How can you prioritize messaging based on customer needs?

Map & Understand: Collaborate to define customer segments, gather insights, and understand their goals & challenges. Discover Your Value: Workshop & identify unique value propositions for each segment using frameworks like the Value Proposition Canvas. Prioritize & Decide: Play "message poker" to prioritize messages based on impact and relevance using designated cards. Experiment & Refine: Create message variations, A/B test, analyze results, refine messages, and share learnings for continuous improvement.

By understanding your segments, you can create targeted messaging that speaks directly to their needs, increasing engagement and conversion rates. A few step-by-steps: 1. Gather Data: Analyze demographics, purchase history, website behavior, and feedback to identify distinct groups sharing characteristics. 2. Define Segments: Group customers with similar needs, motivations, or challenges. 3. Craft Tailored Messaging: For each segment, focus on their unique pain points and highlight how your solution directly addresses them. Use relevant language and examples that resonate with their specific context.

Don't just blast messages? Listen? Value? Solve? Listen up!: Understand their problems, goals, and pain points. Empathy is key! Value first: Craft messages that solve their problems, not just sell your stuff. Segment & target: Group customers with similar needs and tailor messages accordingly. Urgency matters: Address urgent needs first to avoid frustration. Data is your guide: Use analytics to track engagement and prioritize high-performing messages. Omnichannel approach: Meet customers where they are - email, social, in-app, etc.

Do you know that Netflix sends at least a billion messages every month? Hence, they have a dedicated 'Messaging' team. With 206 million Monthly Active Users, Netflix aims to keep users informed about: - New Shows/ Titles - New Seasons - Coming Soon - Recommendations - Subscriptions and Promotions A major first principle that Netflix adopted is to not spam its users with unsolicited notifications and messaging. Hence, Netflix aims to personalise tailored messaging with Machine Learning by considering: 1. Platform - Notifs., SMS, Whatsapp, Mail 2. Personalisation 3. Customer Engagement 4. Customer Growth 5. Account

It is very important to understand your customer segment and it is just as important to understand the product development journey in your organisation. Marrying both will enable you to plan your messaging and campaign - keep testing your messages and see what fits. What works now, may not make sense a couple of months down the road.

Forget features, think outcomes. Most value propositions focus on what a product does, not what it achieves for the customer. Instead, identify the desired outcomes your target segment seeks (e.g., save time, gain confidence, achieve financial freedom). Then, connect your product to those outcomes, explaining how it specifically helps them achieve those goals. This shift focuses on the value your product delivers, not just its features.

The jobs to be done framework is another effective tool to help in profiling your customer. Depending whether it's a B2C, B2B, B2B2C - different frameworks has proven to be more effective.

Conduct customer interviews, focus groups, and usability tests to uncover hidden needs and pain points that your product or service can address. For instance, if you're selling a project management tool, your value propositions may include features like real-time collaboration, customizable workflows, and an intuitive user interface. Highlighting these value propositions in your messaging helps customers understand how your solution can solve their problems and improve their lives or businesses.

Even better, you don't have to guess at the winning value propositions anymore. You can test them with your segment. A few of the ways I've done that recently: 1. Surveys and interviews: run a simple messaging test that shows the audience 4 different value props, one of them being a competitors as a control group. Whichever one wins is the one to narrow in on. 2. Use the best-performing value prop "in the wild" through A/B testing in SDR cadences and CRO work. 3. Run a few LinkedIn polls or use Wynter to validate.

Often Value prop can be misinterpreted in the messaging. Focus on what problem it will solve for your customer segment and not on the features. The messaging should also answer "Why you should go for this product".

From my experience, consider the customer journey and where each segment is in their decision-making process. Tailor your messaging to meet customers' needs at each stage, whether they're aware, considering, or ready to purchase. For example, if a customer is in the consideration stage, prioritize messages highlighting your product's benefits and advantages compared to competitors. If they're in the decision stage, focus on messages that address common objections and provide reassurance about the value and reliability of your offering.

