Sit a Spell; Talk with Us
Posted by heatherrast on August 22nd, 2008It’s no big revelation that consumers are oriented far differently – in terms of information – today than one, three, and five years ago. I’m speaking of information stimuli and how consumers evaluate them:
- [is it considered a] credible source -
- is it viable stuff, something I can trust and leverage?
- [is it considered a] valuable source -
- is it good stuff, something deep, engaging, interesting?
- specific preferences of the delivery media or vehicle -
- can I get it how I want it?
- specific preferences regarding frequency or accessibility -
- can I get it when I want it?
- degree of personalization or customization available -
- can I get it the way I want it?
- confidence of reputation or endorsement -
- how is it considered by others like me?
These are just a few ways – I suspect there are many more – in which today’s consumers parse, filter, and evaluate the wealth of information (data, stories, suggestions, news, ideas, entertainment) available to and pushed onto them each day.
Clearly, as marketers and communicators, our battlefield is wrought with line-of-sight obstacles. Messages can be junked as fast as someone can set up a mailbox rule. Calls can be screened with a national list, as can some print publications. Our radio spots are tuned out thanks to XM and Sirius, and expensive broadcast buys are gone and forgotten due to the expeditious TiVo. What’s a good-intentioned, clever marketer to do?
Good thing you know that the communications (promotion/advertising/public relations) plan that got you here, won’t get you there. Big “T” There, as in across the line into Success Storyville, Case Study Utopia, and ROI Heaven.
In a recent imediaconnection article titled “It’s a Blogger’s World; Learn to Fit In,” author Nanette Marcus suggests that while marketers have a more expansive selection of tools with which to reach consumers, “. . .you will need to know their rules before you can play in their sandbox.” Knowing the rules of engagement is key.
A few basic (paraphrased) rules Ms. Marcus mentions include:
- Find the right audience for your brand
- Take the risk; let the positive and negative come out in the wash
- Give it the College try and experiment
What could that mean to you, a marketer struggling to capture some attention? A few suggestions:
- Do Your Homework. Use every data source at your disposal, and beg for those you don’t yet have, to build (and maintain) strong profiles of your top key audiences. The data set should be so robust, you could essentially build your own prototypes thanks to the depth and breadth of knowledge. Okay, so maybe not prototypes (this isn’t the movies), but certainly glossy personas.
- Seed the Oyster. Since you know know who your targets are – you know where they run, rest, relax, sleep – you could begin to hedge the level of risk you might bear if you chose to approach them, attempt a dialogue, provide a platform, and encourage them to consider and comment about you. Hey, it won’t all be pretty, to be sure. But if you can help define the “Where” part of the consumer conversation equation, then you have a chance at shaping the “What” and “How.” It’s what you don’t know (or choose to ignore) that could paralyze you.
- Push boundaries. Norms are only there because someone established them. There’s no real force field that will make you bounce off and careen into the stratosphere if you touch the wrong thing or make the wrong move. Research, plan, review with peers, enlist consultants, integrate holistically, and test. Evaluate. Then retest. The word is multivariate. An honest, well-executed miss is easily forgiven.
Your consumers are out there. Capture their attention with a strong story, charm them with your candor and sincerity, ask permission to try something new and then give it all you’ve got.
Tags: Blog, Target Audience
