Have you ever looked at a datalist and immediate knew exactly what marketing messages would work?

If you have, then you’re either a gem of a direct marketer, or you have been deluded by what marketing messages work on you.

The truth is, you’re not the prospect. As marketers, this can sometimes be the biggest obstacle to the success of our marketing campaigns. We believe that the same marketing messages that work for us would work for the prospect. We believe we are the prospect and so often, we find out we’re wrong.

But, this does not mean we cannot market to prospects that are different from us.

If you do not yet have an understanding of what marketing messages work for your customer segments, or are testing out a new datalist or customer vertical, then your best bet is to plan a marketing system that helps you learn more about your prospects.

Your best bet is to use best practices, industry/ market research, responsiveness to your campaigns, testing your messages (A/B testing), and ask them (2-way conversations)!