"If you wish to persuade me you must think my thoughts, feel my feelings, and speak my words." - Cicero
Every marketer runs the risk of getting too close to their work and losing sight of their audience. Bad things happen when we get too close to our work. We start using insider language, jargon, and acronyms. We assume that everyone already cares about what we do. We forget about our audience's needs and instead focus on requirements from internal stakeholders. We produce ineffective campaigns.
Cicero reminds us that we need to think like our audience to persuade. Marketing is, after all, a persuasion business. Not sure how to get started? Try writing out five first person statements that describe how your audience feels (ex: I feel concerned that I'm not going to meet my sales goals). Next, interview some of your customers to see what they care about and how they speak. There, you're starting to think like your audience.
Ready to dig a little deeper? Check out Erika Hall's book Just Enough Research to discover how you can get started with audience research without blowing your budget.
