It’s dark and noisy out there in the digital world. The way you communicate your solution’s value and features depends on knowing which audience you’re trying to reach and delivering the right content. 

It takes targeting the right groups and tailoring your messages for each. I divide audiences into three groups: the unaware, who need awareness; the identifiers, who see your solution as the best fit; and the buyers, who trust your company enough to buy. Use the right messages for each audience and you’ll see conversions rise.

Awareness 

This group has recently discovered pain points in their operation that your solution might address. They’re looking at a whole range of solutions that might solve their problem. Your key messages to this audience should convey what your solution does (features) and why readers should care (how the features deliver a solution).

Any form of content is appropriate for this group, whether it’s video, graphic or print. But persistence is key. It’s been said that the average person has to see a message 27 times before he or she remembers it easily, so plan an awareness campaign that explains your solution, and update your content every few days or every week.

Of course, you can boost awareness by leveraging earned and unearned media. Earned media might be product reviews or participation in buyer’s guides, where you pitch your product to the appropriate editor. Unearned media is paid placements or ads.

Identification 

Now, the audience is aware of the available solutions and wants to drill down to find the best match between their pain and the solution’s benefits. The goal is for the reader to identify closely with your solution rather than others. You want them thinking, “Yeah, that’s us.” 

You’ll need to do some customer research at this stage to find out specifically what is causing buyers the greatest pain and how it’s causing that pain. It’s important to learn how customers describe their pain and what a promising solution looks like. What specific words do they use? Which pain or aspects of pain are most important to them? What scenarios cause the most pain, and why?

Content should be very specific here. You want to describe or show as clearly as possible exactly how your solution best solves the reader’s pain, using evocative language or situations with language they understand. 

The content should parse out the aspects of pain (i.e., time, money, process) and discuss one or two aspects at a time in relation to your solution. Over half a dozen posts, texts, videos or emails, you can cover each facet of the problem and show how your solution addresses it.

Trust 

Readers are now ready to buy, but they want to be sure you can deliver on your promises before pulling the trigger. This is where you’ll need to validate your claims, and you’ll need mini case studies, testimonials, reviews, or analyst reports as proof. Be sure to validate every aspect  of your offering–not just the solution’s merits, but your sales, deployment and customer service capabilities. 

If your solution is new on the market, this phase is the hardest, but you can still help nudge the reader into a buyer. Even anonymous testimonials are better than nothing (i.e., “A large northeastern financial organization is using our solution to <insert your features and benefits here>”. 

You could also arrange with your early evaluators to provide brief references, and offer those references on request. Testimony from other customers in similar situations will be the strongest way to build trust.

This phase is another content campaign. You can highlight a different pain scenario or a different vertical market in each salvo. 

Customer conversion takes more than an ‘Aha!’ moment–it’s a process that leads from market education to reader identification to a purchase decision. Respect the process and you’ll meet your goals.