People tell us who they are, but we ignore it because we want them to be who we want them to be.”
—Don Draper

In working with startups, we see this all the time. You’re laser-focused like Cyclops on growth; acquiring new customers, raising capital and becoming the next Uber. So when it comes to communicating with your audience, you naturally focus on what you want them to do in order to make that happen (i.e. sign up, subscribe, buy now). Makes sense.

But here’s the thing: if you take that approach, you’re not going to get the response you’re looking for.

Why not? Because you haven’t first put yourself in the shoes of the people you’re serving. You haven’t stopped to look at things from their perspective; to find out what matters to them.

In short, in order to achieve your goals, you need to address your audience’s.

Only when you understand who they are, what they want and how they belong, can you begin to communicate in a way that will resonate. Once you do that, they’ll take the actions you want them to take.

In the words of Mars Blackmon, “It’s gotta be the shoes“. Make sure you’re putting yourself in your audiences’.