While many brands push their own research showcasing just how well a certain campaign or product has resonated with consumers, Bracken Darrell, CEO of tech company Logitech, says it’s bad to rely on that.

Instead, he says he and the company rely on people’s reactions to the products. A good reaction equals a bunch of the product sold. A bad reaction, you can’t shift the new device.

“I’m not a big fan of consumer research or surveys or any of that stuff. I think you’re trying to get inside an individual’s skin, it’s more about a personal reaction and personal interaction,” he told B&T during his visit to Australia.

“I don’t think you can ask questions on ‘would you like a purple one’ and expect them to have an amazing experience.

“I know what I wouldn’t do – I wouldn’t rely on consumer survey or research. I rely a lot more on individual experience and individual reaction.”

The best measure on whether people love something is seeing if they’re buying it, he says. If something’s not selling, Darrell knows they didn’t nail it.

And if something isn’t selling, any amount of marketing won’t help push the sales up. Google Australia’s managing director, Maile Carniege, last year told people to get on the front page of Google, have a product people like. “The ability to mask over a bad customer experience through just your marketing…is going away,” she said during the Digital Marketing Forum in August.

It’s a sentiment that’s been echoed numerous times by Andy Lark, chief marketing officer for software accounting firm Xero. During the Daze of Disruption conference in Sydney this year just gone, Lark questioned whether marketing was just a cover up for an execrable product.

“As a marketer, I think you have to be brutally honest and ask, is the marketing just a crutch for product mediocrity,” he said.

“Is it largely where marketing is where you convince people buy stuff because the product is not good enough to sell itself on its own. And that’s the ultimate question.”

Brands need consumers to love their products instead, added Logitech’s Darrell. And the way to get consumers loving your stuff is to not create something for everybody, but create something you know one particular individual will love.

“I’m convinced that the smaller your sub-group, the more loved you are – even down to being loved by one individual, the more broadly appealing you end up being in the end,” he said.

Referencing Apple founder Steve Jobs, Darrell said Jobs most likely designed the iPhone for himself. And look at how much it’s resonated with people.

Nevertheless, you’re not always going to get it right, and “that’s okay”. Just make sure you learn from your mistakes.