Written by Lynn Swayze
Today, I want to talk to you, dear Expert, about the biggest waste of time and money in marketing your Expert Brand: marketing to unaware audiences.
The Myth of the Unaware Buyer
If you are like most marketers, you've been trained that the first step in marketing is "Unaware" and that the next step is "Problem Aware." And even worse, you've been instructed to start your marketing at the unaware stage.
So supposedly, you can take someone who:
- doesn't have a desire to achieve a result
- doesn't feel any pain points they want to address
- doesn't have any preconceived notions about what might be wrong in their business/life
- isn't doing anything to solve their solution
- isn't looking for you or anything else
. . . and you'll somehow turn them into a "raving fan" client for your services.
Am I the only marketer who sees this is a BIG PROBLEM?
As The Expert's Copywriter, I'm here to tell you that can't do anything about unaware audiences.
That's internal to the person themselves, and not really something that can be changed outside massive brand propaganda a la Edward Bernays. For your limited marketing budget, the better bet is to go after desire aware and problem aware audiences first.
Think about it:
If "unaware" is truly their current frame of mind. . . their psychological state. . . then what hook would actually help? What desire statement or ideal transformation would grab them? If they don't know, how can you know and reach them?
You can't. That's why even including unaware audiences in your marketing plan is a waste of time and money.
"If 'unaware' is truly their current frame of mind. . . their psychological state. . . then what hook would actually work?" - Lynn Swayze #OfferTherapy
What Are We Doing with Marketing, Again?
You probably already know this, but the goal of marketing is to identify the small slice of the global population who has a desired transformation that's impeded by a problem you solve by delivering your Expert Service... and pull them through the awareness stages until the only option is to buy.
That's it.
We don't want to attract people who:
- Don't have (or will never have!) a problem we solve. . .
- Doesn't want the promise we make (desired transformation). . .
- Don't Align with our Persona or Philosophy of our Expert Brand (incongruency creates chaos)
And wasting marketing spend on unaware audiences is the easiest way to cast a wide net full of people who fit the above.
Your job with marketing is to:
- Attract: pull in, through advertising, branding, outreach, etc., the person who fits the criteria above
- Indoctrinate: pull the prospect from the existing frame of mind and state they sit in into the one that's conducive to them taking action
- Convert: through suggestions (E.g., marketing and sales) induce them to buy your product, which you have developed in such a way as to guarantee their success, happiness, and desired transformation
That's it. You don't need to convert the world. You don't need to (and honestly, can't) attract and serve everyone. You ONLY need to attract, indoctrinate, and serve this very tiny sliver of the global population and make their lives better with the service only you can provide as an Expert.
Instead of Unaware, Start with Desire Aware
As I wrote in previous posts like "Eugene Schwartz States of Awareness" as well as the "the Marketing Messaging Gap", the stages of awareness actually looks like the below:
The goal of each step in your buyer's journey is merely to get them to the next step in your funnel and in awareness, no matter where in their awareness level they are when they begin consuming your content.
The job to be done is to engage with the buyer in that stage to flip them to the next one. That's it.
So whether it's a blog post, ad, lead magnet, etc., your job is to flip them to the next stage and thus the next step in your marketing.
Desire Aware Leads
Before State: "I want to achieve Z, but I can't see how I'd ever get there."
After State: "If I find a way to get rid of X pain points, I will achieve Z."
Your Goal: Get them to understand that getting what they want lies in removing certain pain points. (These pain points are symptoms of the problem.)
Problem Aware Leads
Before State: "If I find a way to get rid of X pain points, I will achieve Z."
After State: "The root cause of X pain points is X problem, and if I can find a solution, I can get rid of X and get Z quickly and easily."
Your Goal: Get them to understand that eliminating the pain points solving the problem they feel.
Solution Aware Leads
Before State: The root cause of X pain points is X problem, and if I can find a solution, I can get rid of X and get Z quickly and easily."
After State: "The only way to eliminate X problem and get Z quickly and easily is by finding the best Y solution."
Your Goal: gets them to understand that the ONLY way to solve the specific problem they have is by using one specific solution. (e.g., choosing an agency instead of other options)
Product Aware Leads
Before State: "The only way to eliminate X problem and get Z quickly and easily is by finding the best Y solution."
After State: "The best Y solution is [your company], and I'm ready to buy."
Your Goal: gets them to understand that YOUR product is the best product within the entire solution category. (e.g., you are the best agency among all other agencies to solve this particular problem, for this person, to achieve this result.)
What to Do At Each Stage of the Buyer's Journey
With an understanding of the above, you can now take more deliberate marketing and sales steps to get more leads and clients from your marketing and sales efforts.
- Desire aware: publish content that speaks to transformation. Tell client stories, talk about the ideal state, and encourage people to envision what's possible. Books and webinars which lead with the desired state work well here.
- Problem aware: dig into individual pain points in your content. Use quizzes to help them "self select" for specific problem paths.
- Solution aware: dig into different solutions available to solve the single problem you solve. White papers and case studies do this, as do checklists, quizzes, and blog posts.
- Product aware: this is where your sales team really comes into play. Info kits, service pages, case studies, and other sales-level materials come in handy.
This is obviously just the start, but should give you some good insights into why marketing sometimes doesn't work and what you can do right now to improve your brand's marketing and sales efforts.
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