Who Are You Talking To?

  Fine tuning your communications to the needs and attributes of different market segments makes good business sense. Evidence shows that targeted campaigns can improve response rates 10 to 20 fold.

Why Stories Change
My buddy Michael describes his helicopter skiing experience to his friends in thrill-seeking terms (and as a guy, it’s his duty to emphasize the dangers).  But the same story changes dramatically when his parents and spouse are the audience. (He highlights the safety features the company takes to reduce risk).

Some companies view risk in terms of upside; others see risk as downside.  Michael controls the response he's looking for by talking about risk in terms his audience appreciates.

In business, oil companies take risks in petroleum exploration - and this carries over to their attitudes about IT. In the 1980s, I sold a decision support system to Atlantic Richfield's treasury department long before the term DSS even came into being. They were eager to use emerging technologies (at that time, it was office automation) with the aim of reducing the time it took to bid on a firm.

It worked. With DSS, executives were able to crunch financial scenarios, analyze the results, and prepare offers more quickly than their competitors. After installing the system, ARCO successfully got bids to the table before their competitors on several occasions. It was a huge success. But management was also willing to discard the project if hadn't panned out.

Insurance companies are quite the opposite. They typically wait until others prove the benefits of a new technology before they adopt it. Case in point: sales force automation.

So, if you're selling a solution that is perceived as high-risk to a risk-averse prospect, think carefully about how you craft your messages.

The Business Case
While general messaging will always have a role in brand-building, targeted messaging typically generates far higher response. Mass market campaigns are famous for generating 1 to 2 percent response. But, if you target your audience with a relevant message - about them - you'll generate more qualified leads while lowering your cost of sales.  Consider my experience (charted below). When you fine tune the message, you make it personal and relevant.