When companies are creating profiles of possible target customers, there is a dimension they often overlook: the urgency of the need for the offering. This article provides a process for segmenting prospective customers in this fashion and creating a sales strategy.

Many business leaders believe that they fully understand their best target customers. They’ve developed clear profiles (a.k.a. personas) that are richly detailed with well-researched parameters, such as standard characteristics (e.g., age, education level, years at the company, role) or firmographic (e.g., annual revenues, number of employees, industry, geography, years in business). While such characteristics are important, they ignore another crucial characteristic: urgency of need.

A company that offers a software-as-a-service billing solution for small and mid-sized private dental practices may focus on classic demographics, such as the size of the practice (number of employees or number of dentists), the age of the practice (since older practices may more likely have outdated systems), or the amount of insurance billing the practice does each year.

These variables are useful in helping to produce a list of prospects, but they don’t determine which of these dental practices the sales team should call on first. If, however, the company added data that reflects which of these practices’ needs is most urgent — say, those that have advertised for billing and claims administration help more than twice in the past year (suggesting that they are struggling to keep up with billing) — salespeople would be able to prioritize their attention on these prospects.

The Four Segments

This needs-based approach entails segmenting potential customers into four segments:

1. Urgent. The customer recognizes that it has an immediate need. (We just had another billing person quit!)
2. Non-urgent. The customer recognizes the need, but it isn’t a high priority at this time. (We realize that our billing needs are changing and our current system will need to be revamped. We plan to start looking into this in the next year.)
3. Currently met. The customer believes it already has an adequate solution to address the need at this time but recognizes it may not be a long-term solution. (We have an older billing system in place that still does the trick for now.)
4. None. The customer simply has no need nor expects such need anytime soon. (Our small practice has a limited number of patients who pay out of pocket. Since all payments are made at the time of service, we simply don’t need a complex new billing system.)

This focus on the urgency of target customers’ needs may sound like common sense, but we have found in our work with B2B companies — from mid-sized firms to Fortune 50 giants in an array of industries such as financial services, enterprise information technology, utilities, industrial solutions, and health care technology — that they often fail to consider this dimension. Here is a process a firm can employ to apply this approach.

Identify new customers.

To identify prospects outside of your existing customer base, you can use available information. One is a source we mentioned: help-wanted ads that reflect a particular need.

But there are plenty of others. For instance, if a company sells inventory management solutions, a source of valuable data might be manufacturing industry merger-and-acquisition data, which could reveal companies with an urgent need to change or merge systems such as those for managing inventories. If a company sells quality-management solutions, a source of valuable data could be companies that are getting hammered for poor quality on social media.

Gather the necessary information.

Identifying your customers’ true urgency of needs requires looking beyond your typical demographic and firmographic profiling. This starts with an outreach initiative to talk to customers and prospects. The purpose is to ask questions to identify new target customer parameters that may be impacting the customer’s urgency of needs:

• Frustrations. How urgent is the need to resolve these frustrations? Which frustration would best accelerate success if resolved?
• Goals. Are your goals clear, consistent, reasonable, and measurable? Have your goals shifted recently?
• Roadblocks. What keeps you from reaching your goals? (i.e., What keeps you up at night?) What is the magnitude of the impact of these roadblocks?
• Environmental and situational factors. Are you experiencing any industry consolidation, organizational or executive management changes or instability, competitive changes, regulatory changes, and so on? What is the magnitude of the impact of these factors?
• Technology factors. Are there new or changing technologies that will impact your ability to achieve your goals? Are you at risk due to technology end-of-life issues or incompatibility?

Assess your firm’s ability to serve lower-level segments.

Once a company has performed its needs-based segmentation effort, it should seek to answer the following questions about each of the four levels. The findings will dictate the sales and marketing strategy, level of investment and resource allocations.

Level 1. Urgent need

How quickly can we meet their need? How can we best serve them? Is the market opportunity large enough to focus only on these prospective customers? Given the customer’s urgency, how do we price our products to optimize margins without damaging relationships by appearing exploitive?

