Messaging Archives - Marketing, content, & technology to help printers sell more printing

Crafting a marketing message that will resonate with your buyers is no easy task. But, if you first determine the who, the what, and the how, you’ll be well on your way to a compelling message. This week, in part four of this series, you’ll learn how to expand on what you’ve learned about the “how” thus far with an impactful tool called an empathy map. Understanding is Vital Empathy = understanding, and it’s something you cannot ignore. If you want to understand your audience, you have to be able to enter the conversation that’s already playing in your prospect’s head. By matching up with their values and worldviews, you’re also aiming to open the conversation in the prospect’s heart, and that’s how your marketing triggers the right motivation at the right time. The Process of Empathy Mapping At the crux of this exercise is this statement: “Our ideal customer needs a better way to ____ because ____.” Your empathy map will be different from anyone else’s, but it should have these foundational elements: Four quadrants broken down into “think/feel,” “see,” “say/do,” and “hear.” Two optional boxes at the bottom of the quadrants: “Pains” and “Gains.” The point of this map

So far in this series of crafting your perfect marketing message, you’ve learned about the who and the what in order to craft the messages your prospects need to hear. To recap: The “who” reveals the stories you should tell by knowing your audience. The “what” helps you craft an overall voice that ties directly into the prospect’s motivation to buy. Once these two parts are nailed down, you’ll be able to deliver the perfect metaphors and anecdotes that make your ideal prospect view you as the only choice. This messaging and content will be a clear combination of messages that are persuasive, compelling, and powerful for them to hear and read. You Are Not Your Audience Armed with the “who” and the “what,” let’s turn our attention to look at the “how” of attracting your ideal buyer — one who shares your values. When you’re just getting started executing your “how,” it can be tempting to overly identify with your audience. While you’re going to have things in common, it’s dangerous to think your ideal customer is similar to you in other ways. You’re a subject matter expert at what you do, for starters, and they are not. Make sure to

In part one of “3 Steps to Crafting A Marketing Message Your Ideal Buyers Will Love,” we talked about how your messaging is the core that will drive your entire business. You learned that the first step to great a message is the “Who.” To whom is your message directed at? If you haven’t created a buyer persona, you’ll want to go back and make sure you complete that step. After all, if you don’t have your “who,” you won’t be able to move on to the “what” of your message. First Come Who, Then Comes What Once you’ve gone through the persona process, and you have a good idea of who your audience is, you’ll want to figure out what it is exactly that they need to hear from you. When you’re able to craft the right message at the right time, and to the right people, you’ll get more leads and, ultimately, more sales. There ain’t nothin’ better than leads and prospects that proactively reach out to you to buy. So, how do you do that? The Power of Empathy First, you’ll want to learn how to have and show empathy. Empathy is the art of putting yourself in

Messaging is everything. It drives your entire business, should be crafted synonymously with your core values, and built around a clear, compelling reason why your prospects should want to do business with you. Yet, the majority of printers have no core messaging, and no relevant message strategy (other than to sell something somebody wants). So, how do you craft content and messaging that’s irresistible to your prospects, and at the same time clearly explains the value you offer your buyers and how you can help them? Over the next four weeks, you’ll learn three steps to help you create a marketing message your ideal buyers will love, plus we’ll walk you through an invaluable exercise called The Empathy Map. The Who Before you can get someone to buy from you, you need to know what to say to them, and how to say it. You’ll never get that right unless you know who you’re talking to. Here at Marketing Ideas For Printers, we call this creating buyer personas. You could call them avatars or even characters if you prefer. It’s All in the Research The main idea is to create a fictional representation of your ideal customer or persona. To create