How truly getting to know your audience can help kick BIG goals in your business
HOW TO UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE
As a strategic website and email copywriter, I talk to dozens of female founders each month.
What many of them have in common? They think they know their ideal customer, but as we dig deeper, that “dream client” persona comes unstuck quicker than the next unexpected Instagram algorithm change comes knocking.
The issue?
Our age, gender, and where we call home don’t define us as consumers.
What does define us is the conversation currently happening in our minds.
And having a crystal clear picture of this unique state of mind not only helps with your brand messaging and copywriting, it has a flow-on effect for all aspects of your business.
Strategic audience research will take care of the snooping for you (in a non-creepy way).
What is audience research?
Audience research asks your perfect-fit audience a set of very strategic questions so you can replace guessing and assuming with a deep sense of knowing.
I bet it’s a concept you’ve crossed paths with already but might have put into the too-hard and too-boring basket. Until now!
Audience research uncovers your ideal customer’s state of mind around:
- Mental Hurdles they need to overcome
- Current struggles that need fixing
- The dream future they’re aspiring to
- Any stigma surrounding your offer
It’s your unfair marketing advantage that addresses objections, pain points, desires, and false beliefs in your customer’s words.
Why is audience research important?
Strategic audience research allows you to embrace a powerful way of audience-driven marketing. And it lets your ideal customer do the heavy lifting for you.
What does that mean for you?
You’re looking at a way of marketing that:
- Saves you time and headspace
- Wins you more loyal customers
- Allows you to show up with ease
- Leads with non-salesy messaging
Gone are the days when online business owners could get results with empty promises and generic messaging.
Today’s consumers are incredibly savvy and can pick copy-paste sales pitches or fake urgency from a mile away. Instead, they demand empathy-driven copy that makes them feel heard, seen, and truly understood.
And it’s these genuine touchpoints in their own words that will convince them to take action, whether it’s joining your mailing list, buying your course, or working with you 1:1.
Not only that, empathy-driven messaging will grow brand loyalty and repeat business long term.
How can you gather strategic audience insights?
There are 3 easy ways to tap into your audience’s state of mind and the language they use:
Mine your online sources
Work out where your ideal customer hangs out online, and start listening.
Online snooping is particularly helpful if you’re considering a new niche, launching a new offer, or starting a new business without existing customers.
Simply track down the Facebook groups, Slack communities, and online forums your perfect-fit audience uses to mingle or share their struggles and aspirations.
Take note of their expressions, the aspects that matter to them, and how you could meet their needs.
Survey your audience
Strategic surveys with open-ended questions are a great way to tap into existing customers or a new audience.
For existing clients, get them to relive their journey with you:
- Objections they might have had before working with you
- What made you different from everyone else
- How they went about finding the perfect solution (aka you)
- What their life looks like after having worked with you
For potential clients, get them to help you work out what matters to them:
- What the perfect solution looks like
- How they’d go about tracking it down
- What other solutions they’re considering
- What might be holding them back from committing
Talk to your audience
A Zoom call is perfect for digging deeper and asking more strategic questions as the conversation unfolds.
What’s important here is to stay clear of sales pitches but let your Zoom guest do the talking without a hidden agenda.
Wherever possible, record and transcribe the conversation (with permission, of course), so you can fully immerse yourself in the findings and any aha-moments down the track.
Is audience research a one-off process?
Far from it!
Having two-way conversations with your ideal customers should be an ongoing process. It keeps your messaging current and supports you as your business evolves organically over time.
Gather new audience insights whenever you consider:
- Launching new offers
- Refining existing offers
- Changing your niche
- Updating messaging
- Embracing your point of difference
- Writing new copy for your business
How can audience research become a regular part of your business?
Thanks to automation software, gathering audience intel on autopilot has never been easier.
In your onboarding questionnaire, ask about their decision-making process and what made them choose you over everyone else.
In your offboarding questionnaire, explore any quick wins and mindset shifts that have come with the deliverables.
These strategic questions give you an unfair marketing advantage and continue to set you up with new testimonials to show your results. #winning
The verdict?
Copywriting and messaging success comes down to 80% research and 20% creativity.
And that success can be yours if you’re willing to dial into the juicy objections, pain points, desires, and false beliefs at your fingertips.
What I’d love you to take away from this article?
Audience-led messaging starts with your ideal customer, not your offer!
So start a strategic conversation with your audience before you write, create, launch or [insert your next bold move].
IF YOU LIKED THIS POST BE SURE TO CHECK OUT:
- Being Boss Episode #273 with Kathleen Shannon: Get More Dream Customers
- Being Boss Episode #267: Community vs Audience vs Market
