Being relevant is like calling someone’s name in a crowded room. People tune out all the surrounding noise to focus on their own conversation. Yet, they tune in immediately when their own name is called. To get a response, you have to be loud enough to be heard over the din, of course. If you simply add to the noise or call the wrong name, however, your target will not respond.
To “call the customer’s name,” understand what’s valuable and useful in the customer’s context. The following rules discuss how to achieve and demonstrate relevance in different stages of the customer life cycle. They include ideas on creating a better discovery process, articulating and demonstrating tangible value and developing messages and products that are relevant to individuals. The subsequent sections about solutions and industry specialization focus on two key paths to context-driven relevance.