The audience rules...

Notes concerning audiences and how to treat them

Business communicators invest a lot of time in identifying and understanding the specific target audiences they want to address. While this plays a critical role in defining the message, are we putting too much emphasis on targeting a particular audience at the expense of alienating others? We’d like to share our thoughts on audiences and a few simple rules for how to treat them.

Don't take too much for granted
For any given advertisement, website or press release, it is important to define and relate to a specific target audience. An ad for the latest mobile phone with an MP3 player might address teenagers and young adults, while a letter introducing a new SAN solution will employ a tone, style and technical jargon that make IT specialists feel at home.

But targeting business communication is more difficult than just identifying an ideal individual, such as a "21-year-old female university student". The fact is, products and services are purchased not by ideals and types, but by a range of people who can differ a lot from each other. While most target audiences consist of people who share certain needs and preferences, they will always exhibit diversity as well.

As business writers, we need to take this diversity into account. While appealing to what we know about our intended audience, we also need to maintain a degree of inclusiveness. This ensures that we speak to our entire target audience, and can help us bring 'borderliners' into the fold.

Who else is listening?
It’s also important to recognize that many ads, websites and other marketing materials are read by many more people than the envisioned target audience, even when that audience is defined very broadly. There is every chance that promoting the latest product or service will involve contact with people we never intended to address. While we can’t be everything to everyone, there are good reasons for trying to appeal to unintended audiences too.

A set of simple rules for every audience
It seems obvious, but addressing a defined target audience effectively should never put other 'receivers' off. The following rules, based on common-sense, will ensure a positive experience for any audience:

• Always aim to make your audience feel good
• Respect your audience in all its diversity
• Never speak down to your audience
• Appeal to people’s intelligence and goodwill
• Avoid profanity or other language that can cause offense

While trying to win hearts and minds, try to maintain a respectful distance – by producing open texts you can invite readers into a space where they feel welcome, no matter who they are.