Before you spend another dollar on marketing…

Are you abso-friggin-lutely sure you’re speaking to the people who will buy what you’re selling?

It may sound obvious, but it’s one of the most common mistakes I see—even in smart, well-funded companies.

They run campaigns, post content, launch ads, only to find they’ve been talking to people who were never going to say yes in the first place.

The broader your aim, the easier it is to miss the buyers who matter.

That’s why getting clear—really really clear—on your audience early matters.

Let’s take Canva, for example. (Which, by the way, I love.)

If they’d tried to sell their platform to everyone who makes graphics, they never would’ve stood a chance.

Adobe owns that space. Hardcore designers aren’t switching.

Instead, Canva made a strategic call.

They focused on incomplete buyers— those who are underserved by existing solutions and are actively seeking alternatives.

For Canva, these were people who needed pro-quality graphics but didn’t have pro-level skills or pro-level budgets. Individual creators. Small teams. Marketers without design training.

That decision shaped everything: how they positioned themselves, who they targeted, and what they built next.

Because once you know exactly who your offer is built for (and just as importantly, who it’s not for), every part of your marketing gets sharper—your copy, your offers, even your product roadmap.

Back in my research days I had a saying: It’s not important to count the people you reach . . . but to reach the people who count. (And friends, that was the ‘90s. Of the last century. It still applies).

And that starts with making one of the most strategic decisions in your business:

Identifying your CORE audience.

3 Steps to Finding (and Keeping) the Right Audience

Getting in front of the right people is what moves the needle. Miss that, and your message gets lost in the noise.

Here’s how to find—and keep—the buyers who matter most.

➊ Identify Your Core Audience

This isn’t a discovery mission. It’s a decision.

And it’s one of the most strategic calls you’ll make in your business.

Before you decide who to target, answer these three questions:

1. What category are you in?

→ Define the market you play in using words your buyer would recognize. Be specific. “Software” is too broad. “Project management software for creative teams” gives you a clear lane.

2. Who else is in the category?

→ List your top competitors—the ones your buyers already know about or default to. Include both direct competitors (offering something similar) and indirect ones (different solution, same problem).

3. What do you do best?

→ Identify the advantage that matters most to your ideal buyer. This isn’t every feature you have, it’s the single thing that makes you the obvious choice for the right person.

Some companies start the other way. They look at what they have to sell, then try to find anyone who might buy it.

But this has some problems. It puts the focus on your offer instead of your buyer, which almost guarantees you’ll chase people who:

✖️ Already have a better-fit option they’re loyal to.

✖️ Don’t actually value the thing you’re best at.

✖️ Will take an enormous amount of effort to convince for very little return.

The only way to avoid this is to decide—up front—exactly who you’re trying to reach.

➋ Segment Your Audience

Not every buyer in your target market has the same needs.

And one-size messaging is the fastest way to lose their attention.

Once you’ve identified your core audience, break it into segments based on shared characteristics, behaviors, or buying triggers.

For example, when I advised Kaiser Permanente, a large integrated health care company based in California, the end product was essentially the same for every member—health insurance and health care under one roof. But the buyers spanned both B2B and B2C, and they were not the same:

• Large enterprises with long, complex buying cycles, looking for a wide range of benefits and workforce reporting.
• SMBs wanting a balance of competitive benefits and price efficiency.
• Individual consumers shopping for the best mix of coverage, convenience, and price.

This step is about recognizing the differences so you’re not lumping everyone into one bucket.

➌ Customize Your Message for Each Segment

Once you’ve segmented your audience, the goal is to keep your master story intact, while shaping it to match what each group cares about most.

This is where storytelling does the heavy lifting.

It transforms a single core message into tailored narratives that feel personal, relevant, and urgent.

The master message stays the same.

The angle, language, and proof points shift to fit the segment.

Say your core message is “We help people take control of their financial future.”

• Young professionals → Focus on paying down student loans faster and starting to invest with small, manageable amounts.
• Families → Lead with saving for education, buying a home, and protecting income with the right insurance.
• Pre-retirees → Emphasize maximizing retirement savings, minimizing taxes, and creating a steady income stream for life.

Same promise. Different lens.

That’s what makes each segment feel like you’re speaking directly to them.

✨ In our Messaging Playbooks, this stage is one of the most tactical and high-impact parts of the process. We document your audience with precision, layer in the language that moves them, and make it easy for every team to pull from the same source.

When the playbook is in place, you’re not just identifying your core audience. You are operationalizing it so every campaign, conversation, and customer touchpoint actually lands with the people most likely to buy.

If you don’t have one yet, start small: define your category, know your competition, and claim the edge that makes you the obvious choice (the action step below will walk you through it).

Action Step: Document Your Core Audience (And Make It Count)

If your audience lives only in your head, everything you create risks drifting off-course.

Open a blank doc and answer these 4 questions:

1. What category are you in? → Define the market context you play in and set the boundaries for your competition and positioning.
2. Who else is in the category? → Identify the alternative options your buyers are considering (or defaulting to).
3. What does your product or service offer that addresses incomplete buyers better than alternatives? → Pinpoint your most relevant advantage and the people who care about it most.
4. Are there differences within those buyers that require you to communicate with them differently? → Lay the foundation for your segments and the messages each one needs to hear.
5. Add a Quick Audience Snapshot → Try filling this in to sharpen your focus. Your current audience definition (segment, problem, trigger, outcome):
   • Segment (Who are they?)
   • Core Problem (What’s the pain that makes them even look for a solution?)
   • Trigger Moment (What’s the event or situation that makes the problem urgent?)
   • Desired Outcome (What’s the result they actually want?)

As you work through this, remember: your audience is never a one-and-done decision.

Markets shift. Customer priorities change.

Revisit these answers at least once a year and ask: “Have any of our assumptions changed?”

Bonus GPT Prompt:

You’ve documented your audience. Now let’s stress-test it.

You’re going to give GPT the answers from your audience document (the 5 Qs above).

The GPT’s job is to push back. Sharpen it. Expose gaps.

Prompt:

You are a strategic messaging expert.

I’ve drafted my core audience assumptions based on the following:

1. Category we’re in: [Insert]
2. Competitors / alternatives: [Insert]
3. What we offer that speaks to incomplete buyers: [Insert]
4. Differences within those buyers that require you to communicate with them differently: [Insert]
5. Our current audience definition (segment, problem, trigger, outcome):
   • Segment: [Insert]
   • Core Problem: [Insert]
   • Trigger Moment: [Insert]
   • Desired Outcome: [Insert]

Challenge me. Help me pressure-test this by answering the following:

• Where does this feel fuzzy, generic, or assumptive?
• Based on what I do best, am I targeting the right buyers OR ignoring a better-fit group?
• Is there a more urgent problem or clearer outcome I should be leaning into?
• Are there 2–3 natural sub-groups here that should hear different messages?
• Bonus: What’s one insight, pattern, or strategic reframe I might be missing?

One last step before you're done.

Pick one segment from your audience.

Now write one message just for them.

Don’t try to say everything.

Just say the thing they need to hear.

Want to know more about what a messaging playbook is (and isn’t)? Watch this video.

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