Level 2. Non-urgent need

Can we convince them that their need is more urgent than they currently believe? How do we effectively stay in touch with them so we remain top of mind when they perceive that their need has become urgent?

Level 3. Need currently met

Should we walk away from these prospects? If so, when and how do we touch base with them to see if their needs have changed? Or is there an opportunity to continue to work to convince them that their need is either more significant than they realize or could be much better addressed? If so, what’s the best approach to get them to reconsider their current situation and recognize their true need and its urgency?

Level 4. No need

Should we completely remove these contacts as any potential prospect? Is there some other need we may be able to address for them — perhaps with another product? Should we be in contact on a planned basis to see if their situation has changed? How do we best do that?

The ideal customers are those who clearly understand and recognize they have an urgent need for your offering. However, if that opportunity is not enough to meet the company’s sales volume target, it may be necessary to extend efforts beyond Level 1. Gaining the attention of these additional target customers, challenging their perceptions of their needs, and educating them on how your offering could benefit them will require resources. Consequently, a critical assessment is required to determine whether the opportunity outweighs the investment necessary to address customers in these other levels.

Test your new targets.

Before committing to a complete revamp of how your salespeople are prioritizing opportunities, select one or two experienced salespeople to help you test your new target customer parameters. Identify a few prospects that align to your revamped target profiles, and see how the selected salespeople are able to penetrate them.

Revamp your sales messaging and training.

Include prospective customers’ level of need in your sales messaging — the language that the sales team uses in its interactions with customers. Revamp your sales tools (materials such as brochures, technical papers, and customer testimonials used in the selling process) to include the urgency of need. And teach salespeople how to read and react to the prospective customer’s level of need and adapt their language appropriately.

By adding urgency of need to target customers’ profiles, companies can do more than differentiate their offerings more effectively. They can also identify new growth opportunities and successfully pivot away from slowing or tightening markets. They can accelerate the sales of new products. Last but not least, they can turn underachieving sales teams into strong performers.

Seventy-nine percent of Americans are troubled by companies’ usage of their personal data. In fact, 62% of Americans are so cynical about the state of data privacy in this country that they consider it impossible to move through everyday life without having their data collected and used.

To be sure, their anxiety is not unfounded. Last year alone, 4,145 publicly disclosed privacy breaches compromised more than 22 billion records. And increasingly, company leaders are being held to account for breaches: Under the GDPR, the EU’s data protection regulation, authorities can impose fines of up to €20 million (roughly $20,372,000), or 4% of worldwide turnover for the preceding financial year — whichever is higher. In October, a UK construction company received a €4.4 million fine following a 2020 phishing attack that compromised the personal data of up to 113,000 people.

One might think that stories such as these would deter consumers from sharing personal information with brands. Yet in a paradoxical turn of events, consumers also demand highly personalized marketing messages — and above all else, personalization requires data.

Take email marketing, for instance. In 2020, there were 4 billion email users globally, and 59% of consumers said marketing emails influenced their purchase decisions. However, for email marketing to be effective, it must be individualized. Consumers are so adamant about this fact that 72% will engage only with brand messaging that is tailored to them. The question, then, is how can you craft personalized campaigns that avoid spooking audiences and destroying brand-consumer trust? Here are three tips.

1. Make your privacy and opt-in policies clear.

Some 59% of Americans say they do not know what companies use their personal data for, yet they are concerned enough to delete cookies on a regular basis (41%) and install ad blockers on their devices (30%). Help plug those gaps in understanding by outlining precisely what consumers agree to when they opt into your email list and how their personal information will (and will not) be used.

Having a privacy policy on your opt-in form can make a massive difference in sign-up rates, but make sure it provides concrete information. One marketer found that she garnered 19% fewer sign-ups when her privacy policy was vague. In contrast, her sign-up rate skyrocketed when she added more specific language to the policy. Something as simple as switching “100% privacy — we will never spam you!” to “We guarantee 100% privacy. Your information will not be shared” increased performance by 19.4%.

