Communication involves both receiving and sending messages.
Most businesses have mastered the ability to send messages, yet struggle with receiving the information that will aid in providing the goods and services their target markets can benefit from.
All goods and services must meet a need, fulfill a desire, solve a problem, make a task easier, or in some way enhance their lives.
Communication is where it all begins.
Effective communication will be a key factor component to instilling confidence in a target market and persuading them to purchase any goods or services you offer.
Below are five tips to help in constructing effective communications for your target market, and ultimately develop relationships with residual benefits for both sides.
1. Learn Their Buying Habits & Study Their Needs:
Developing communications that meet the needs of your target market will require study and research. Teens do not make buying decisions for the same reasons as their parents, and vice versa. Knowing this will help you determine which avenues to use to speak to them, what to say, and more importantly, how to say it. The verbiage and even length of messages sent to your target market will vary based on what you learn in your research. Find out their needs, their wants, and where you fit in the picture.
2. Speak Directly to Them:
Never attempt to reach everyone. Once you have determined who your target market is, what they need and how they determine what to buy, create messages tailored specifically for them. The more specific you are in your messages, the more likely you are to reach the buyer who is looking for your product or services. Everyone hates generic messages that seem to leave out the details – so does your target market. You want every article, every ad, every tweet, every Facebook post, or newsletter message to be specifically designed for your target market.
3. Develop More Than One Way to Get Your Message To Them:
Realize that most people enjoy some type of variety, and that some things are more likely to catch someones attention while some things are not. For example, you may find that your twitter account has 54k followers, but you rarely receive any type of feedback or conversion for your business. It may be true that those followers are listening to you (though research is beginning to show that most are not), but have you considered a newsletter, a press release, a blog? Those same followers might be interested in your product or service and willing to follow your blog if you invited them. But they may also be afraid of using twitter, or not sure how to really interact. Giving that same market your message in the form of a Facebook post on your fan page, or a blog post might create more interest. Don’t discount YouTube and other platforms either; you might be surprised how many people will respond to a video vs a tweet.
4. Listen and Learn:
Be careful that you are not investing so much time in sending your message, that you forget to receive. Your market will respond if you give them an opportunity and solicit their feedback, but what will you do with it? All of the research in the world will not be more valuable than hearing directly from your target market. As a business owner, you will be far more productive and profitable if you spend more time listening than talking. In fact, if you make mistakes, your target market will be more willing to give you another chance if you show that you have heard them and have learned from what they have to say. Think of yourself as a consumer.
5. Be Flexible Yet Resilient:
Do not expect to hit the mark perfectly on the first time or even every time. You may have to adjust your tone, broaden your vocabulary, or get rid of certain mediums you use to communicate with your audience more effectively. You will want to keep track of the communication methods that are most successful. Be flexible and use what is learned for your benefit. Resiliency is just as important as flexibility. Business owners must be able to leave destructive criticism and negative feedback where it is, and move forward in their communication plans despite any perceived setbacks.
Effective communication will lead to a better reputation with your target market, a greater perceived value for the products and services you sell, and a long-lasting relationship that can bring more business.