Having empathy for your target audience means putting yourself in their shoes and taking a deep dive into their wants, their goals, their needs, their fears and their pain points. Most importantly, what problems are they trying to solve?

We all have a few basic wants, like:

• Getting good value for our money
• Saving time and effort
• Maintaining good health
• Having fun, worthwhile experiences
• Making and maintaining social connections
• Feeling safe and secure
• Gaining the confidence and respect of others

Use these basics as a springboard, and apply them to people who would benefit from your product or services. What are their major worries, and can you offer them a way to cope? What is a chore they spend too much of their time doing? How do they feel most mornings? What keeps them up at night?

True connections are based on empathy, our human capacity to feel what others are going through. By purposefully embracing empathy for your target audience, you can more authentically communicate with them.

As social creatures, we constantly rely on others having empathy for what we are going through. This takes many forms: a raised eyebrow from a colleague suffering through a boring meeting with you, a high-five from a fellow sports fan after a win, or a “you got this” from a respected mentor when you’re struggling. Saying the right thing, at the right time, can make someone’s day so much better.

When your communication and marketing efforts do this, they get noticed. An emotional connection is far more memorable than a transactional interaction. Consumers gravitate toward brands who seem to “get them” and empathize with what they’re going through.

Communicating clearly with your target audience means effectively, efficiently delivering a message that resonates with them. Remember, a trained eye will spot things the average business owner won’t see, so enlisting a communications team can help hone your efforts and avoid missing opportunities. Sometimes your message is best delivered with a long, informative blog (like this one, perhaps?), other times it’s as simple as putting five bold words on the side of a city bus. Consistency matters, too, as your audience will need to see that message more than once in order to build trust in your brand.

Part of that consistent, clear communication is branding. Potential customers need to recognize your business at a glance, so they know who that message is coming from. Those five words on the side of a bus had better have your signature font, colors and a brilliant logo. Building trust with your target audience requires that they understand what you’re telling them and gradually learn your company’s style. Great branding plus a consistent message will help you pass the “vibe check.”

Once you know what to say and how to say it, the remaining questions are where, when and how? Today there’s a wide variety of channels to choose from, from traditional advertising to social media and in-person experiences. How can you most effectively align your message with the daily habits of your target audience? Busy new suburban parents have a different schedule than, say, single dog owners who live downtown. Recent college grads spend their time in different places (both physically and digitally) than retirement-aged veterans. Tailoring your approach will give you the most bang for your marketing bucks.

So, you’ve identified your target audience, created an empathy-based approach and reached out with your message in a clear and effective way. Now what?

The easy part — hopefully — is to do what you do best. Uphold your mission statement and deliver for your audience, or market, once they walk in your door. Provide the quality service you promised them. Solve the problem. Deliver the value. Your message stays authentic and builds trust when consumers learn they can rely on you. People will try a new business out based on good marketing, but they won’t come back (or recommend you to their friends) unless you deliver what you promise.

Keeping this momentum going requires you to keep open lines of communication with your target audience. Your relationship with them is a two-way street. Solicit and respond to feedback, participate in conversations and engage with your community. Businesses that listen and adapt keep customers longer.

There are many fanciful business legends that recount an entrepreneur who dreamed big and accidentally found their place in the market, then lived happily ever after. Build a better mouse trap and the world will beat a path to your door, as the saying goes. Or maybe you’ve heard of the restauranteur who allegedly made it big with their grandmother’s secret recipe. Inspirational stories like this leave a lot out.

The reality is, you simply won’t connect with your market by accident. A business must build that connection deliberately each step of the way. If you’re ready to have a partner that helps you connect with your target audience in a strategic, consistent way, reach out and schedule a free consultation to see what Imagine Communications can do.