Michelle Mazur [00:00:00]: If you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you know you're talking to a very specific person in your marketing. And hopefully, you can picture that person in your head right now because you already know them. They are your best clients. But what we don't think about as much is that each time we talk to a person through our marketing, that human being is also at a specific point in their journey with you. And if you don't know where they are on the customer awareness spectrum, your marketing could flop no matter how brilliant your offer is, how well your messaging is dialed in, or how damn good you are at what you do. And right now, when people are more cautious about spending and trust is at an all time low, the gap between what you're saying and what your audience needs to hear can be the silent killer of demand for your work. So let's fix that.

Michelle Mazur [00:01:23]: Welcome to Make Marketing Suck Less. The podcast that knows marketing is freaking hard, especially when you're a solo business owner trying to juggle it all. I'm your host, Dr. Michelle Mazur, author of the 3 Word Rebellion and founder of the Expert Up Club. Forget the latest marketing fads and tactics promising social media stardom. I'm here with research-backed strategies to help you clarify your message and get twice as effective with your marketing. And while I can't promise you'll ever love marketing, I'm here. to make you hate it a tiny bit less.

Michelle Mazur [00:02:03]: In 1966, yes, nearly sixty years ago, there was a copywriting legend named Eugene Schwartz. And in his book, Breakthrough Advertising, he laid out a truth that still under pins every effective marketing message and marketing campaign. And his insights are core to the work that I do with my 1x1 clients and inside The Expert Up Club. And what he developed is called the customer awareness spectrum.

Michelle Mazur [00:02:44]: This is definitely not a trend or a tactic. It's really a strategic lens that is based in research that has been validated over the years that helps you understand how ready someone is to work with you and what messages they need to hear to move forward. Because let's face it, your audience isn't a monolith. They're all on different journeys, and some people found you yesterday. Some have been silently binging your podcast for months. Some don't even know they have a problem. Others are actively thinking about working with you right now and comparing you to your competitors. So we shouldn't be saying the same thing to all of them.

Michelle Mazur [00:03:43]: And right now, when people are slower to act and faster to bounce, you've gotta make sure that you've got your messaging bases covered for all the levels of the customer awareness spectrum. So what are these levels? Well, there are five of them. The first level is unaware. These are the people who have no clue who you are or the fact that they even need you. This is the largest audience segment out there for your work. So let's say you work with solo business owners like I do. There are probably millions of them who don't know your name yet. So they're out there.

Michelle Mazur [00:04:35]: They just don't know you exist or that they need you. Now once they find you, they move into the problem aware stage. And that's where they know something is wrong. They know there's a problem. They might not be really sure about what that problem is exactly. They know the symptoms of it. And they're not really sure what to do yet. Right? So they're out there and they're searching information for why something is happening to them.

Michelle Mazur [00:05:07]: Like, why can't I get people on sales calls? Why can't I stop getting heartburn after I eat? Like, what's going on here? Like, I have this problem. I don't know what to do. So once they understand the problem they have, then they start to look for ways to fix the problem. This is the third level being solution aware. So they're looking at it from a high level. They're not necessarily looking to buy something yet. They just wanna know, is there something I can do to fix this problem? Like, what are my options that are out there? And then once they find your solution and they understand your approach, they move to the fourth level, which is being product aware. So they start looking at your offers, your services, and they know you offer something that might help them solve the problem they have.

Michelle Mazur [00:06:10]: And then they fall into the fifth and final category, most aware. These people are ready to buy and most likely will buy, but they need a reason to act now. They need reasons to know that, hey, this could work for me. And here's the trick of this. Your message has to match their awareness level or it will get ignored. And there's a second layer that most of us experts miss when we think about marketing. It's not just about matching your message to their level of awareness, but you also have to match your message to the marketing platform you're using. Now here's a really clear example of that.

Michelle Mazur [00:07:04]: I see people trying to sell on social media. They post about their new program. They post testimonials and social proof and make claims about what their offer can do. But let's be blunt. Like, trying to sell directly on social media is like proposing marriage, a first coffee date. The people on social media, they don't know you. They are most likely unaware and maybe slightly problem aware. And here you come with a solution that they don't even know if they need.

Michelle Mazur [00:07:42]: It's not going to work, and that is because if we go back to the grow, engage, offer framework that we talked about in the Marketing Blob episode, and we'll make sure we hook that up for you in the show notes, social media falls under the grow job. It is about building awareness, getting in front of new people. And the audience hanging out on social media is going to be mostly unaware or problem aware. That means your ready to buy, ready to join my program is not gonna land. It's going to be ignored because they're not ready for that message yet. So even if your sales message is dialed in, it does convert. It most likely won't convert on those grow platforms because people aren't ready to hear it yet. So let's think about this.

Michelle Mazur [00:08:50]: So if you're growing your audience, the message needs to be targeted to the unaware and maybe some problem aware folks. So social media, podcast guesting, collabs, SEO, these are all matches for messaging that can reach the unaware problem aware folks. But if you want to nurture and engage, then email longer form content like a podcast or a blog can work beautifully because these people are gonna be in the problem aware, solution aware. And then if you want to invite people to buy, and we're talking about sales conversations, your sales page, consult invites, outreach, And the message there should go with the product aware, most aware folks. So if you have the wrong message and the wrong tactic, you're going to waste time and not see results. And if you've been wondering why you're doing all the things and still not getting traction, this is probably the reason. So if you want to go deeper and market like the expert you are, I highly recommend you go and grab the Market Like An Expert crash course. It's a free seven day email course that will show you how to create a marketing strategy that lets you do less and reach more of the right clients because the messaging is aligned with the marketing tactic.

Michelle Mazur [00:10:37]: So you can go to drmichellemazur.com/mle to get that free course, or just open up your podcast app. Click the link for Market Like An Expert. And here's the final rebel truth of the day. Your message can be brilliant. Your offer can be life changing. But if you're saying the right thing to the wrong person or putting it in the wrong place for your marketing, it won't work. This is why it feels like you're spinning your wheels. It's why your smartest ideas get crickets on Instagram, and it's why people tell you they love your work, but they still don't buy. They're not ready yet. And that's the shift that makes marketing suck less.

Michelle Mazur [00:11:31]: If the Make Marketing Suck Less pod is making your marketing more effective so that your clients can find and hire you, please share the show with a friend. The easiest way to do that is through pod link. You can find the show at pod.link/rebel, and that page will allow anyone you share the show with to subscribe and start listening in their favorite podcast player.

That's pod.link/rebel.

The Make Marketing Suck Less podcast is a production of Communication Rebel. Our production coordinator is Jessica Gulley-Ward. The podcast is edited by Steven Mills, our executive producer is me, Dr. Michelle Mazur.

The make marketing suck less podcast is recorded on the unseated traditional lands of the coast salish peoples, specifically the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish people, original stewards of the land, past, and present.