Is your brand or business a trail-blazer, champion, innovator, superhero or a stage
5 clinger?
Your answer to that question will reveal the RIGHT way to speak to your target audience.
So keep watching...
What’s up guys!
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This week, I’m talking about how to speak to your target audience!
Now, when I say target audience, many of you are probably thinking “Yeah, Alex, I know
my target audience!
I know their age, gender, geographical location, interests, level of education and even their
biggest pain point!”
And all of that is great, and absolutely critical to nailing your copy.
BUT...
It is not enough.
To effectively speak to your target audience you need to know their level of AWARENESS
or understanding around the subject or product you’re selling….
Because this will determine the level of education and innovation you need to provide in order
to make your offer stick.
A lack of awareness of market awareness is one of the biggest mistakes that a marketer
or copywriter can make.
So I’ll give you an example from my own file: Astrology Vs. Numerology.
Two similar topics, with two very different levels of market awareness.
Hundreds of millions of people around the world are familiar with what Astrology is.
Do a quick keyword search on the term “Astrology” and you’ll get results that shoot through
the roof – I mean everyone knows their star Sign, right?!
I’m a Leo!
Where are my fellow Leo’s at?
what’s your Sign!?
Comment below and let me know.
But what I’m getting at here is that Astrology has a very high level of market awareness.
So, copywriting for an Astrology offer doesn’t require a lot of education to explain to the
audience what it is and how it will benefit them.
It does, on the other hand, require a more innovative and distinct Unique Selling Proposition.
Alright, now let’s look at Numerology.
Many may have heard of the term but do they really know what it is?
Do you know your Life Path Number?
Despite having been around for almost as long as Astrology, it is nowhere near as popular.
It gets one-quarter of the searches that astrology gets every single month.
So, because Numerology has a lower level of market awareness, when speaking to the target
audience, there needs to be a greater level of education around the concept, features
and benefits of the offer.
Knowing your market awareness also helps you gauge the market size, market share and precise
market needs!
By that I mean how many people are currently purchasing related products, how many competitors
you have, and what opportunities you have to stand out!
Because here’s the thing, the greater the market awareness, the greater the market saturation
or competition.
So when looking at these two factors together, you get something called Market Sophistication.
The term “Market Sophistication” was first developed by this guy, direct response marketing
legend Eugene Schwartz in his 1966 book Breakthrough Advertising.
Now this is one of the first 5 books I recommend you read if you want to become a copywriter!
To find out the other 4, you can watch my video on that next!
So where does your offer stand on the Market Sophistication scale?
One of the easiest ways to gauge this is to look at the number of similar products or
services that have come before you.
Or, in other words, how sophisticated is your target audience around what you’re selling?
Have they seen it before?
So let’s explore the five stages of Market Sophistication now.
Stage number 1: Hello, World!
At this stage, you’re among the very first to bring a product or service like yours to
the market.
There is nothing but a blue ocean in front of you!
You are a trail-blazer!
That means your audience doesn’t have many opportunities to compare your offer to others.
Products that enter at stage 1 have the best advantage at becoming the dominant player
in their market.
Think about it, no matter how hard Pepsi tries to be number one, Coca-Cola will always have
a stronger, and more nostalgic place in people’s minds for being the original cola drink.
A more recent example of a company that launched at Stage 1 is Hello Fresh.
Today they are the world leader in the meal-kit delivery market, but when they launched in
Berlin back in 2011, no one had heard of such a service!
They send readily portioned and prepared ingredients, based on the recipes you pick, straight to
your doorstep.
And people were like: “Woah that’s a thing now?
Sweet – I’ll give it a try!”
At stage 1, your offer is uncontested.
Your USP is simply “This has never been done before!”
Now, while it is easier to sell once you have the market’s attention, it does take some
leg work to get there.
When HelloFresh launched, their sales copy required market education to create awareness
around what it is and how it works.
At this stage you lead through education.
You’re blazing new trails and hacking your way through the brush to clear the way for
others to roll in after you.
Stage 2: What Makes You Better?
