with Pamela Muldoon
Join Anne and Pam as they continue their series on content marketing. This week, the bosses discuss the four stages of the buyer journey: unawareness, awareness, consideration, and evaluation. Learn about the journey a buyer goes on from not knowing they have a problem, to choosing YOU as voice talent to solve that problem. Find out how to structure your marketing to show clients why you are the solution to their pain points!
Takeaways
Quick Concepts from Today’s Episode:
As a voice actor, you’re a “Passion-prenuer”. You are working hard because you love it
Your job, in gathering clients is to tap into their passions
Clients go on a four-stage journey: 1- Unawareness, 2- Awareness 3- Consideration 4- Evaluation
Unawareness:I don’t know that I have a problem
Awareness: I know I have a problem, how do I solve this?
Consideration: Here are all the solutions that I could possibly use
Evaluation: I’ve found a solution, which provider will I choose to buy from?
You need to be the solution to the problems that a client might not even know they have
A client might know they need an online curriculum, but might be considering AI or “Karen from accounting”. You have to market yourself in a way to be the most valuable solution to this problem
The first step is to be aware that the client is unaware, so you can be the solution to the problem
We need to show potential clients that we can get them to the finish line smarter, better, faster, and stronger
We need to think about the possible problems and direct market to clients as problem solvers
Financial companies and insurance companies market using fear. now you know you have a problem, and you invest
Once buyers know they have a problem, you then market to solve that problem
We need to be very cognizant of how our audience buys from us so we can provide education, information, and solutions at every stage of the buyer journey
Something as simple as a blog post can point out a problem to potential buyers
You have to be able to tell a story to sell just about anything!
Be sure to write our content in the same way that someone would Google or ask Alexa
You need to know what triggers your persona to need you!
At the end of the day, we’re selfish. What is it that is going to make your client’s job or life easier?
You have to research your audience, to know what their pain points are, and how to solve them
You have to know what your competition is, and show how you are more valuable
Referenced in this Episode
Direct links to things we brought up ++
Find out more about Pamela Muldoon
Recorded on ipDTL
Badass editing by Carl Bahner
Transcript
>> It’s time to take your business to the next level, the BOSS level! These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry’s top talent today. Rock your business like a BOSS, a VO BOSS. Now let’s welcome your host Anne Ganguzza.
Anne: Hey everyone. Welcome to the VO BOSS podcast. I’m your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with my special guest cohost, content creator, content maven, content [laughs] voiceover artist.
Pamela: All things content, yeah.
Anne: Multiple, multiple passion-preneur, Pamela Muldoon. Pamela Muldoon! Yay!
Pamela: Anne!
Anne: Welcome. Thanks for being here.
Pamela: [laughs] I’m having a really, really great time being a part of your show these last few sessions.
Anne: Well, thank you. Me too. We’ve had a really good run going, talking about content marketing which is your specialty. So in one of our last podcasts, we talk about buyer personas, and I think you mentioned that the next step on the journey is the buyer journey actually.
Pamela: It is. Yes.
Anne: Yeah. I would be interested to hear more about what is the buyer journey like?
Pamela: So we all take a journey to actually purchasing something. We just don’t break it down into these scientific steps, right?
Anne: My journey, I want it, I’d buy it. [laughs]
Pamela: You do. But it’s funny –
Anne: Simple.
Pamela: – going through a process, where we’re actually looking at why we need it, justifying the purchase, the whole process, right? So one of the areas that I work in and specialize with my clients as part of my marketing role is to help them understand the customer journey and then align where their persona is in that journey so that the content you’re developing is actually responding to each of the questions or problems that stage has for that person. So I think for our example that we’ve been using from the government perspective, right, we’ve been using –
Anne: Yes, government buyer.
Pamela: Yeah, the government buyer. So when a government buyer is seeking solutions to their project as it pertains to voiceover, they may not be necessarily thinking “I need a voiceover talent,” right? That’s not probably what they’re typing into Google. They’re kind of thinking –
Anne: They might need an online curriculum.