Message priority is easy IF you know your customers priority. Your opinion doesnt matter. And remember, message priority doesnt end at your framework. When you get to an asset, for instance, a web page, your copy needs to demonstrate that hierarchy. Take a 'sub line mentality' - write your best practices HEADLINE over subline format. Then flip them.

At a strategic retreat, we gamified the process using Trello boards. Each team member placed their messages on cards and ranked them via drag-and-drop, debating their choices in a friendly 'battle'. The winning messages earned their place at the top, informed by collective insight, much like prioritizing features in product development. We leveraged SurveyMonkey to involve our customer base directly in the message ranking process. By presenting different value propositions in survey form and allowing votes, we democratized priority setting. This direct feedback loop ensured our messaging resonated with our audience's real pain points and delights, echoing the success of customer-driven designs in tech.

A major driver of optimising messaging over time is Analytics. Use data to identify the funnel within messaging. For example, in the context of E-Mails: 1. Sent to delivered ratio 2. Open-Rate of mail 3. Click-through rate on mails 4. Bounce Rate 5. Behaviour flow of users coming from mail 6. Conversion rate Leverage techniques like A/B testing on subject lines, messaging and Call-to-action to identify better way of communicating.

You should be continually testing and iterating your messaging. Use A/B testing on different versions of your message (e.g., email subject lines, ad copy) to see which resonates best with your audience. Tools like heatmaps and clickthrough rate analysis can reveal which elements capture attention and drive clicks. Social listening tools help you understand how customers talk about your brand and competitors, offering insights to refine your message further. By actively testing and using these tools, you can continuously refine your message, ensuring it speaks directly to your customers' needs.

I found it helpful to use A/B testing to compare different messaging elements and identify which resonates best with your audience. Test variables such as headlines, copy length, tone of voice, and visual elements to determine the most effective combination for driving engagement and conversions. For instance, you could test variations of your call-to-action (CTA) button text to see if "Get Started" performs better than "Learn More." Analyze the results of your tests to uncover insights and iterate on your messaging to continually improve performance.

A few more hodgepodge of things to consider when tailoring messaging: Customer Journey: Consider different stages of your customer's journey (awareness, consideration, purchase, etc.) and tailor messages accordingly. Emotional Connection: Humans are emotional beings. Go beyond just facts, and tap into the emotions and aspirations of your target segment. Cultural Nuances: Be mindful of cultural differences and adapt your messaging to avoid unintended implications or misinterpretations. Listen More, Talk Less: Prioritize actively listening to customer feedback and incorporate their voice into your messaging. Simplicity Wins: Avoid jargon and overly complex language. Aim for clear, concise messaging that resonates with your audience

Prioritizing according to needs keeps the popcorn flying, rather than the stress increasing when balancing customer messages, which can sometimes feel like a circus show. Your messaging may be made to resonate by knowing your consumer segments and their problems. A general query can wait nicely in the wings, but a VIP customer with a pressing concern requires a front-row reaction. Recall that timely responses and focused communication foster loyalty and trust, making your customer service the focal point rather than an afterthought.

Explore innovative ways to personalize your messaging based on individual preferences and behavior. Leverage data-driven insights and marketing automation tools to deliver targeted messages that are tailored to each customer's interests and needs. For example, you could use dynamic content blocks in email campaigns to showcase products or promotions that align with each recipient's past purchases or browsing history. Personalization not only increases relevance but also strengthens customer engagement and loyalty. Additionally, stay adaptable in your approach to messaging, as customer needs and market dynamics constantly evolve. Be open to experimentation and be willing to pivot your messaging strategy as needed to stay ahead of the curve.

Voice of customer data is crucial to addressing their needs. You should regularly conduct research on how your customers talk about your brand, service, or product and incorporate that messaging into your brand voice. This will come through in your copy and content and works to speak directly to your audience. When you “speak” like your audience, it builds trust and encourages them to do business with you.