12 Ways To Get Inside Your Audience’s Heads For New Businesses

You’ve probably heard this one before: The best copy doesn’t live inside your head, it lives inside your audience’s heads. If you’re a new business eager to evoke a strong connection with your target audience through your website and sales copy, understanding your ideal client or customer’s inner monologue and analyzing that “voice of customer” data is key to getting inside their heads. 

What is “voice of customer” data?

Voice of customer data is feedback collected from your clients and customers about your products and services. It can reveal their initial objections, judgments, opinions, needs, behavior, buying decisions, and expectations they have about your product, service, or brand.

Effective copywriting will then incorporate exact VoC phrases, play off of general themes mentioned, and mimic your audience’s tone and voice.

Why is “voice of customer” important for copywriting?

Using voice of customer data in your web copy is effective because we have a higher response rate to conversational marketing and user-generated content. It also enhances your brand experience by showing empathy and authenticity and evokes real human emotions. This is in opposition to the dreaded sales-speak that gives your audience the ick because they feel like they are being manipulated and sold to.

It’s a good communications and sales strategy to put words on the page that reflect your audience’s inner monologue:

“I wish I could find the perfect ballerina flat that will still be in style 20 years from now.”

“I need a business coach but no way am I forking over $20k.”

“In a perfect world, my digital photos would be printed, framed, and heirloom quality but I just don’t have the time.”

“I’m getting nowhere trying to DIY my website copy but I’m nervous a professional copywriter won’t be able to capture my brand voice.” 😉 

So how do you research your audience and get into their heads if you’re a new business with no existing audience?

As a business owner, it’s your job to go out and find this audience intel so you can craft the website subheader that says:

“Because business coaching shouldn’t cost more than your mortgage.”

The problem is, most voice of customer methodologies require you to have a robust audience you can tap into via surveys, social media polls, and client interviews.

You don’t need to hire a market research firm, dear reader. More often than not, you just need to know where to look.

12 ways to find voice of customer data as a new business owner

1. Read your competitor’s testimonials. It’s legit. Read through their testimonials and pinpoint the problems their audience came looking to solve.
2. Reddit forums. Yes, Reddit can be a scary place but people have no shortage of opinions on the platform and you can find a “thread” for literally everything.
3. Join a relevant Facebook group and scour the last six months of posts to see what questions people are asking and if you see any common themes.
4. Pose a question inside the Facebook group asking for people’s opinions.
5. Check out Quora and type in relevant keywords to see what questions people ask about your work or field.
6. Enter a topic into Pinterest. The pins that come up are the “answers”. Reverse-engineer the results to figure out the question. (Pro tip: Pinterest will conveniently offer up 10 related categories you might be interested in drilling through based on what others are searching.)
7. Read the Amazon reviews for books and products related to your business. Reviewers will state the positive outcome they were hoping for and how the product’s results made them feel. 
8. Join a small business networking group or participate in your local chamber of commerce and participate in their discussions. The people you meet in these groups are all about helping small businesses succeed and people are happy to chat.
9. Ask Chat GPT to outline audience pain points using this prompt:
   1. Explain the biggest pain points someone looking for [your product/service] has before making a purchase. Follow up with tips for addressing these pain points in our marketing copy.
   2. Follow up with how the client/customer feels when experiencing these pain points.
10. Ask Chat GPT to profile your target audience using this prompt:
    1. Write a customer profile for a [target audience]. Provide examples for both male and female buyers. Include details like age, location, job, interests, what social media channels they use, and more. (Customize to include the demographics you need.)
    2. Follow up with what’s their worldview or why they care about solving their problem.
11. Ask Chat GPT to outline buyer journey pain points:
    1. Create audience journey maps that chart the pain points, questions, and emotions that each persona faces at key stages in the buying process.
12. Grab a virtual coffee or book a mentorship session with someone adjacent to your business who interacts with your audience (ex: If you create custom-designed cakes, talk to wedding planners and vendors.)

The best copy often comes straight from your client’s mouth. Implementing these tactics will help you gain valuable insights into your audience’s mindset so you can foster stronger relationships with your customers, drive growth, and create brand loyalty. Whether you’re just starting out or aiming to refine your copywriting, these techniques will empower you to leverage the “voice of customer” and make a lasting impact.

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