First, assume no one cares
A couple seemingly unrelated thoughts that I've read recently have me thinking about the importance of this question: What if no one cares?
- On Scott's "Welcome to governance month" post, Maddie Grant commented with a general feeling of angst toward boards, and she said "A friend said to me that people should print my comment and show it to their boards and say, ‘this is what some people think of boards - how would you refute it?'"
- Then I saw "Three Quick Steps to Clear Writing" on Copyblogger (which, if your job entails writing in any way, you really should be reading). One of his steps: "Care: Clarity comes from deeply caring if people truly understand."
The latter reminded me of the old writer's adage "write for the reader," which really means "consider the reader's perspective, not your own." But with Maddie's comment in mind, I realize that this mindset should permeate pretty much everything you do.
- For your next membership campaign, don't just assume that prospective members might be interested in networking or improving their careers. Assume that your prospects are content, lazy slouches with no ambition, little desire to expand their horizons, and zero familiarity with membership organizations. Then figure out how to make membership in your association relevant to those people.
- Next time you call a staff or volunteer meeting, don't just assume that your colleagues want to collaborate with you. Assume they're already overworked and have little to no knowledge of the need for or the fundamentals of the work you'd like to do together. Then figure out how to make them excited about working or volunteering with you.
- When you give your next presentation at a meeting or conference, don't just assume that the audience wants to learn. Assume that they came to your session because it looked like the least boring session during your time slot and that they don't think your topic is in any way relevant to their field of work. Then figure out how to get that audience engaged.
Of course, in most of these cases, people do care. But don't assume that. Don't assume anything in your favor. Rather, before you take on any task, ask yourself, "What if no one cares about this?" Then, with that perspective in mind, direct your efforts to making sure that you reach the people who don't care. It will make everything you do much more effective.
[On a related note, my colleague Lisa Junker wrote a great article back in 2007 on "red teaming," which is an exercise in assuming the mind of your competition to better understand your own weaknesses. It takes the "What if no one cares?" idea a step further by asking, "What if people want to defeat us?" and addresses it on an organizational level. It's a good read.]
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Comments
Hi Joe,
Although I know you meant primarily to be thought-provoking, membership campaigns SHOULD be written assuming at least in part that "prospective members are content, lazy slouches with no ambition, little desire to expand their horizons, and zero familiarity with membership organizations"--because that's 90% of the total audience a typical campaign reaches, even if they don't characterize themselves that way.
Most campaigns survive on reaching, speaking to, influencing, and converting a portion of the 10% who are not. None of our marketing & outreach is so brilliant that it overcomes years of culture, upbringing & underlying attitudes, but rather it works on those who have belief systems consistent with the values that we as associations tend to represent.
When I'm working on copywriting projects I try to run errands and picture the many rude/indifferent people I see and then try to picture writing to them to appeal to their nature and overcome some of their "sales objections." It's a bit unorthodox, but after being in "the association world" (itself a funny, culture-centric term!) for so long, I also take for granted that the people I encounter will be engaged, well-meaning, and "get" the joy of collective action, or at least find appealing the idea of being part of something bigger than themselves. Art Brooks hit the nail on the head with "Where the Winners Meet"--my takeaway has always been that, if our membership has 30% market penetration, that probably matches up closely with the most motivated or best 30% in the field unless some competitor association shares the market, and the best and the brightest, with us.
Re-reading this makes me sound curmudgeonly, but true enough to post. I was always struck by how hard it was for first-time pharmacist editors to accept that drug information needed to be written at a 6th-grade level to be intelligible to the majority of readers; the same is probably true in a more subtle way to ensure that we're writing to the average reader's emotional intelligence, as well.
Posted by: Kevin Whorton | February 4, 2010 7:39 AM
Thanks Kevin. I don't think you sound curmudgeonly. I think you sound like you have a realistic understanding of the world you're directing your marketing efforts toward. And that's really the bottom line of what I was trying to get across: consciously remembering that most of the rest of the world DOESN'T share the same values and perspectives as you will put you in a better frame of mind for reaching those people or at least attempting to.
In the case of a marketing campaign, though, you're right that you may be lucky if you can resonate with 10% or 20% of the people you aim for, but even doing 1% better can be significant.
And, of course, if you do some good work in advance, you can target your marketing so you don't waste as much resources on the inherently uninterested and focus more on the ones who would be most likely to respond. But target marketing is a whole other subject.
Posted by: Joe Rominiecki | February 4, 2010 10:09 AM
All presentations need to motivate versus express. Too many pitches start with the greatness of the presenter rather than the need of the listener. Truly compelling campaigns can penetrate new markets, not just preach to the choir. Creative targeting is the most effective pursuit, worthy of a separate discussion. I'm game! Liane Sebastian, www.wisdomofwork.wordpress.com
Posted by: Liane Sebastian | February 4, 2010 2:32 PM