Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Customers’ Shoes: 3 Tricks for Stronger Messaging
Have you ever felt like you’re so close to your own brand that it clouds your vision on how to promote it? I’ve been there myself. In fact, I find it much easier to help my clients craft compelling and relevant messages than I do for my own brand. Sometimes you just need a little help getting out of your own head.
Here are three ways to “try on the shoes” of your customers so you can craft better messages that resonate with your target audience.
1. Map your audience’s frustrations, not just their end-goal.
Your brand offers the solution they are looking for. You, better than anyone else, can help them reach their goal. This is the cornerstone of great messaging; but it’s not the entire building. To nurture your prospective client along the path from awareness to affinity and trust, and finally to purchase and advocacy, you have to go beyond convincing them that you have the ticket to their intended destination - you have to first meet them where they’re at, make them feel seen, validate their frustrations, acknowledge the four other options they’ve already tried that left them feeling exhausted and bewildered. As humans, we are drawn to people who make us feel understood, and the same is true for brands. Understand them by mapping the journey of their problem - what they’ve tried, what they’re thinking now, how they feel when they find you - are they tired, skeptical, excited? And most importantly, when you’re mapping their journey, be very honest about whether there are any points of friction along their onramp to your brand; does your website quickly and clearly answer their questions, is it easy to get in touch with you?
Don’t jump right to selling them on your superior product; first understand and validate their frustration so they will put their trust in you to alleviate it.
2. Call ‘em up!
This one is wildly underrated. If client relationships are just that - relationships - why do so many businesses neglect actually talking with their customers about their experience? If my husband checked in on our relational health twice a year with a 5-star rating question or a sliding scale of smiley-to-frowny-faces, and never had a real conversation with me about how I thought we were doing, what kind of relationship would that be? You’re obviously not married to your customers, but if you want to build loyalty and keep them for life, you have to actually check in with them and understand what they love about you, where you’re failing them, and how they view the relationship. So, pick up the phone. The insights you’ll glean from these conversations will give you much clearer direction on how to craft relevant and compelling messages.
If you need some guidance on strategies and proper tactics for in-depth-phone-interview research, I’d be happy to help you!
3. Don’t let your brand overshadow the customer - they are the main character, not you.
Humans are naturally pretty self-centered, (so are brands). I don’t say that as a criticism of our race, but rather an insight to be leveraged. Your prospective customer is the center of their own world, and most messages she’s hearing from all your competitor are about how great they are. So when you start talking to her about who she is, where she’s going, what’s in her way, and how she can be the hero in her own story to overcome that obstacle in her day… you just got her attention. It’s a subtle but powerful shift. When I consider my favorite brands, I don’t think about how much better they are than all the other guys, or how many years they’ve been in business. I think about how they’ve enriched my life, how they’ve empowered me to build a better version of my own life. As a business owner, you love your brand; you’re proud of it, you believe in it. Absolutely hold onto that passion, but don’t let it steal the spotlight from your customer. To reference the wisdom of Donald Miller, your customer is the hero, your brand is simply their guide.
Step into your customers’ shoes by implementing these strategies in your upcoming marketing campaigns, and you’ll not only get your audience’s attention, but you’ll also capture their admiration, trust and loyalty. As always, I’m here to be your guide in crafting strategies and messages that resonate with your target audience so you can grow your business and enrich the lives of even more customers. Book a brand consulting call or send me a project inquiry.
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