Pamela: Yes. So part of our role, and we talked in the last couple of sessions about how content marketing can be a critical part of our marketing arsenal, and so with the customer journey, there are stages where the first actual stage is you’re not even aware you have a problem, right? You’re not even aware this is an issue. It’s what we call the unaware stage. Basically, and so it’s kind of a paradox for those of us in development, because we have to be aware that you’re unaware to create content of unawareness. Does that make sense? [laughs] Say that fast three times.
Anne: We have to be aware that you’re unaware. [laughs]
Pamela: Exactly.
Anne: Say that again, say that again. We have to be aware.
Pamela: We have to be aware that you’re unaware so we can create content that shows the problem to you.
Anne: Got it. Got it.
Pamela: Does that make sense?
Anne: Yes, that makes sense.
Pamela: So it’s a bit of a paradox. Right? What that means is, let’s with our government buyer, they’re not aware that they need a voice talent. To your point, what they’re aware of is they have a curriculum development problem. Right?
Anne: Right, right.
Pamela: So they’re not aware –
Anne: Or they need to train. They know that they have a need to train.
Pamela: Yes. So what they’re unaware in that they could use a professional voiceover to help them get across the finish line smarter, better, faster and more efficient. Right? So your job then as the marketer is to actually put, and you know, there are industries that do this really well like financial services, insurance, what I call a little bit of the fear factor in front of them.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Pamela: If you don’t do this, this is what’s going to happen, right? So that’s where – and we have all experienced content like this. You know, if you don’t invest in this, you’re going to get this. Or if you don’t protect your family with insurance, when disaster hits, right, and then all of a sudden, I didn’t know I had a problem because I was unaware, but now I have a problem. So then the second stage is the awareness stage. Now I know I have a problem, so now what?
Anne: Okay. I’m thinking of it in terms of a voice talent. This is kind of interesting because –
Pamela: Yeah.
Anne: – do you start off marketing yourself by saying if you don’t hire a professional voice talent, horrible things could happen with your [laughs]
Pamela: Right.
Anne: I feel like that’s a very difficult thing to present somebody with.
Pamela: It can be.
Anne: If you don’t hire me, this horrible thing will happen to you.
Pamela: Right.
Anne: Or is it just a part of our planning, is that what your point is that we need to think about those things so that we know how to market better to them?
Pamela: It’s a little bit of both.
Anne: Okay.
Pamela: So we need to be very cognizant of how our audience buys from us so that we can provide information, education and solution at the right stage. That’s what this whole exercise is meant for. Right? So if you’re a persona, your government buyer for example is unaware, then my question, if I was coaching you through this, I would say, so as a voice talent, what is it that your audience or your persona needs that’s going to trigger them to be aware? And the trigger is what we’re looking for. It may not be as black and white as if you don’t hire a voice talent in your next project, it’s all going to go south, right? It may not be quite that blatant.
Anne: Let’s talk about something for that. I can give you the answer, right? So for a government buyer, what they might need is compliance.
Pamela: Yes.
Anne: Right? So that could be an angle.
Pamela: Yes.
Anne: To market to them that they need compliance and that’s why they need audio. Like they could have, they need a curriculum, right, they could have a curriculum developed that doesn’t have a voice. Right? It’s obviously just, I don’t know, slide presentation, right, that has – or it’s an online document that has the training. But if they need to meet compliance standards, then yeah, they need a voice. That would be a better way than, you know, if you don’t have a voice, you’re not meeting compliance standards.
Pamela: That’s a perfect example because now your government buyer may not be thinking to that level, if I don’t have this, I’m not in compliance. You just put in front of them a problem that they didn’t know they had. Right? And honestly it could be something as simple as writing a blog post, how to stay compliant as a government buyer with e-learning projects.
Anne: That’s great.
