How to Individualize your Marketing Message to Reach Your Audience

Our goal here at i7 Marketing is to help your business reach its full potential, connecting with the customers you already have while reaching new ones. Over the next few weeks, we're sharing the approach that makes up our seven pillars of marketing (yes, that's where the "i7" comes from). Last week we covered the first pillar: how to identify your marketing strategy and goals. This week we move on to the marketing message you need to create.

Build a valuable brand by branding what is valuable about you. — Ryan Lilly

Pillar Number Two: Individualize Your Message

Individualize your message and the way you share it. What makes your business uniquely suited to meet your customers' needs?

Do you remember the first time your child asked, "Where do babies come from?" Once the shock wore off, you needed an answer, and most parents start with, "Where do you think they come from?" The reply usually involves mommy and daddy kissing, and a baby appears. "Yep," we say, "that's exactly how it happens."

Are we a bunch of lying, uncaring parents? Of course not. We just know our child isn't ready for the full reality yet, so we give them the right message for where they are right now. Crafting your marketing message works the same way: you meet people where they are, speak to what they're ready to hear, and lead with what matters most to them.

It's important to craft a message that piques your customers' interest and speaks to a real need. Remember this jingle?

Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh, what a relief it is.

The message is simple: indigestion? Take an Alka-Seltzer, because it gives you relief. It never explains the chemistry of how it works; all that matters is that it works. A little plop-plop, a little fizz-fizz, and the next thing you know, you feel better. That's a message built around the customer, not the product.

Crafting Your Message

Your message about your product or service needs to be tailored to your audience, and this is the fun part. It should be creative, engaging, and reveal a little about who you are and what you stand for. The more you understand your audience and their needs, the higher your response and conversion rates will be.

A strong message addresses three things, in this order:

1. Appeal to your audience's emotions. Start by empathizing with their problem or unmet need, show them you understand how they feel. The very first question people ask about a product or service is, "Is this for me?" We don't mean physical attraction (though good packaging never hurts); we mean: am I drawn to this? Connect emotionally first, and you earn the trust and attention you need for them to hear the rest of your message.
2. Emphasize the benefit to them. Once you have their attention, show how your product or service solves their problem and improves their life. Don't just list features; translate them into outcomes. Your words and images should paint a clear picture of how much better things are after they buy. People don't buy a drill; they buy the hole, and the shelf that finally gets hung.
3. Provide credibility. Back it up. Customer testimonials, endorsements from respected names in your industry, research, case studies, success stories, ratings and reviews, any of these solidify your audience's belief in what you offer and help justify the purchase. Credibility is what turns "this looks good" into "I'll buy it."

Why the Order Matters

Those three steps are in that sequence on purpose. The first thing most people want to know is whether something appeals to them. Leading with quality or longevity (as important as those are) isn't what initially draws people in. They tend to assume that if you're in business, your product is decent; quality is often the last box they check, not the first. Before they ever pull up Google Reviews, Yelp, TripAdvisor, or Angi (formerly Angie's List), they first have to be drawn to what you offer and believe they'll benefit from it. Your job is to earn that attention first, and, of course, to make sure your product or service genuinely is of the highest quality when they do check.

Putting the Framework to Work Across Your Channels

Here's the part that makes this pillar so useful: the same three-part structure (emotion, benefit, credibility) works in nearly every place you talk to customers. The format changes; the framework doesn't.

• Email. Your subject line is pure emotion, a hook that earns the open. The body delivers the benefit (what's in it for them, fast), and a testimonial, star rating, or quick stat supplies the credibility. Close with one clear call to action, not five.
• Social media. The scroll-stopping image or opening line does the emotional work. The caption spells out the benefit. And social proof (reviews, real customer photos, comments, follower counts) provides credibility right there in the feed, where skeptical eyes already are.
• Your website and landing pages. Lead with a headline that connects emotionally, follow with benefit-driven subheads (not a wall of features), and place your proof (testimonials, trust badges, case studies, review scores) near every call to action, exactly where hesitation tends to happen.
• PPC and paid ads. You have only a few characters, so the headline has to carry emotion and benefit together. Use review extensions, ratings, and sitelinks to add credibility in limited space, and make sure the landing page continues the same message the ad promised. That "message match" is what keeps a click from bouncing.

Write your message once, with these three ingredients, and you can adapt it everywhere, instead of starting from scratch for every channel.

Ready to put it to work? Contact us and let's partner together to build a marketing campaign that connects with your audience and grows your business.

This is part of our guide to marketing your small business online.

Our expertise in marketing lets you focus on your expertise.

The seven pillars of i7 Marketing:

1. Identify your business goals and practices with a clear, comprehensive look at where you are and where you want to be. (How to Identify Your Marketing Strategy and Goals)
2. Individualize your message and the way you share it. What makes your business uniquely suited to meet your customers' needs? (How to Individualize Your Message to Reach Your Audience)
3. Incorporate your message into a whole-business approach for clarity and momentum. (How to Incorporate Your Message into a Whole-Business Approach)
4. Integrate your message, goals, and practices into a strategic plan that maps your market opportunities to the resources you have. (How to Integrate Your Message, Goals, and Practices into a Strategic Plan)
5. Implement the best strategies for reaching those goals. (How to Implement the Best Strategies for Reaching Your Small Business Goals)
6. Invite your customers to learn more by providing information and a clear benefit. (How to Invite Your Customers to Learn More About Your Small Business)
7. Incrementally review your goals and strategies and build on success. (How to Incrementally Review Your Goals and Strategies for Maximum Success)

We're an internet marketing and SEO company offering integrated marketing solutions, specializing in online strategies that connect you with your customers. Identifying and implementing best practices for your business is what we do best. Be. Found.