Additionally, consider setting up double opt-in on your email list. Under double opt-in, once consumers fill out your on-site opt-in form, they must verify their email address via a confirmation email to complete the registration process. This additional step helps reduce the number of spam accounts on your email list and allows you to segment your audience by interest level.

How many users, for example, abandoned the registration process after step one? Funnel that segment into a series of emails meant to nudge them forward in the registration process. Those who completed the registration with no delays can begin receiving targeted, personalized emails.

2. Optimize for humans.

I have found that the best way to cultivate trust in your email marketing is to optimize emails for humans first ­­­­­­­­­— not robots. Start with language, as you need to focus on the human who will be reading it instead of the robots that will be scanning it. This is why it’s important to read the emails out loud to make sure that they sound conversational.

Ultimately, email is a private forum, so you can usually get away with more personal messages than social media. However, if the tone feels “off,” then your personalization efforts might come across as contrived or even creepy. The goal is to use language to create an emotional response — beginning with personalized subject lines, which boast higher open rates. Including someone’s first name is always a good start. If you have access to the data, you can also use recent purchases or birthdays.

Next, play around with the design. The psychology of color is well researched, and the findings are highly relevant to email marketing. According to Kissmetrics, 85% of consumers identify color as a primary reason to buy a product, and different colors can have different effects. Blue is usually considered a trustworthy and professional color, while red often indicates danger or security.

Finally, design your emails using the principles of universal design, which will ensure the emails are accessible to people with diverse preferences and abilities. Relevant, striking images can encourage recipients to digest the content of your email, but any time you use an image, you need to add alt text. This way, those with visual impairments can still gain any important context the image provides. Plus, among young consumers, inclusion is one of the best ways to build trust — not to mention, it’s the right thing to do.

3. Create, test, learn, repeat.

Create automated email workflows to help your team build customized campaigns at scale. Welcome emails are among the most opened — with an over 50% open rate — so start there. Birthday emails are an easy next step, then cart abandonment and website bounces, and so forth. Optimizing these categories first helps you gain the skills and reporting required to understand and learn from your target audience.

Like any marketing initiative, the best email campaigns are not the product of gut feelings. Rather, effective email marketing is achieved through systematic testing, measuring, learning, and adjusting. At this point, A/B testing your subject lines should be table stakes, but why stop there? Start A/B testing your emails’ pre-header text, calls to action, designs, layouts — everything — to see what resonates and what doesn’t.

Finally, don’t be afraid to gather direct feedback from your target audience. Collect opinions by setting up preference centers and encouraging subscribers to use them. Do they prefer to receive and read emails at certain times? Are your emails too long for their liking? Too short, even? How many times a week? This tactic helps dissuade people from unsubscribing and can even improve open rates when used judiciously. Use the feedback you get to build out those centers and empower subscribers to mold their email experience.

It makes sense that marketers lean on personalized email marketing: Email is consumers’ preferred way to receive brand communications (and it does not hurt that email boasts an impressive $42-to-$1 return on investment). But with privacy concerns percolating, you need to reassure consumers that they can trust you with their credentials. Incorporate these three strategies in your email marketing initiatives and watch as even the biggest skeptics begin to engage with your brand messaging.

Empathetic marketing reached an intense crossroads in 2020, when the pandemic prompted many brands to respond to collective grief — some with success, and many coming off as utterly tone-deaf. That doesn’t mean that brands need to shy away from channeling empathy in their marketing, however; authenticity and genuine connection are more important than ever. To this end, the author recommends three strategies for brand to forge genuine customer connections: 1) Keep one ear to the ground, 2) give customers the power of choice, and 3) set the tone with visuals.

Empathy is the foundation of an effective marketing strategy. But it’s not always channeled tactfully. Almost immediately after the pandemic hit, marketers rode the “unprecedented times” wave, deploying message after message in support of frontline workers and banding together. Two years in, however, this kind of mass messaging among compounding collective grief rings hollow. But that doesn’t mean emotion and connection from brands isn’t necessary — quite the opposite, actually.

Being truly empathetic means being genuine, and emotional marketing campaigns created to seize cultural moments come across as insincere at best and manipulative at worst. Authentic empathy begets authentic connections between brands and customers.

