Tom Herman
Tom's Origin Story - Part 1
A client recently asked how I got into customer research.
Since I haven't told my story publicly,
I thought I'd share the short version:
As my Mom says, I was blessed with the curiosity gene.
I was the kid who was always asking WHY?
And not taking "that's just the way it is" as an answer (sorry, Dad).
I had this need to understand how things worked in the world.
Looking back, I had a very real pre-disposition for research.
But the big lightbulb moment happened largely by accident.
During my sophomore year in college, I took an Economic Geography class.
Not expecting much, I was immediately captivated.
The course melded business, sociology, politics, religion, and the environment.
Learning about the interconnected factors contributing to social and economic activity was eye-opening.
Everything in the world started to make more sense.
From there, I gravitated toward the human aspects of commerce, including market and customer research.
My first job out of grad school was doing consumer research and site location analysis for a publicly traded retailer.
My work, which I had to defend, supported multi-million dollar investments.
That set me on an eventful career path - doing interesting work that makes a difference.
I'm thankful every day to have found a profession that perfectly matches my interests and wiring.
Thanks to Dr. Joe Butler (1926-2012) for helping me find my path.
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Without a deep understanding of your ideal customers, growth (and stability) is a struggle. We help leaders and their teams gain customer clarity to capture and keep more business.
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