When they tell you to write to the 1 person in your customer profile

You probably know this, but understanding your target audience is paramount to the success of your messaging and communication strategy. It's Communication 101.

But one of the biggest challenges for a B2B writer is how to make sure your message speaks to the right person in your customer profile when you have a bunch of different personas in your buying group.

We often make the mistake of attempting to appeal to everyone, fearing that targeting a specific customer base will limit our market.

But when we attempt to address everyone, we address no one.

Our messaging becomes diluted with vague and unfocused promises.

And because we're not addressing a specific need, we miss connecting with the prospects who are most likely to benefit from our services.

Unlike B2C, B2Bs buying decisions involve multiple departments making it extremely hard to pinpoint your 1 A+ client.

“Am I talking to the user? What about the head of engineering or CTO? 

We start to forget who your message is for.

We have a primary audience that typically includes key decision-makers (those whose behaviour we want to change).

And then a secondary audience - anyone influencing the decision-makers but might not have the final say in purchasing.

Emma Stratton, in her book Make it Punchy, suggests nailing down your A+ Customers and offers 3 sniff test questions

• Who are your happiest customers? (They love your product and refer it to others.)

• Who gets the most value from your product? (They see it as a must-have.)

• Who are the super users of your product? (They know how to use the most sophisticated features.) 

Once you've got an understanding of who you are talking to how do we write to that 1 Person?

Let's add a little human design and use a technique from B2C Copywriting.

Take a look at Vieve's copy. While each one feels like a targeted emotion, personality, and event, towards a specific group, it also feels universal to the wider makeup users.

Which generated self-identifying comments that spoke to more than just 1 person.

Vieve's Ad uses the Barnum Effect, a psychological phenomenon that describes the tendency for individuals to believe generalised descriptions of personality traits, behaviours, or situations apply specifically to them.

For example, consider the following statement: "You often worry about financial stability to provide for your loved ones."

While this statement may appear to provide specific insights into one's personality, it's also quite a generic description that can apply to a wide range of individuals.

I like to use the Copywriting Frameworks BAB (Before After Bridge) to help me with the structure and flow when I'm writing to an abstract audience.

1. .Before: Meet your audience where they’re at 🤝

Your messaging should match your audience's level of experience

Identifying where they are in their customer journey - their awareness levels.

• What does their current situation look like? Are they tired of using slow, unorganised, and cluttered financial tools?

• Write a list of your customer's problems. What "Keeps them up at night"? Lost invoices mean late or no payment.

• Why are they looking for help? Organised, no-fuss spreadsheets.

2. After: The Transformation - Paint a vivid picture of a future where their pain points are resolved. 🎯

Lead with what matters most to your customer (not with what matters most to your company). Get them excited about the possibility of achieving their desired outcomes.

• When they imagine a brighter future free of this challenge, what does that look like? Invoices paid on time, no awkward chasing up calls. Everyone's happy.

3. Bridge: Your Solution - Connects the Dots

Present your product or service as the solution that can take them from their current state to the desired outcome.  

• How does your solution take away their pain and transform them into their desired future? Easy spreadsheet management for teams. One-click invoicing

• What's your One Big Promise that they will achieve that they value? Get paid on time.

When you add a little human-design to your communication, you make your words more impactful, and valuable to your audience.

YOUR TURN.

Take a look at your content.

Uncover the universal commonalities between your audience groups.

What are their shared experiences, events, and personalities?

What can you write about specifically that would appeal to most of them.

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Human-Designed Strategic Communication isn’t a "nice-to-have". They’re essential tools for modern B2B communication — just like SEO, clear CTAs, or spellcheck.

​If you want to get your B2B audience to notice and remember you,.

You have to hack their brain.​

Not sure what to focus on? — I train in-house B2B communication teams

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