What are the best strategies for tailoring your message to different audiences when communicating change?
Change is inevitable in business, but not everyone responds to it in the same way. Some may embrace it, some may resist it, and some may be indifferent. As a business innovator, you need to communicate change effectively to different audiences, such as customers, employees, partners, and investors. How can you tailor your message to suit their needs, expectations, and preferences? Here are some strategies to help you.
Before you craft your message, you need to understand who you are talking to. What are their roles, goals, challenges, and interests? What are their current perceptions and attitudes towards the change? What are their preferred communication channels and styles? How much information do they need and want? By knowing your audience, you can adapt your message to match their level of awareness, understanding, and engagement.
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When we work with clients, we meet with the leadership team and insist on having someone from sales and someone from marketing present. Then we collectively identify the unique target audience(s) we need to reach. You don't tell a different story, but you tell your story differently to each audience to increase their engagement.
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I have found that when you let go of the idea that audience as a "demographic" and focus on understanding mindset, it sets you up for better insights to draw from. Age groups no longer define behavior. So when you think about what your target markets motivation is or how they "feel" towards particular things it changes the perspective of how messages are crafted. You will notice yourself paying more attention to the tone of voice and developing the right call to action will become easier to craft. Insights drive creativity. And the creativity is in the nuances you draw on from innate behavior.
Next, you need to clarify why you are communicating the change and what you want to achieve. What is the main goal or objective of the change? What are the benefits and risks of the change for your audience? What are the expected outcomes and impacts of the change? How do you want your audience to feel, think, and act after hearing your message? By defining your purpose, you can focus your message on the most relevant and compelling aspects of the change.
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Purpose is one of those funny terms that is overused and often misunderstood. As a brand purpose helps define what you stand for, which will aid in the product you develop and the values you uphold. That being said, when crafting the right messaging strategy, the objective of what you want your audience to get out of it should be clear with a well crafted call to action. How that call to action is packaged, whether it be through storytelling, sharing information, humor, etc is part of the strategy. But the objective is what you want to get out of that one piece of communication. This is why I find it problematic when clients have multiple objectives for one piece of work. When you aim to check multiple boxes, you risk achieving nothing.
One of the most effective ways to communicate change is to use storytelling techniques. Stories can capture attention, evoke emotions, illustrate scenarios, and inspire action. You can use stories to explain the context and rationale of the change, to highlight the vision and value of the change, to showcase the success and feedback of the change, and to address the concerns and questions of the change. You can also use stories to personalize and humanize the change, by sharing your own experiences or featuring real examples of people affected by the change.
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We find the Hero's Journey gives you the quickest framework to telling the story. The Hero (each unique audience), the Villain (the issue prompting the change), the Guide (how your decision makers are helping the hero overcome the villain via the new change), and the Outcome (what the hero's world looks like post-change).
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One thing I found helpful when mapping out a storyline for a piece of creative communication is to start from the end. When the ending becomes clear, I find that it is easier to start building around it. The ending should give clarity to the key messages and call to action that needs to come across, but also be flexible enough to change or evolve throughout the exercise. It invites the opportunity to look at story development in a new light and often sparks debate from team members that join the brainstorm at a later stage of the crafting process.
Another key strategy to communicate change is to provide clear and consistent information. You need to avoid ambiguity, confusion, and contradiction in your message. You need to use simple and precise language, avoid jargon and acronyms, and explain technical terms. You need to provide facts and evidence to support your message, and acknowledge any uncertainties or limitations. You also need to ensure that your message is aligned and coherent across different communication channels and formats.
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We find it's best to be as crystal clear as possible on the change and how it will impact a given unique audience. If it's a difficult change, sugar coating it will only heighten the frustration of the audience. If the change leads to positive outcomes, LEAD WITH THAT! In journalism we are taught "don't bury the lead."
Finally, you need to invite feedback and dialogue from your audience. You need to listen to their opinions, suggestions, and concerns, and respond to them respectfully and constructively. You need to encourage questions and comments, and provide opportunities for interaction and discussion. You also need to solicit feedback and input on the change process and outcomes, and use them to improve and refine your message. By inviting feedback and dialogue, you can build trust, rapport, and collaboration with your audience.
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