In my product messaging entry two techniques ago I talked about the importance of developing personas. A persona encapsulates insight into your audience. If you have more than one audience, you will need more than one persona. If you have created that persona, you know who your product's audience is.
In the previous product messaging technique, I discussed how you identify your product for maximum memorability. The result is a short, categorized sentence or two that answers the question "What is it?"
The next step in your product messaging is to answer the question "Who is it for?" In this step you make it clear who is the intended audience for your product.
I often find product messaging missing this important ingredient. I am not sure whether it is a simple omission or a decided choice. Unfortunately, the result is the same. Whoever reads the product messaging doesn't know who the product is for.
Let's understand why not knowing who the product is for is detrimental to your goals. If you do not specify the audience for your product, your audience cannot include themselves in the group.
Why?
Because they don't know what that group is. If your audience doesn't see themselves in the group, that means they see themselves outside the group. And if they are outside the group, they aren't an interested party. This is probably not the effect that you want.
Let's talk about the "everyone who is interested" audience. To be honest, I wish I didn't have to talk about this topic. However, I have seen it used quite widely in the start-up world. If you are in marketing and hear this phrase, you should be running in the other direction... or gearing up for battle.
There is no such audience as "everyone who is interested". You cannot effectively design a product for "everyone who is interested". You cannot effectively message your product to "everyone who is interested". (Review technique #1).
In my experience, "everyone who is interested" equates to "we don't have a clue". If that is the case, product messaging is the least of your problems.
So, if you have done your persona work, do call out who the intended audience is for your product very early in your product messaging. You can even incorporate it into your "what is it" definition.
If you haven't done your persona work, in Monopoly game speak: go back to "Go" and do not collect $200.
Comments