Pamela: Because we have to remember we want to say and kind of write and create these things in a way that either someone is going to Google it, or how they’re going to ask Alexa for it. Right? So it’s kind of in that vernacular. So you’re absolutely right. Now they’re aware that they may have a compliance challenge if they don’t do audio. Now that they’re aware, now what? So my job then as the voice talent in the awareness stage is I know you’re aware that you have a compliance issue. Let’s talk a little further. I might even show examples of how the before and after worked. Now we’re literally providing them detailed information as we move across in an educational perspective.
Anne: Sure.
Pamela: Versus hire me, hire me, hire me.
Anne: Right, and then it’s not in your face. Yeah, it needs to be educational so then you become known as an authority on the subject matter.
Pamela: And I think what’s really critical here is part of the reason you’re able to have this discussion with me, the way you were just so quickly, I’ve got an example, there’s compliance. You’ve researched your audience well.
Anne: I have. [laughs]
Pamela: Right? That’s one of the reasons we’re using this example in our show today because having you know the audience allows me to walk through these stages with you, and we can actually do a real example, right?
Anne: I love that you just brought it there. Because I want our listeners to know that it’s so, so important to research who you’re selling to. That buyer persona is so darned important.
Pamela: And when we talked about the persona, we talked about what triggers them to even think they need you? That’s really kind of where we’re hanging out in this unaware to awareness. These two stages are, you need to know what triggers your persona to even need you.
Anne: I think that’s where a lot of talent, they’re not thinking deep enough into the marketing process, or all they think about when they say they have to market is like, I’m going to put my voice out there for them to hear me, and then they’ll buy me. But in reality, they have to have so much more before that.
Pamela: Yeah. Well, you’re dealing with a real, 360-degree person who has – at the end of the day, we’re selfish. It’s all about me. When we realize that’s how our persona is, right, what is it that’s going to make my job easier? What is it that I’m going to need to make my life easier? That’s going to not only improve whatever the end product is, but I want it to be better? So our job is to be the solution that falls into that easier.
Anne: And not necessarily push our own ego in the front by saying we have the best voice. It’s not about us.
Pamela: And so when you’re now aware of the problem, you can actually take that problem head on, right, with the solution. And then of course the next stage is consideration, when what I call consideration is the consideration of all the options in front of you. That doesn’t mean other voice talent yet. This means all options in front of you. So in this particular regard, and I know this is a topic you’re passionate about, Anne, because I’ve seen you speak on it, I’ve seen you write about this. What other options other than a live voice talent do we come up against as possible, I guess, competition? Artificial intelligence, right?
Anne: Oh gosh, yeah.
Pamela: The artificial voice or –
Anne: The convenient voice.
Pamela: The convenient voice. Right. I love that. Right?
Anne: The cheaper voice.
Pamela: Which is Nancy in accounting. [laughs]
Anne: Exactly, and that’s going through their head, right, the cheaper voice. So then you have to show value, right?
Pamela: Exactly. So instead of saying buy me, buy me, let’s educate our audience through the power of content marketing on why you’re the consideration, right? Why you should be considered. Not just you, but I mean a real voice talent, right? Here again, I’m educating you on your options, and I’m explaining why the option of a live voice talent is the one you should consider. Because then they move into evaluation, which is evaluating all the different live voice talent they have in front of them. Does that make sense? Now it’s much more about you and how you’re special and unique in your voice print.
Anne: And then that rolls into if they’re cost justifying, right. You have also got the solution for that. Because had they not hired a professional voice talent, right, they might actually be spending more. And so I think that’s where an angle comes in, where if you need to prove that you’re cost effective as a voice talent, not by cheapening your services or lowering the price that you’re negotiating, but the fact is, is if they use a different voice talent or another, let’s say, an artificial intelligence, the result will not be quality-wise what will get them where they need to be without spending more money.
