Collinson

Through this article, Brett Moneta emphasizes that marketers often overlook their audience by focusing too much on business goals, stakeholders, and internal objectives. He urges marketers to reconnect with their audience by understanding their needs, preferences, and concerns, stressing that effective marketing comes from prioritizing audience connection rather than just internal conversations or business objectives.

“You Talkin to Me?”

If you’ve ever seen the movie, “Taxi Driver,” you know that line well. Robert De Niro, pretending to be tough, starts having a contentious conversation. “You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me?” he repeats over and over. “There’s no one else here.” The confrontation goes on just a little too long. But what makes it uncomfortable?

If you’ve seen the movie, you already know. It makes us uneasy because he’s talking to himself in the mirror. And that’s precisely what we do as marketers—so often that it should make us uncomfortable. Because we’re getting it wrong.

We’re so busy talking to ourselves, our clients, stakeholders, and agency clients that we’ve forgotten who we’re supposed to be talking to. And it’s… well… crazy; as marketers and businesspeople, we get so ultra-focused on our business goals, what and how much we’re trying to sell, its unique features, and the best way to present it that we forget who we’re presenting it to and what’s important to them.

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 “That’s preposterous!” you say. “I’ve never forgotten that.”  Maybe you haven’t. But what’s the first question we often ask our stakeholders and agency clients? Was it, “What goal do you want to achieve?” 

So many of us—and yes, I’ve been caught in the same trap—are so deep in the details that we forget our success lies in connecting with our audience. In this day of ever-evolving social media and micro-targeted metrics, the first question we should still be asking is, “Who is our audience, and what do they want?” What do they like? What are their biggest concerns? What problem does your product solve? How often do they want to hear from us?

Oversimplified and obvious? Yes. But sometimes, we miss what’s right in front of us.

Here’s a quick example. So, you’re selling cat food. You know, to focus on cats. However, thanks to a quick Google session and a recent Carroll University study, we can learn that cat lovers are generally introverted, open-minded, and sensitive. If that doesn’t change how you approach your marketing, I humbly suggest that it should.

We, as marketers, spend so much time collecting data about our audience, right down to how many pets they have, and yet we squander this information because…because…why? Because… business.

Ultimately, business objectives drive businesses to market in the first place. And we understand that. It’s why we spend so much time on pitches.

After the pitch is over, why do we forget to put that brilliance to work by spending the same quality time and attention on our audience?

Just remember, while you’re wowing stakeholders and agency clients with detailed analyses and brilliant creativity, an audience out there is waiting to hear from you. Please give them the attention and understanding they deserve. You might discover it’s more profitable than talking to a mirror.