Written by: Samantha Touchais, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
You may have an incredible product and be targeting the right audience for this product, your delivery system is second-to-none, and your website looks fantastic. But if you cannot communicate the right way with your audience, you will not convert leads into sales.
Great communication is the key to connecting with a potential customer or client. Everything you do and say communicates a message to your audience that will either turn them off completely, leave no lasting impact, or, if you get the communication right, engage them and position them correctly to move into the next phase of their relationship with you.
I have been in the marketing industry for over 20 years, have led huge global marketing and communication campaigns for well-known household brands, and have written 4 books. I now run two successful businesses and am living a meaningful life, teaching, and inspiring others. In other words, I am living a life of purpose, my dream life.
And I credit a big part of the realization of my dream life with knowing how to communicate with my audience and how to use words to build the holy grail of marketing; the like, know and trust factor.
It all comes down to how and what you communicate.
Is your message clear? Is it concise? Does it resonate with your audience and particularly with your ideal client or customer?
All communication, whether it’s written or spoken, needs certain elements to be effective.
The purpose of communication is to get a message across, and so it needs to be:
Created with the target audience in mind
An appropriate length to get the key information across without losing the audience
Clear
Concise
Structured
Engaging
Enticing
Written with a goal in mind
With a call-to-action (when needed)
It also needs to be single-minded whenever possible.
When I talk about communication, I am including not just the conversations you are having face to face or on the phone, but also the copy you use in your advertising, the emails you send to current or potential clients or customers, responses to customer or supplier complaints, packaging copy, branding, website copy, social media post wording and imagery, blog posts. The list goes on.
These are all touchpoints that you have with your clients or customers (potential and actual), and every word counts.
So what makes for good communication?
1. Tone of voice
A tone of voice is ‘how’ you say something. It’s how you want to come across to your audience. What is your brand about? What does your company stand for? This can all be represented by your tone of voice.
Examples are:
Fun and friendly
Serious and authoritative
Caring
Respectful
Enthusiastic
Professional
Light-hearted
Always ensure that the tone of voice you use in all your communication matches the image you want people to have of you and/or your brand.
It is also one of the ways you connect with your audience. So before you start having any conversations with potential customers, and before you start writing blog posts or creating Facebook ads, take the time to think about your target audience and how they would like to be talked to, and what kind of tone of voice will resonate with them the most while representing you and what you stand for at the same time.
The tone of voice can be a tricky thing to get right, but as Maya Angelou once said, ‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.’ And she was spot on.
2. What is the message you would like to get across?
Before you start creating any communication piece, think about the one main message you would like your audience to take away. This will determine what you write or say, how much you write or say, and how detailed you need to be.
It is sometimes tough to sum up everything you want to say into one sentence, but it is crucial to ensure that the message you create has the right impact.
Here are 4 main points to consider when drafting communication pieces:
How complicated is the product or service you are trying to sell? Suppose the key feature of your product takes a bit of time to explain but sets you apart from competitors. In that case, you will need to start your communication piece with a catchy and engaging headline to get the interest of potential customers and encourage them to want to learn more.
Breaking the information down into smaller chunks can help your audience digest your message and not feel overwhelmed. Videos help tremendously with this.
How engaged with the brand is the target audience? People that are already engaged with your brand are more likely to listen to what you have to say than people who have never heard of you. Saying that, if you are selling something that potential customers are looking for and manage to pique their interest from the very beginning, you will be able to keep them engaged for longer.
Another aspect of engagement to think about is your target audience when they see your message. Are they distracted by something else at the time of consuming your message? Do you know the best time to try to communicate with them?
Understanding your ideal client’s day and when they are most receptive to your message is a crucial piece of information that can make all the difference to getting engagement from your audience.
How much time do they have? If your audience is short on time, then you may need to get straight to the point. A single-minded piece of communication is often the most effective but also the hardest to create. By single-minded, I mean that you focus on one key point in your message. Instead of listing the ten things that are oh-so-wonderful about your product or service, pick just ONE. We are all bombarded with so many messages these days that we are lucky to absorb and retain just one key piece of information, so make sure it is the right one they hear.
For other audiences who have the time to read magazines or long social media posts, and love to indulge in them, then you have more time to talk to them and engage with them before getting to your call-to-action.
Are you telling a good story? Think about the qualities of a good story. What is it that keeps the audience hooked when reading a book or watching a movie?
It is the quality of the storytelling that counts. How can you add a sense of adventure or suspense, or romance to your communication pieces (or whatever suits your brand and your audience)?
Great communication takes your audience on a journey. This does not mean you have to write a book! Remember, a picture tells a thousand words, so if you have two seconds to get your message across, choose a picture or icon representing your message and a short call-to-action. If you are trying to sell a holiday-of-a-lifetime, perhaps you use just a few ‘Contact Us’ words, but the imagery you choose creates such desire in your audience that they desperately want to talk to you to learn more.
3. Choosing the right communication channel
Think about what you are trying to create, and then think about how this is best delivered. Do you have 15 minutes to give a presentation to potential customers? Or do you have a split second to grab someone’s attention before they scroll on by?
There is no point trying to talk to someone on Instagram when they most likely don’t have an account. I am amazed at how many clients choose their communication channels based on their preference rather than their target audience. So do some research to determine the daily habits of your target audience, and learn where and when is the best way to have a conversation with them. Once the channel is chosen, you will need to adjust your message accordingly.
In summary
Decide who the target audience is and what kind of media they prefer to consume Key questions to ask yourself are: how much time do they have, how engaged with my brand are they already, how much do they know about the topic I am writing or speaking about, and how much information do they need to make a buying decision?
How engaging is my message? Put yourself in your target audience’s shoes by thinking about their daily life, what they are most likely doing when they see your message, and how much convincing they will need to decide to buy what you are selling. Now re-look at your communication piece. Does it cut through all the noise they have in their daily life? Is your message truly engaging enough to get and hold their attention?
How is my message coming across? Double-check the tone of voice you have used and how you have pitched the message to your audience. Don’t waste their time by explaining things they already know. An experienced cake maker doesn’t need to know the basics of cake making, so get straight to what they are interested in, which is how your offer can make their job easier, faster, or take their cake making to a higher level.
What is the one main message that my audience will take away from this piece? Suppose you can’t clearly articulate it, and someone else reading the piece for the first time isn’t clear on your message either. In that case, you will need to revisit your message and, either through layout, wording, or both, ensure that the one key message is more important than any other that stands out.
Finally, ensure that your communication is created with a goal in mind, and if that goal is to make a sale or get a new client, then ensure there is a strong call-to-action in it.
You don’t have long to impress someone, but with well-thought-out and executed communication, you will build the like, know and trust factor that is the keystone to a solid and successful business.
Samantha Touchais, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Samantha Touchais is a Business and Mindset Coach helping women create a safe and secure path to launching their dream business by providing them with the support and tools to make it a success. She has over 20 years of marketing and strategy experience working for large international companies worldwide. Her love of how the mind works and how to create the right mindset for success led her into coaching. She lives and breathes marketing and mindset and loves sharing her learnings with others. Author of four books and the creator of the Well Being Series (a collection of apps and books that provide meditations and affirmations for well-being based on the latest neuro-science), she loves exploring Europe, where she has been for the last 14 years but misses the beaches of her native Australia.
