Someone on the senior leadership team has an idea. So the edict comes down.

“This is an important story we need to get out to our potential customers."

Messages get developed. Campaigns get built. It all gets made because it makes sense to management. I’ve heard senior leadership say things like, “It’s what I would want to hear."

But is it what our prospects want to hear? Where in their buying journey are they when they want to engage? Some research suggests that customers are as much as 60% through the sales process before they talk with a sales person.

What clues are they giving you?

Prospects don’t necessarily follow a logical process. It doesn’t mean that we are left to guessing. Prospects will give us clues. Just look at the digital footprints they leave. From opening emails to clicking through your site. They are showing you what they want to know. Talk to your frontline people. What questions are prospects asking? It’s another clue to how they are trying to make a decision.

The what and the when are inseparable

If we do a little digging, we can find the patterns. Identify the tendencies. That can lead to more effective stories. Better yet, it can also help us coordinate the delivery of those stories with the times that prospects want them. So what’s the right story to get out to our prospects? It’s the one they are showing us they want to hear. Delivered when they’ve demonstrated that they want to hear it.

Great customer experience delivers the right story at the right time.