{"id":32011,"date":"2021-07-26T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/?p=32011"},"modified":"2025-11-05T13:32:50","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T18:32:50","slug":"audience-first-communications-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/audience-first-communications-strategy","title":{"rendered":"Why Building An Audience-First Communications Strategy is Key"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t
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Email is often the most important component of a communications strategy. In many cases, it\u2019s the only method by which your audience consumes the information you\u2019re providing. It may not be the sole method and probably shouldn\u2019t be, but treating it as if it were can lead to well-positioned, effective communications\u2014that break through and drive strong results.<\/p>\n

What happens today<\/h2>\n

What won\u2019t lead to strong results: placing more emphasis on the channel than the specific audiences receiving the message. This might be a bit of a controversial statement with this<\/em> audience, but the email channel itself can only do so much.<\/p>\n

Because email is a one-to-one connection, communications must be direct and resonate quickly. And as a recipient of emails, I\u2019m sure you know there is a very small window of time to establish that connection before you close that email, delete it, or simply move on to something else.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why a brand can never fully capitalize on the power of email without an equally powerful audience-first communications strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA brand can never fully capitalize on the powerful capabilities of email without an equally powerful audience-first communications strategy.\u201d<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

This may seem quite obvious and a bit elementary because the idea of focusing on the audience and creating tailored emails isn\u2019t new at all and is, in fact, advice commonly given. But if it were truly obvious, more companies would be actively deploying an audience-first communications strategy that resonates with the entire span of its audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet\u2019s go well beyond \u2018First Name\u2019 when personalizing. What does the audience actually need to know for them?\u201d<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

For example, more companies would take personalization<\/a> and \u201ctailoring\u201d to a level well beyond \u201cFIRST NAME\u201d and become as nuanced as honing in on what each audience segment needs to know, based on very company-specific criteria.<\/p>\n

Where we need to go<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s move past talk and dive into an example.<\/p>\n

Over the last 8 months, I worked with a client on communications associated with a merger and rebrand. I\u2019ve crafted a slew of emails from two different CEOs on numerous topics as well as helped develop the voice for the new joint brand. But before I could even start any of that, there was a lot to consider, contemplate, and discern.<\/p>\n

I asked a lot of questions and had to fully understand the answers to put forth the best strategic communications plan. Some of those questions included:<\/p>\n