that expresses the face that you care about the connection individuals make, not groups of people that fit into a nice and compact group for marketing reasons.  It may be a pretty graphic, but when you start assuming what I, as a customer want, you can go shove it. I want to tell you what I want before you even try and offer me anything. Retailers, marketers, and ordinary humans make assumptions about what people crave and desire. While we might be right a few times here and there, the best thing we can do, as human beings, is to shut up and listen.

Then and only then will you build a solid relationship with the person who already wants your product in the first place, you just have to make him feel confident in his purchase.