We are far beyond using the big guns of mass media to tell our stories. That’s not to say there isn’t a place for the old school stuff but in this day and age when we know so much more about our customers, why not get them when they’re looking.
Let’s be clear every communication we make is being delivered to an audience that is bombarded with messaging from the minute they roll over and pick up their phone, to the last minute of the day as they drift off to sleep. Hmmm, if only we could work out a way to infiltrate dreams!
Back to reality. Our audience is having to filter every minute of the day.
It’s tiring and how they filter through it all is complex. They’re subconsciously judging tone, style, language, and visuals and that’s all before they even begin to digest the content of the message.
When creating a tactical message you need to understand how you want your target audience to respond. Having clear objectives is a great start.
It’s a waste of effort and may even damage the brand (if you build a reputation for being annoying) to speak to people that you believe are unlikely to respond in the way you want. Wouldn’t it be better to speak to 500 people who are likely to respond than 10,000 unlikely targets. In fact, the more narrowly you define your target the more closely you can develop cut through messaging that sticks.
Here’s a challenge, go online and start searching a particular product category. Focus on a specific model for too long and soon you will start receiving offers and banner ads (what we call tactical messaging) that is all about that product category or at least its close competitor. It makes sense. Why not send someone a message who through their behaviour is showing an interest in your product type.
Now you also have some pretty handy information already available in your current customer base. Consider analysing your existing product sales. You might see some predictors of likely audience targets. Here’s some examples:
- Product categories that tend to be purchased by the same customer. (i.e. a customer who bought a food processor may be likely in the future to buy cookbooks or other baking equipment)
- Product categories that see a specific purchase behaviour by customers (i.e. pre-weekend purchase, urban store purchase, country/regional store purchase)
- Then your traditional demographic assessment of customers by products purchased
This analysis can be a very powerful tool in finding not only a key target for tactical messaging but can also give meaningful context around message delivery and content style.
So, let’s not get too hung up about delivering content to all and sundry. Instead, let’s be smart and make sure every message is reaching someone that you believe is a hot prospect.
We love data mining and we’re good at it. If you want to understand your target audience and how they’re likely to behave through customer, product and sales analysis Cuckoo can help. It’s a great start in creating smarter and more effective tactical messaging for your business. We can develop some pretty spectacular cut-through content as well.