Whose Language Are You Speaking?

I’d launched an offensive to get my dad to exercise more, but he was having none of it.

I’d tried scare tactics by reminding him of the doctor’s advice.

I’d tried guilt - do you want to miss your grandchildren growing up?

And to my shame, I’d even tried sulking.

The thing is, my father is a woefully stubborn man. If he doesn’t want to do something, he will not budge. Literally and metaphorically.

It was only when he’d ignored me for the fiftieth time that I realised something.

I was speaking my language, not his. 

I was speaking to things that would motivate me. Not the things that would motivate him.

And there’s one thing that will always motivate my father. 

Winning. He loves to win. 

A sniff of competition and he’s suddenly got more energy than The Flash (game night in our house growing up was like The Hunger Games).

So, I bought him a Fitbit. 

He’d never used any kind of fitness tracker before, so this was a revelation. He could compete against the rest of the family, he could compete against strangers, he could even compete against yesterday’s version of himself. 

He got walking. 

Within days, he was obsessed. 

And now he’s got a step count that rivals mine (I’m pissed about this, but at least he’s moving).

All this to say, when you’re trying to reach your audience, you’ve got to speak to the thing that drives them.

The real thing they want. Not the surface-level thing you think they should want.

Your product or service is just the thing that helps them get it.

Let’s look at an example. 

Let’s say I’m trying to sell audiobooks.

I’m trying to reach the segment of the market that loves books and wants to keep up with new releases, but can’t find the time to read. 

I don’t talk about how great my audiobook service is. 

Instead, I highlight how my audiobooks will allow them to listen on the go. On their commute, doing housework, or walking the dog. 

I paint them a picture with words. 

One where they’ve turned a household chore into ‘me-time’ and can now confidently join conversations with friends about that new bestseller. 

This is why I die a little inside when a client says, ‘But I’m talking to everyone’.

I mean, you can talk to more than one group, but not in the same piece of copy. 

You need to segment your audience and create different versions for your different personas. 

In the audiobook example, another group could be people with ADHD who find it hard to sit and focus for long periods of time with a book in their hands (I have one of these in my family). 

For them, I’d highlight how audiobooks can feed their wonderful brains while their bodies keep on moving.

But how do I find out their underlying driver?

Do your research.

1. Surveys and customer calls - ask current, past, and lost clients. Find out what landed with them and what didn't.

2. Spend time on social media and forums like Reddit. Wherever your potential customers hang out, go there.

3. See what people are saying in reviews for similar products.

4. If you have a sales team, there will be a truckload of insights in those calls. What are the common objections? Where are you losing people?

Be curious.

Whenever you start writing, focus on the outcome they want, and how you can help them to get it.

They’ll like you for it, they’ll trust you, and it’ll make you really, really helpful.

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