Part 1: Understanding
Seth Godin says in his latest book This is Marketing: You can't be seen until you learn to see. He means, that your marketing won't work, until you learn to see your clients for who they really are.
Because, they're not you. Nobody is. They don't believe what you believe. They don't know what you know. Therefore they'll make inexplicable decisions.
Therefore, in order to gain the privilege of helping them, you need to do the hard work of empathy. Put yourself in their state of mind. What’s it like to be them?
First, list 10-20 different things they believe and how they look at the world. These are preconceived notions, perceptions of the world, how they process things or the stories they tell themselves.
What do they find important? What do they judge as right or wrong? What stories around money do they hold? What do they believe they need to do in order to be seen by their boss?
Then, list 10-20 things that they want. Which of these are currently unmet?
What occupies their world? What keeps them up at night?
And, list 10-20 things that you know, that they don't know.
You know about your craft. That's why what you do makes complete sense to you. What do your clients not know about how it works?
My tip, interview 3 current, 3 past and 3 potential future clients! Ask them. They probably are more than happy to talk about it.
Lastly, when your target group has different subgroups in it, create different personas. Paint a as complete as possible picture of who they are and how they go around the world.
Part 2: Creating your product for them
After doing the hard work of empathy for your customers/market/audience, you gain the understanding to create your product offering and marketing specifically for them.
What can you help them with most? What promise is most appealing to them?
How should you position your product, so that a) they understand it and b) it resonates with them?
How should you structure the product so that it makes the most sense to them and creates more trust?
How should you talk about your product to them, so that it triggers the right emotions? What language and stories resonate with them?
When you have multiple target groups, do this exercise for each one and then have a look at which group of these you can serve best.
