Making the Most of the Customer Conversation

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A wise person once said, “We have two ears and one mouth. We should use them proportionately.”

Making the Most of the Customer Conversation
by Michael Kowalski

Remember making a “telephone” using two tin cans and a piece of string? As marketers, we are part of an ongoing dialogue: our company on one end of the line, our customers and prospects at the other end. Making the most of that conversation is of paramount importance, especially since our message might only get a moment’s worth of attention from harried prospects. How can we be sure the message is clear and the value of our products and services resonates with the intended audience? An important first step is to listen. A wise person once said, “We have two ears and one mouth. We should use them proportionately.” Before we ask people to listen to our message, we need to understand quite a bit about our audiences—their role, background, concerns, and so on. Having this understanding, we can target our message and convey it in the right medium.


Maybe you already have a clear idea of what frustrates and motivates your prospects. In the realm of technology marketing, there are some assumptions we can make about our audiences and how to communicate with them. For example, technology decision makers tend to be
initially skeptical of marketing

claims, so it’s important to support claims with evidence, examples, or proof points. Business decision makers generally see technology through the lens of business goals, such as increased competitive advantage and lower costs. Busy executives appreciate clear, complete, and concise messages conveyed succinctly and professionally.

Understanding your audience is important, and so is how you communicate the messages you want to convey. When developing a technology marketing campaign or an individual piece of marketing collateral, what will work for your audience? All successful communications share at least three qualities, no matter the audience or the content. Successful communications are empathetic, credible, and relevant.

Empathy
When we are talking with a friend, a meaningful conversation is two-way, give and take, listen and talk. Our dialogue with customers and prospects follows the same pattern and starts with a search for understanding. Whether you are targeting business decision makers, technical decision makers, executives, developers, or specific industry groups, empathy for your audience gives an intelligent voice to the communications you create about your product or solution. By refining your communications to suit your audience, you are more likely to hit the mark and make an impact.

Credibility
Talking about your development tools in terms of return on investment likely will excite the CIO but bore the software tester. It is important to gain credibility with an audience by communicating messages that resonate. Demonstrate that you deeply understand their needs, goals, and motivators, and you’ll not only earn credibility; you’ll gain a listening audience.

Relevance
If you want to reach the influencers, you need to understand the audience-specific issues that influence purchase decisions. Today, one way that companies are demonstrating audience relevance is by complementing their product- or services-focused communications with a “solution-based” marketing approach. A solution-based campaign markets a product or solution through the lens of customers’ business issues. Such communications address these issues in a credible, informative way, while subtly reinforcing the strengths of the underlying technologies. Your communications will build the bridge that connects technical and product features with business value and tangible benefits.

The team at Washburn Communication understands the issues that drive business, move markets, and influence purchase decisions. As professional communicators, we take the time to understand your audiences and your goals. Applying our understanding and appreciation of both business and technology, we can help you develop content that communicates your concepts and connects with your audience in a compelling and targeted way. Contact Michael Kowalski or call 425-453-2501 ext. 118.