Effective communications start with considering your audience’s point of view
Though American poet Robert Frost died in 1963, it appears he was already an expert on email marketing, social media and B2B communications.
“Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can’t, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it,” Frost once said.
Neither scenario is good for a business that hopes to effectively communicate with other businesses or consumers. Factor in that the average American office worker receives over 120 emails a day* and it’s clear—if you can’t find the right way to speak to your audience so they really hear what you have to say (or read what you write), it’s a lost cause.
Whether it’s because of a poorly written subject line, an opening that fails to engage the reader or content that doesn’t address the audience’s challenges or needs, we tend to quickly delete any unappealing correspondence. How do you prevent your communications from suffering the same fate?
We’ve followed three simple rules for decades:
- Think backwards – Start with the audience’s needs or pain points, then work back to the message.
- Keep it simple – Focus on one to three key messages. Period.
- Engage the audience from the top – The first five seconds are critical in “hooking” the audience.
As easy as these rules may seem, we’ve witnessed companies break them time and time again without proper oversight. Given that 269 billion emails were sent and received each day worldwide in 2017—a figure that’s expected to approach 320 billion daily emails in 2021**—it’s essential that your correspondence is spot-on from a content and delivery standpoint.
A master at colloquial speech, Frost would no doubt thrive at communicating in today’s world. He’d also marvel at how so many others come up short.
Are you truly communicating your story effectively? If in doubt, feel free to contact us today to learn how we can help.
Sources:
* City A.M. (http://www.cityam.com/210296/inbox-anxiety-how-regain-control-email)
** Statista (https://www.statista.com/statistics/456500/daily-number-of-e-mails-worldwide/)