When crafting a marketing plan or taking the first steps in a campaign, jumping in and regurgitating everything you know about your offering is tempting. However, it’s far more important to understand who you are serving your message to as that should give you insights into the message you should be writing.
But how do you know your audience?
Yes, I’m sure you have a good idea of who they are on a general level. What I’m challenging you to do is dig deeper. Don’t worry; I’ll give you some tools for this dig.
A Holistic View
Try not to see just one piece of your target audience. Yes, they may fall into some neat little category, but people are far more complex, and illuminating the intricacies within them can set your team apart and connect on a deeper level. Making sure you have taken the time to get a birds eye view and the proper lay of the land is a foundational step to developing the message that will resonate the best with your audience.
Avoiding the Static Mindset
It’s essential not to get stuck in a static mindset. After researching your target demographic, you may think that’s them! I’ve got it! And you’re probably right. However, as time goes on, people change, and technology and trends change. The mediums you were once successful on may be fading away, and there could be new mediums arriving that you will have to adopt.
Listen
Some of the biggest epiphanies I’ve gained for my clients came from simply listening. I’ll join one of their sales calls or team meetings and merely be a fly on the wall. An outsider taking a peek into another world can illuminate things they’ve never noticed in plain sight. I’ve seen disconnects between team members or clients that could easily be bridged with a particular message. I’ve noticed the gaps in their message and fine-tuning here or there that could be instrumental in giving the proper emphasis it needs. I’ve also found simple messages that resonate so beautifully and are not being utilized by everyone. Some messages are so great they should be shouted from the rooftops, but they’re currently only a whisper in a meeting. This is only possible when there is trust that the client will be authentic and that I won’t intervene during the listening phase. My challenge to you is to find opportunities to listen. Listen without ego, nor to find fault. Simply listen, and let’s see what you notice.
Leverage Data, But Think Beyond Numbers
Studying your audience in black and white data is one critical piece to seeing your results. However it is important to not get hung up on the data at face value. It takes effort to decipher and tell the story as to why the data is coming back the way it is. When I set up my marketing tactics to collect data (via Google Analytics, HubSpot, UTM codes, etc), I look back at what could skew my results. Making notes along the way about what could influence these changes in the data is crucial for finding things that work and understanding what is actually happening, especially when looking back at a later date when these intricacies are no longer in your memory. This is one big reason I love having a single point of truth like HubSpot for running automated marketing campaigns because it’s easy to get the full view of exactly where each lead and point of influence occurs.
Reflect & Question
Spend time reflecting on your work and thinking about those who encountered it; ask some of these questions: What is going on at this time that could have influenced the data? Is the audience I want to attract being attracted? What could they have felt when they received this? What can I do to make this resonate better? All people have emotions, and sometimes, it’s hard to see outside of our own, which is why having a team with varying vantage points can be so instrumental.
Stay Curious
Don’t be afraid to be a trailblazer or have an explorer’s heart. Question everything: yourself and your own possible bias or limitations, your data, and your choice of avenue. Wonder what others bigger than us are doing and what we could do if we didn’t have particular limitations (money, technology, a control freak looming over your shoulder, etc). Imagine how others might want to see things and how they interpret what you’re serving them. Train your imagination to look outside your walls, shoes, and self.
Resonate
Reworking your message could be a small adjustment or feel like you’re going to have to move a mountain and overhaul everything. It’s best not to do it alone, so reach out to someone you trust and be courageous and rework, revise and resonate with your crowd.