At this stage, the market is warmer.
And more businesses have popped up to compete for the same audience.
People have some idea of what your market is all about and are aware that a solution
like yours exists.
But in order to stand out, you’ll need to promote your specific product features and
benefits.
You’ll need to champion what makes you better!
So this is where you can expand on your original claims with more proof and focus on your big
promise.
How is your product better, faster or easier than the other guys?
For instance, when Apple launched its first Macintosh computer back in 1984, it focused
on the ease and simplicity of it’s graphical user interface compared to the standard command-line
interface of its predecessors, making it the first commercially successful personal computer!
So at stage 2, your product descriptions will need to be longer than “Hey, try this out!”
but there is still a HUGE opportunity to gain mad market share.
Just take a look at Apple.
Alright, Stage number 3: How Are You Different?
By this point, your market has gotten a little bit jaded by all the competition and saturated
messaging in your niche.
They know you’re all offering the same promise and tackling the same old problems.
This is the stage where most products that need to be restored, repeated, or replenished
live – such as weight loss foods, skincare, toiletries, and household products.
At this stage you need to innovate hard.
You’ll need to show your audience how you do things different by providing a unique
mechanism or approach that makes you the unicorn of the market.
For example, Kayo, a boutique body care brand, took a different spin on body oils and lotions
by positioning their products as anti-aging skincare.
Their USP is “Face grade skin care for your body,'' because why should you let the skin
on your body age faster than your face?
It’s brilliant.
Alright, Stage 4: Why Are You The Best?
At this stage, the market is getting noisier and noisier and it can seem difficult to grow.
Your audience is much more aware...
And tired of all the ads being thrown in their face.
Here is where you identify what the top players in the industry are missing and then you fill
that gap.
Or in other words, come in strong where your competitors fall short.
Be the super hero and swoop down to steal that market share.
So for example, when Memrise, the award-winning language-learning app, entered the market,
they were up against some pretty big players like Duo Lingo and Babbel, each having their
own loyal follower base and impressive user experience design.
To stand out, Memrise gamified language learning by implementing an evidence-based memory system
that uses spaced repetition...
And combined it with interactive videos and user-generated content to improve their learning
experience.
They became known as the language app that makes memorizing fun, therefore increasing
the chances of a user retaining what they just learned.
Which is the main struggle with learning languages in the first place.
Am I right?
Alright so, Step number 5: What Makes You Memorable?
At this highest level, people are not listening.
It’s no longer about what you sell…
But WHY you sell it.
You’ve heard me say before that “Your product doesn’t matter” – well, you
have stage 5 to thank for that!
Your market is so aware at this point that they’re looking for reasons to count you
OUT.
Yes, you heard that right.
They are looking for reasons to NOT buy from you so they can clear out the mental clutter
and narrow down their options.
So, this is where you dig deep into understanding the specific segments, needs and personalities
within your target audience, so you can offer a brand experience that’s as personalized
and exclusive as possible.
In other words — you need to figure out what makes your brand memorable and keeps
people coming back for more!
You goal is to stick around!
Yes, you actually want to be a stage 5 clinger.
This is when you become what Euguene Schwartz calls “Iconic”.
Some great examples of markets at this stage include fashion, cars, mobile phones, computers,
cosmetics, and fitness…
And those that have made it this far have some serious brand loyalty on their side.
So — are you on team iPhone, Android or Samsung user?
Mac or PC?
Uber or Lyft?
Comment below and let me know some brands you are fiercely loyal to!
Alright guys - those are the 5 stages of market sophistication!
By identifying where your product or service stands on this scale, you’ll better be able
to better speak to your target audience and write copy that’s more compelling and effective!
Please give me a thumbs up below if you found this video helpful...
And be sure to catch my next video on how to create your Customer Avatar!
Remember, If you try to sell to everyone, you’ll end up selling to no-one.
So I’ll walk you through my 3-step exercise to get crystal clear on identifying your perfect
customer.
So keep watching!
Till next week, I’m Alex. Ciao for now!