Nike and Ikea stood out for particularly powerful storytelling ads at the onset of the pandemic. But plenty of other brands — fashion companies hawking new clothes for swankier “staycations” or Loon offering a 20% discount on e-cigarette purchases with a “staysafe” promo code, to name just two examples — awkwardly attempted to wedge their way into the “we’re in this together” conversation with little to no success.

To that end, these three strategies can help you personalize your messaging, evoke genuine compassion, and forge powerful customer connections:

1. Keep one ear to the ground.

If the past few years have taught you anything, it should be that a lot can change in a short amount of time. With that in mind, you need to keep a consistent pulse on your customers’ wants, needs, and pain points. Otherwise, you will seem utterly out of touch.

The ways you engage customers to gather this information will look different depending on various factors, including your specific industry and whether you operate in the B2B or B2C space. However, make sure to balance so-called “anecdata” (i.e., evidence based on stated personal preferences as opposed to real-world behavioral data) with data on actual decisions people make.

Sometimes, people’s true preferences differ from their declared preferences because humans tend to answer questions based on idealized versions of themselves. It is why someone might claim to be an avid NPR listener (stated preference) when they actually jam out to Britney Spears on their morning commutes (revealed preference).

For example, if you are a pure-play e-commerce company, you might employ focus groups and ask users to take surveys, but you should also monitor actual website users’ behaviors and compare the results. Additionally, consider adding interactivity to learn more about your customers’ browsing and purchasing habits. Being able to truly understand another’s perspective is the foundation of empathetic marketing. Seeing the world from the user’s point of view puts the customer at the center of your strategy and its execution.

2. Give customers the power of choice.

Holiday campaigns are a valuable way to get your brand out there and highlight its personality. Unfortunately, holidays like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can be painful reminders for some people about lost or estranged loved ones. That’s why marketing teams for brands ranging from Pandora to the Democratic National Committee have recently been experimenting with “opt-out” emails for major holidays. Consider, for example, this message from Etsy:

“We understand that Mother’s Day can be a difficult time for some. If you’d rather not receive emails from us about Mother’s Day this year, let us know by removing yourself below. We’ll still keep you in the loop about one-of-a-kind finds we think you’ll love, just without the Mother’s Day messages.”

Though some might argue that offering an opt-out option can be more triggering than the traditional marketing emails usually sent, I firmly believe that allowing customers to choose how they interact with you is the ultimate act of empathic marketing. Plus, marketing technology has advanced enough that it is easy to segment your audiences to send or withhold specific messaging.

Although this was the first year luggage brand Away offered an opt-out choice on Mother’s and Father’s Day emails, it will not be the last. According to company representatives, more than 4,000 Away email subscribers opted out of the holiday emails, and another 250 sent the company messages expressing thanks for its thoughtfulness. Expect more brands to follow suit.

3. Set the tone with visuals.

The last thing you want is for target audiences to perceive your empathetic messaging as shallow or phony. To minimize the possibility of your messaging appearing shallow, use visual design to set the tone. And whatever you do, make sure it aligns with the brand you have created.

A wonderful example of visually authentic design is the professional services firm Ernst & Young. The subject matter is relatively pedestrian, but when you visit its website, you see photos of diversity, nature, and aspirations — all of which pair well with the brand’s empathetic tagline: “Building a better working world.”

Additionally, ask yourself: Can you rethink your design to be more accommodating and tactful? Three-quarters of people use some sort of vision correction, according to The Vision Council. So, a more accommodating approach to design that isn’t cluttered and doesn’t strain the eyes can position your company as an empathetic and collaborative one.

Again, authenticity is key. Steer clear of visuals that promote toxic positivity (which will come across as insensitive) and definitely avoid Hallmark-esque stock footage. Ensure your brand’s visuals account for the manifold experiences people might have: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The ability to understand others’ perspectives has always been paramount in marketing, and that rings especially true during the moments it feels like we all will be swallowed by collective grief. To get empathetic marketing right, however, it needs to be personalized and genuine. There is no such thing as faking it until you make it, so get to work.