Targeting Your Message to the Right People

Celebrating wins, both big and small, is a great way to connect with your team, track your momentum, and keep that momentum going.

However, celebrating isn’t where the impact ends. With every win–again, big and small–we have to also understand the lesson that came from that win. To figure out a takeaway from each win, consider these two questions as a starting point:

1. How did you get there as a team?
2. What did you do to make that win happen?

This way, we’ll be able to replicate similar wins moving forward. Some common lessons you might take away from any of your many wins could be…

• Perseverance and/or laser-focus
• Open-mindedness and/or collaboration
• The right clients won’t question your pricing

When you take time each week to consider these two simple steps, your momentum will excel.

Now let’s take a step back. A lot of hard work goes into every single win, and while we may work to isolate one specific skill or tactic that worked well in one scenario, it’s important to also recognize the more holistic role you and your team play leading up to these wins. Ultimately, this comes down to your message.

What message is your business sending, and who are you sending it to?

Let’s consider the ideal structure of a message that will tap into your ideal audience. Having this structure in place will:

1. Make it easier to cut through the chaos of the internet.
2. Lower your marketing costs because your efforts are more targeted.
3. Save time by knowing which channels work best for your ideal audience.
4. Ensure your deliverable is fulfilling (if not exceeding) expectations.

Communicating with your ideal target is not about shouting from mountaintops. It’s about whispering the right words in the right ear at the right time.

Take a moment now to think of your dream client. Think of someone (or a group) you really want to work(or keep working) with. Now I’m going to pitch you four questions to help you identify how you’re going to snag these dream clients:

1. At this moment, what do you think would be their biggest frustration?
   Often, one of the most common answers here is uncertainty 
2. What would they want from you that would ease or rid them of that frustration?
   Maybe this is simply assurance.
3. In the future, what are they afraid of?
   This usually ties back to unreliability and/or inconsistency
4. What do they aspire to?
   Regardless of their industry or position, people typically want security and/or choices that give them a sense of control. 

Now that you know the gaps that a relationship with your ideal client will fill, you can tailor your message to solve their problem(s), rather than just trying to talk up how good your products/services are to anyone and everyone.

When you can position your business in a way that fills in a gap or answers a frustration in someone’s life, your message is instantly going to make more of an impact.

The final, and perhaps most important question to ask yourself about your dream client is this:

5. What keeps them awake at night?

            Let me answer this one for you. It’s the unknown. The fear of “what-if,” often, “what if I fail?”

So, what have we learned about our ideal client? We’ve gathered a wealth of information, and in that information, we’ve also determined a list of keywords that we’re going to use to position ourselves in the marketplace.

Frustration. Uncertainty. Assurance. Reliability. Consistency. Security. Choice. Aspirations.What if.

Now, take two minutes to brainstorm how you might put these words together to connect with that ideal client we’ve been thinking about. Make it specific to your industry and to your target audience.

Final stage: How are you going to use this idea?

With a little tweaking, you’ve got your first piece of copy ready to go out to your database! Whether it’s via social media, paid ads, email marketing, website copy, or simply you’re next.

business chat, I assure you, it’s going to help you connect with the right people–the people who need you.