What is audience development and how do you know if you need to turn your focus and resources there?
Audiences are people whom you’ve captivated or engaged for some span of time with some interesting thing, offer or thoughts. When you focus on providing value and being useful in your customers’ worlds, you are being visible, being of value, being of influence, accessible and responsive—where and when your audience needs you so that they access you and engage you as an expert or a supplier, on their terms.
Because your customers control their buying journey, you need to put yourself in their path, speak to them, influence them and “help them buy” you. Developing your audience is a survive and thrive non-negotiable for businesses, executives and sales professionals in any industry, every market and every business.
What does a cry for audience development help look like? Know the signs:
1. You’re in a highly “commoditized” industry. Clients are hammering you on price and your margins are shrinking. Hint: You have got to build a “differentiator” and funnel to your clients and prospects.
2. Competition is popping up everywhere. Cheaper, faster, newer—everyone is breathing down your neck and chipping away at your market share or clients. Hint: Your clients need consistent communication from you in their channels.
3. You’ve asked your 20 something nephew, “What’s that Tweeter thing?” Hint: Social media and social engagement of your clients is not going away. If you don’t have a strategy to meet people where they are, you will be replaced by someone who will.
4. Extremely technical product? Do you spend a great deal of time educating people about your product or features? Hint: Details and technical talk can be overwhelming. You’ve got to “humanize” and relate to your clients on personal levels too.
5. You’re pedaling as fast as you can and not going very far. Hint: Solo-preneurs, small practices and departments of 1—you have to deploy tools and means to leverage your talent and resources in order to grow.
Recognize 1 or more of these signs? Do they hit too close to home?
Building your target audience and connecting with them to develop clients, advocates and partners will scale your business and provide opportunities to differentiate yourselves from the competition.
Right now, there is someone being more visible, more helpful and more valuable to your clients.
Audience development is one of our core strategies for Sauce Agency clients. It’s foundational to most growth and scalable strategic plans. Connect with us to discuss how we help you develop your audience and strategies and tools to drive consistent revenue and bigger profits.