You probably aren’t capturing your audience as much as you think you are, and in this blog, I’ll tell you why. Plus, because I love you and you deserve to thrive, I’ll teach you how to do it:
We’ve all heard of affirmations, right? You look in the mirror, and you say things like:
“I AM POWERFUL.”
“I will NOT cuss out my boss today.”
“I am going to earn $100K this year.”
And most of these are personal to YOU. Why? You know your story. You know what amps you up in the morning. You know who you are. You know the problems you’ve overcome to get here.
What if I told you that your customers want to buy from your business for those same reasons?
I mean… think about it. At any given time, how many businesses do you think are offering similar products or services? I’ll give you some stats on my own industry. At the time of writing this blog, there are:
10,776 digital marketing agencies
177,812 graphic designers
131,200 copywriters
So why would anyone choose MY business? And honestly, why would anyone choose yours?
The answer actually isn’t your competitive edge, unique product, or market experience. Many marketers pitch to this. So we spend loads of time talking about all of the features of your product, what you offer that your competitors don’t, and how unique you are.
But humans are innately selfish. It’s just who we are. So what do you do instead?
You allow your customers to see your story WITHIN themselves.
Here’s how you do it:
1. Identify your brand’s story. Here are some thinking points:
Are you unique to a specific area?
Did you start your brand because you hated your old job?
Did you start your business to solve a problem for yourself?
Do you get things done quicker than the average person in your field?
Do you offer 10+ years of experience?
Are your stats phenomenal?
Is your name based on something sentimental or nostalgic or a dream?
2. Once you’ve identified your brand’s story, you’re going to want to decide how your story connects to your audience. In order to do that, you have to ask yourself some questions about your audience.
How old is your target audience?
What do people in this age range like to do?
What do people in this age range need help with? What problems do they face?
What might stop them from solving this problem?
What is the cultural experience of this age range?
You can apply these same questions to a range of demographic information such as race, gender, education level, etc.
3. Now, you’ll want to connect your ideal customer to your story through your product. I like to put mine in chart form. I’ll give you an example.
Ideal Customer: Mid-Sized Business Owner, probably between 35-60 years old, looking to increase revenue. Typically enjoys hobbies like golf and vacationing. One problem the younger age range in this demographic might face is not being taken seriously due to age or lack of experience, while the older range might face irrelevance or struggle to scale quickly with modern marketing techniques.
So how I connect them?... I think of similarities between us!
MY STORY: | Ways My Business Connects My Story to My Customers: |
|---|---|
| -We both wanted to own our businesses -We’ve both had to learn along the way -We both want more flexibility -To reach a mid-sized level, we’ve both reached certain levels of success |
4. Now, you’ll want to take your marketing material + copy and connect these through one of the points above. I’ve chosen increased flexibility to create the following ad:
“With our company, you’ll have more time to golf. Digital marketing can take a really long time to understand. With us, you’ll have more flexibility because we will handle all of your marketing needs, which will give you more time.”
5. Next, you’ll want to edit for clarity. Marketers tend to be over-explain.
Biggest tips? Change your “I”s to “you”s & cut out the fluff.
“More time to golf. We get it: marketing takes too much time to learn. Let us handle it for you.”
The message is clear. It’s simple. In these simple 3 sentences,
I’ve identified my customer’s problem: time. “We get it: marketing takes too much time to learn.” I understand this problem because it’s a problem I’ve experienced. I also know that one of my unique selling points is being able to offer a finished product in an insanely short amount of time, so I am prepared to follow through on my claim.
I’ve shown them how I’ll help them with their problem: “Let us handle it for you.”
I’ve given them a picture of what life will look like when using my services: “More time to golf.”
6. Create graphics that emphasize the life you’re creating for your customer, not on what you’re offering.
BAD
GOOD
And THAT is how you bring your story to life WITHIN your client. So when they see your business, it’s about THEM.. not you.