As marketers, we’ve all fallen into this trap. We look at the description of the target audience and say, “That’s me!” Then we start thinking we can be the ultimate judge of the creative work and all we have to do is pick the ad that appeals to us personally. But it’s not that easy. No matter how much passion you have for the brand you work on, no matter how much you resemble the target persona, you’re still not the target. Here’s why.

1. You care too much. It’s not possible for you to be impartial when making decisions about the brand’s communication because you have a personal stake in the outcome. Of course you can still make good decisions; it just means you need to remember that the target audience doesn’t want your product. They only want what it can do for them.

2. You know too much. Even your best brand advocates don’t know your brand as well as you do. Your target audience doesn’t know your brand’s quarterly sales figures or manufacturing specs. They might not even remember your tagline. To reiterate the point from above: they only want to know what your brand can do for them.

3. You think too much. You spend a lot of time thinking about the product, the brand, the distribution channels, the competitive environment, the purchase decision process, and so on. The reality is that the target is not going to think that hard about it, even for a so-called high-involvement purchase decision. They may only think, “What can this brand do for me?”

So you’re never really the target. That’s great! Why? Because you don’t have to be the target to communicate with the target.

But what you do need is the right insight about who they are to start a meaningful conversation about what your brand can do for them. And when you’re ready to judge the creative work, remember whose eyes you need to look through.