We live in a world where communication is always happening and the “noise” is loud. Unfortunately, not a whole lot is being said.

Imagine this, you begin talking to a customer and you’re telling them how amazing your product is, but they just give you a blank stare. So you start into it again, lots of fast, detailed talking about how great the product is.

Yet again, a blank stare. It’s awkward, so you go through the reasons in your head of why they aren’t responding. All of the sudden you realize, he doesn’t speak English, you’re embarrassed, try to apologize, and slowly walk away. You obviously don’t make a sale and the customer had no clue what you were talking about!

So often this happens to businesses on a daily basis! You need to know what audiences you are reaching, so you can relate to that specific group.

Whether your clients are sold on emotion, technical data, or statistics — you must talk like your customers, so you can meet their specific needs. Know your audience, know your story.

Now that you are defining your audience, check out next week’s article as we show you how to tell your story.

Editor’s note: This is a series of five small business marketing columns provided to the newspaper that will appear in Saturdays edition.