A few weeks ago I attended a training for leading successful engagements — and during that training, I learned about the psychology “run” test. A very eye-opening test and I am here to share it with you. 

You see, self-development is an on-going process and I always think of myself as a WIP (work in progress). While learning about consumer behavior, I learned tricks that can help in self-development. At the end of the day, what motivates us as consumers, might motivate us as people. 

In fact, one of the key concepts that are utterly used in marketing is scarcity. Do you know where else that works best? Dating. I am not only talking about self-development here, but relationship talk… and well, God knows, I am not by any means eligible to talk about this topic. However, it is a well-known theory, that when you are not that “available”, your partner finds you more attractive. Be it a woman or a man — the same theory applies. 

So here I am, doing it the other way around. I learned something about self-development and I pretty much see how it impacts how you as a business owner could think of your customers. 

What is it? 

It’s called the run test. 

I tried googling it so I can find a proper reference to include here in my blog, but I couldn’t find one. 

The good news is that I learned about the run test… and I am here to tell you about it! 

It’s a group exercise — the bigger the group the better. 

Think of who you want to include in this exercise. 

Are you excited? I know I am.

“Run test” group exercise

Gather your team members in a round table or any other setting that makes you guys feel comfortable and informal. 

Please lose the suits. This is fun. 

Now, on a piece of paper, for 15 minutes, ask each one to individually write what came to their mind when they heard the word “run”. While you are at it, write the words that also came to your mind. You can facilitate the exercise and participate it in too 😉 

Write all the words that came to your mind, even if they may seem like they don’t make sense. Write every single word, be it a movie, a song or chocolate cake. Whatever that comes to your mind, write it down in this piece of paper. The more the merrier. 

Ok, now 15 minutes has passed. 

All good? Everyone wrote what came to their minds? 

Alright then, now it’s guessing time. 

As a group, gather together and guess the number of words that fall into the following categories: 

  1. The number of words that all group members wrote down when they thought of the word “run”
  2. The number of words that some group members wrote down when they thought of the word “run”
  3. The number of words that are unique only to individual group members when they thought of the word “run”

Record those numbers on a flip board or on a piece of paper. 

Now, guessing is over. It’s time to count.

As a group, gather together and count the number of words that fall into the following categories:

  1. The number of words that all group members wrote down when they thought of the word “run” 
  2. The number of words that some group members wrote down when they thought of the word “run”
  3. The number of words that were unique only to individual group members when they thought of the word “run”

What were the results?

Reading this blog post, you might be wondering what ill those results be, until, well, you go ahead and do the run test with your team. I know the eagerness, and so I am going to tell you the results of my team during the training to give you some perspective. 

What did my team guess? 

  1. The number of words that all group members wrote down: 6
  2. The number of words that some group members wrote down: 12
  3. The number of words that were unique only to individual group members: 16

What were the actual results? 

  1. The number of words that all group members wrote down: 0
  2. The number of words that some group members wrote down: 6
  3. The number of words that were unique only to individual group members: 36

What are the typical results?

  1. The number of words that all group members wrote down: 0
  2. The number of words that some group members wrote down: 3
  3. The number of words that were unique only to individual group members: 35

What does this mean? 

We perceived that we are more similar than we actually are. We thought that we are thinking of the same thing, but the reality was far from that belief. Some of us were thinking on the same lines for some of the time, but for the most part, we were mainly thinking of different things. 

#Listen

What did the run test teach me? 

I always believed that “We are all unique but similar”. 

This statement might sound confusing, I know. What I am trying to say is that as individuals we are unique. Every one of us has something special to offer. However, we are the same in the sense that we are all human. 

We have similar motivations. Our brains are wired to a great extent in a similar way. Of course, there are variations, based on gender, and other factors, but I am talking about a greater extent. Remember the scarcity theory I mentioned earlier? It works like a charm in selling, and in personal relationships as well. 

Although I still believe there are so many common grounds that govern how we operate as human, the “run test” opened my mind to listen more, and ask questions, similar to: 

  • What do you think of? 
  • What makes you think that? 
  • If you were me, what would you do? 

#Listen

Sounds good, but how is that related to customers anyway? 

Glad you asked. 😉 

Well, you see, as a business owner, product developer/designer, marketer, or a salesperson, you might be inclined to think that your customers might be thinking like you, especially if you fall under the avatar or the persona of that customer as well. In other words, you are also a potential customer to whatever you are selling. 

For example, one of my friends is working on a new product, a stylish laptop bag for corporate women. It’s still in the prototype phase, and they are constantly conducting customer testing to get customer’s feedback.

Read: I am not sure this is for you, but… 

My friend, herself, is a potential customer for the same product, as she also falls under the category of corporate women and in the same target age group. 

She is smart enough to know that not all customers will think like her, and well, hence, the constant customer testing and enhancements on the prototype. 

The run test shows you on a basic level, for such a common and simple word “run”, how different we are. 

My take on that? Apply that to your customers. What are you offering them? 

Have you listened to what they want? Are you offering them what you think is best for them? Or are you offering them what they would like to have? When you listened to your customers, do they all want the same thing? Are you customizing your offerings? Are you segmenting your customers to cater to their individual unique needs? 

Too much to think of. A lot to consider.

We are all unique but similar.

#Listen

The run test wouldn’t take much of your team’s time. Try it out. Learn and acknowledge your differences. Once you bring that to the conscious level of everyone on the team, you will tend to be more understanding, more empathetic. You will want to listen to understand. You will listen to understand, not to respond. 

Go ahead, do the run test with your team. What are you waiting for? 

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