I walked right by the sign that said they’d be closed for the holidays until January 2nd and then tried to open the locked door.
Lucky for me, the owner happened to be in the building. She unlocked the door, welcomed me in, and graciously took care of me, despite the even bigger lobby sign that clearly listed the shop’s holiday schedule.
I didn’t see that sign either - until she made a joke about it.
I felt like a dope for missing the signs and for inconveniencing her, but the experience served as a reminder of two important points:
1) The world is not actively looking for your message on a sign, on a website, or in any other marketing channel. That seems to be doubly true when your message is (even temporarily) different from what your audience expects.
2) Consumer habit runs deep and, as marketers, we all need to work consistently and creatively if we wish to change or side-step certain behaviors.
When developing a strategy and deciding how your message will be presented, think like a consumer whose top priority is his or her own needs. That should be easy because that’s what you are. That’s what we all are! But when we’re crafting content for our own businesses, we tend to forget that. Suddenly, we believe that everyone actively thinks about our company or store.
They don’t. Not even your best customers.
Consider These Points
- Always make your message as simple to see and digest as possible. Use concise copy. And choose logical images that support that copy, not draw attention from it.
- Consider where you place your message. Will it be easy for your intended audience to see or hear when they need to see or hear it? Different people prefer to consume information in different ways, so use several channels to distribute your announcement.
- Does your message attract attention? Remember, your potential audience is probably not actively looking for the information you’re sharing, so design your message to interrupt the habit in which they’re currently engaged, whether that's buying a competitor’s product, making assumptions about what you do or don’t sell, or, yes, even trying to walk into your shop when it’s closed for the holidays.
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