You Talkin' To Me? Capturing your customer's attention through powerful messaging.

“You talkin’ to me?” That’s a question made famous by Robert De Niro in the movie “Taxi Driver. “ The scene where he mutters the famous phrase multiple times, De Niro’s character is standing in front of a mirror imagining a confrontation where he’s able to draw and use his gun. His character was deranged and the context was one that showed his lack of stability. It’s a powerful question, though, and one I wish more people were asking, just in a different context.

If prospects and clients are inquiring if you’re talking to them, then that means they’re actually paying attention to you, which is a great start. Unfortunately, most marketing and advertising fails to resonate or make an impact. Why? Often it’s because the message isn’t really reaching the intended recipient in the way intended. Sales letters, direct mail, advertisements, web copy, blogs and other forms of marketing communication often miss the mark. Here’s just a few of the reasons why:

• Creativity – often there’s far too much emphasis on catchy headlines. Yes, you want to be creative, but if you’re headline isn’t touching on an issue or problem with your prospect, are you really impacting them? What impacts you when it comes to marketing?
• Mechanical – it’s important that you offer the same 10 services your competitor does, but is that really what you want to focus on when messaging? If it’s the main focus of your message, avoid the mechanics and talk about the benefits doing business with you provides
• Differentiation – if you can show how you’re truly different, and in a way that matters to the buying audience, you’re much more likely to break through barriers. Differentiation matters today more than ever.
• Call-to-Action – if you’re not asking for the audience members to take some action, are you missing out on a golden opportunity? An offer, a survey, a request for more information, or some other item that requires them to take action moves them closer to being a customer.
• Perspective – most marketing material is created without understanding the real needs or desires of the buying audience. Often the focus is mechanical and creative, but not on actionability. To learn more about understanding your audience, visit A Model Prospect.

When writing, there’s a simple model that can help you create an impactful message, especially if you understand the needs of your buying audience. The model consists of four questions:
• Why – Why is your company different?
• What – What can you do that others can’t?
• How – How do you do it?
• What If – What will happen if they work with you?

Take this approach and you’re creating actionable, differentiated messaging. Obviously, an advertisement my not include detail on each point, but the focus should be on making sure they understand all four questions and what it means to them. Use these questions when planning your marketing and you’re going to go a long way toward providing real value driven messaging.

Clearly, you don’t want your audience standing in front of a mirror imagining a confrontation with you, like De Niro. However, if you can get them asking “you talkin’ to me?” you know they’re listening. Get them listening and they might just become new clients. If you want to learn more about my perspective or to learn more, visit www.actusmr.com or email me at paul_kirch@actusmr.com.