by Melissa Piper Nelson
How do you communicate your key business message to customers? Many people just starting out in business question how to get their main selling points across to each of their target audiences and through today’s multiple media platforms.
The main point of identifying target audiences (different consumers in age, identity, ethnicity, location, etc.), is to convert prospects into buying customers.
Each group, or target audience, may have many different ways of resourcing information. Some groups gravitate toward social media, while others access more traditional resources such as local newspapers, radio, television, or community newsletters. Some prefer church and service group related newsletters and email blasts.
Identifying and learning how to utilize these many different communication platforms for your one main message is probably more complicated today than ever before. There’s just many new ways people get, glean through and process information.
You can accomplish any successful media launch by researching where and how customers get their information and, just as important, how they share it with others. Many business owners do this by asking for customer feedback.
Foodies, parent groups, senior organizations, local food advocates, health organizations and others share information through multiple outlets and are generally willing to spread your message, if they feel it connects with their own ideas and strategies.
Many hospitals and health organizations are now partnering with food groups and farmers to share messages and resources about local food initiatives and healthy nutrition. Tapping into these types of initiatives opens new avenues of information streaming.
You also have to think outside the media box to decide what outlets work best for each target group. What works for the 20-something on-the-go buyer may not be the best alternative for a parent or your senior customer.
Take some time to familiarize yourself with customer feedback and the many ways customers get their information. This research will prove useful in crafting concise language and in formats suitable for the audience and the outlet. Let’s face it, once upon a time, a sign outside the business door provided sufficient information for the customer. Today, we incorporate multiple levels of communication in our daily lives.
Whatever the platform, the message must be clear and concise while prompting a response. Writing short online messages will differ from a longer news release or tailored newsletter article in style, but should not deviate from the key message you wish to establish with the buyer. If you remember that you are striving to make an important connection that will in turn initiate an actual sales transaction, the job becomes more defined.
There are many potential customers out there, but converting them to buyers is a key factor in your ultimate profitability. You may have one main message about your product or service, but it requires you to communicate across many different types of platforms and outlets. And for each, the message needs to be honed to work functionally in capturing attention and encouraging customers to visit your business.
The above information is provided for educational purposes only and should not be substituted for professional business or legal counseling.
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