Pamela: Absolutely. Absolutely. So if you look at – these are four stages we just talked about. Right? Unaware, aware, consideration and evaluation. No decision has been made yet. [laughs] This is all happening – and this can all happen pretty quickly. But I want you as the VO BOSS-preneur that you are to think about, how can I be a part of this process? Create content that speaks to those top four stages, and you’ll automatically stand out as different. Does that make sense? So it’s the content that’s going to get their attention, that makes you searchable, that makes you, to your point, an authority. But the only way you can do that is to know your audience and really understand them and what they’re going through, so you can write or create a podcast episode, or whatever the case is, or do a video that really speaks to that person. And when you touch them, I mean marketing, there’s so much going on in marketing, but at the end of the day, it’s pretty simple. You touch my heart and my emotions, my money is right behind you. This is still a very emotional process.
Anne: Gosh, I love this. This gets me so excited, Pam, because this just, it parallels everything that we do. Right? It parallels even performance. Right? It parallels when I teach my students about being able to tell a story. You have to be able to tell a story to sell just about anything, right. In commercial we’re always talking about being the storyteller. Corporate narration, you’ve got to be a storyteller. Even if you don’t see the obvious story. There is always, always a story to tell. And it’s so important to understand that.
Pamela: And the stages are just, those four stages I just addressed are basically four chapters to a beautiful book. Right?
Anne: Yeah.
Pamela: And you’re, you know, and you’re not the hero. Your customer is the hero.
Anne: Absolutely. Should we try another example?
Pamela: We can. Should I give you the example I give my clients in more of a B to C? We’re B to B. Whether we like it or not, we’re business to business. In a B to C, I use this one because I travel for my marketing job quite a bit. And I work with a lot of business to business marketing and sales folks. And they’re like, ahh okay, we get it, but it can’t be like that regular every day. I said oh, let me give you an example. So my example is, okay, I’m walking through the airport, I got a connection in about 30 minutes. I don’t have time. We have all been there, we’ve probably all been in this scenario. Right? I don’t have a lot of time to grab a lunch, but I need a snack, right? So I go to the Hudson news. So first to become unaware to aware. At some point I was unaware that my flight got – I was delayed and now I have a problem. My problem is I only have 30 minutes. I don’t have an hour. Right? That’s kind of the unaware to aware. Now I have a problem. I have 30 minutes to figure out what I’m going to grab, or 20 minutes or whatever. I go to Hudson news and I stand in front of the snack aisle. And I’m aware that I have a problem. My awareness says I’m hungry. My awareness says I need to eat something before I get on this next 2.5-3 hour flight. My consideration is do I want candy bar, nuts, chips – do you see where this is going?
Anne: Yes, I do.
Pamela: This is all happening quickly, it’s all happening quickly, but I’m running through the stages. I make the consideration that, you know what, I could really go for a candy bar. I want a candy bar. So now I’ve narrowed down to evaluate my choices. I really want either a Snicker or a Milky Way. I decide I’m going to go with a Snicker because it has peanuts and a little more protein. I won’t feel as bad.
Anne: [laughs]
Pamela: So my decision is I grab that Snicker bar and put it on top of the counter and I pay for it and then I make my flight.
Anne: Wait. I’m going for the dark chocolate covered peanut butter cup. Just saying.
Pamela: [laughs] And there is more – you even have more protein. It’s fantastic.
Anne: There you go. And it’s dark chocolate, so it’s healthier.
Pamela: So do you see how even though we’re – it is, it is. It’s much – heart healthy. It’s a heart healthy protein bar, basically is what we’ve made the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.
Anne: I like that. Heart healthy. [laughs]
Pamela: Heart healthy protein bar.
Anne: There you go.
Pamela: It’s all in the marketing, people. It’s all in the marketing. But that’s how I’m running through all of those stages, but I’m doing it in a very quick fashion. Right, this is all happening within seconds. Maybe a couple of minutes, but it’s still a journey that every single one of us go through. We’re always evaluating our information. I think as business owners, we do this for example when we’re choosing email software. We’ve done this. Numerous times, right? We’re unaware at some point that we had a problem. We needed to have professional email software for opt-in, for subscribe, all those different reasons. Now we’re aware we have a problem, so we need to consider the different options. There is mail chimp, there is Constant Contact, there is –
Anne: Active Campaign.
