What is the Change You Seek to Make?
Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about change. If you've read any Seth Godin, listened to his Akimbo podcast, or participated in his AltMBA program, you've heard him talk about 'the change you are seeking to make'. Usually, this is referenced around big change--changes in society, systemic change, organizational change, or changes in thinking. All valid and worthwhile, of course. But there are also changes on a smaller scale that we seek as marketers every day. Changes, that if used correctly, can benefit both us and our customers.
How Are You Asking Customers to Change?
How often do your customers/clients purchase from you? How satisfied are they? Is there an area of your business they dislike? Do they have a false belief of what your business does? These questions may seem unrelated to each other, but rest assured they, along with many others, are all a crucial step in determining what type of change you want to see in your consumer base. And when I say change, I’m not necessarily referring to societal change, rather the changes business owners wish to see in their customers —through a marketing standpoint.
We want our audiences to change how they approach investing, what they should expect from local restaurants, where they go to get help with health insurance, who they trust to make new laws, or how often they volunteer. When we make a call-to-action, many times we're asking people to change in some form or another. But change is not easy for most people—especially when it requires hard work or contradicts deeply held beliefs or values. It can end up feeling like we’re banging on a door that’s never going to open.
Changing How We Communicate
Getting past this unopened door requires us to change how we communicate as marketers. We can't spew features and benefits and expect that it will be enough to get someone to change. Naturally, people don't care about our company or organization, they care about themselves. People are protective of their time, overwhelmed with choices, and frankly, are not in the mood to do any favors for companies or brands that don't serve them and share their core beliefs.
So if we intend to make an impact on any scale to the people who matter most to our business, we must understand them. We must have a clear vision of the change we seek to make, and find the audiences that want to come with us to make that change.
Long-term success in marketing is going to come from building relationships with people, building trust by doing what you say you're going to do, and helping your core audience make a change that they believe in, just as much as you or your company.
If your message doesn't connect with your audience, you'll be pushing through the mail slot in that locked door. Instead, listen to them, help them solve their problems, help them change what they want to change, and I think you'll find that they'll open the door to greet you.