Pamela: Oh my gosh, right?
Anne: There is a BOSS Blast, Pam.
Pamela: Yes.
Anne: That’s your other option for marketing. There is a BOSS Blast where we do it for you.
Pamela: There you go.
Anne: So yeah. You’ve only got so much time in the day. What is your option? BOSS Blast. That was shameless self-promotion.
Pamela: You let me know, Anne, how you want to work these four stages into your BOSS Blast promotion, I will help you create the story arc.
Anne: I love it.
Pamela: It’s a message map and a story arc that I work in with my clients. It’s very in line with the work and the language you’ve used or been using with your clients as well.
Anne: Okay. So let’s recap. Unaware.
Pamela: Unaware. I don’t even know I have a problem, so it’s my job as the person with the solution to put that problem in front of my audience.
Anne: Awareness.
Pamela: I’m now aware that I have a problem. I’m the consumer, client. I have a problem, so now what? What do I do? How do I fix this? How do I solve this?
Anne: Okay, next.
Pamela: Consideration. These are all the options in front of me that I need to consider to solve this problem.
Anne: Evaluation.
Pamela: I’ve now chosen one specific either technology or type from my consideration – in this case, it could be artificial intelligence, voice, Nancy in accounting or professional voiceover. I’ve decided that I want to go with a professional voiceover, so now I have to evaluate the multiple beautiful voices in front of me.
Anne: Got it.
Pamela: And then the decision is the final. And this is all happening in what we call the acquisition part of the customer journey. We could actually do a part two on this, Anne, where we talk about the expansion or the retention side, which is the on-boarding and the loyalty and the advocacy piece.
Anne: I love that. I think we should do that. What a great content filled episode. Good stuff, Pam.
Pamela: I know, this was fun.
Anne: I felt like I just took an entire class.
Pamela: We did. We did a very tight class [laughs] in the customer journey.
Anne: I think it’s a great introduction to have the BOSSes out there listening understand what really does go on. I think that when we have our own businesses, we don’t even think about the customer journey because we’re so, so intent on how am I going to get work? It becomes so centric on you. How am I going to get voiceover work? How am I going to get voiceover work? What am I going to do to get it? I don’t really think enough about my client –
Pamela: Correct.
Anne: – in terms of how they buy and when should I present and how should I present to actually attract that buyer. So this was amazing. So wow. I want to do the next podcast episodes and talk about the rest of the journey. Great stuff. Okay. I’d like to give a big shout-out to our sponsor, ipdTL. You too can record and network like a BOSS. Find out more at ipdtl.com. You guys have an amazing week, and we’ll see you next week. Goodbye!
Pamela: Bye-bye!
>> Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a BOSS. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via ipDTL.
[outtake]
Anne: So when you’re playing around on Facebook, when you’re playing around on Facebook, right, in the Facebook forums – I call them the forums. Look how old I am. The forums, you know the forums. Like the BBC, the group –
Pamela: The group chatty chats.
Anne: [laughs] It’s almost like, you know, the – God, it used to be back in the day.
Pamela: Yeah, right.
Anne: The BBC. What was it, the beat boards?
Pamela: Oh God, yeah.
Anne: The bulletin boards. The forum boards.
Pamela: Yes.
Anne: The bulletin boards. Yeah, you know, those bulletin boards. Those fancy –
Pamela: Chat boards.
Anne: [laughs] Those fancy –
Pamela: Chat rooms.
Anne: That –
Pamela: – makes it sound so, you know, like –
Anne: Fancy chat room.
Pamela: The over 30 – the over 30 and dating chat room crap.
Anne: The fancy chat room thing. All right. We’re going to start.
Pamela: With DOS.
Anne: With DOS. [laughs]
Anne: All right.
Pamela: CompuServe, man.