Good marketing has momentum.

It has forward motion driving it continually toward a destination that your audience has signed up to reach.

And while they might not know exactly where the journey is going to take them, if you’re going to lead them there, you most certainly need to have a vision for where you’re taking them and how you’re going to get there.

Vision and the momentum that comes with clarity around that vision is what separates the marketers and brands that build raving fans and then ones that struggle to gain traction, even when they’re certain they have a winning offer.

Vision is about more than just the destination, however.

The Foundation For Your Vision

In order to craft a compelling vision for your audience, you actually need to know where they’re starting from.

Without an understanding of where they’ve come from, what they’ve already tried, their collections of biases and limiting beliefs, where they are actually looking to go, and what that destination looks like for them, you’re going to have a hard time selling them on enrolling in the journey you’re proposing.

It’s an arduous trip after all, and they want to know they’ll be in good hands with a guide they can trust.

In other words, empathy for your audience is essential to both creating a compelling vision for where you’re proposing to take them, and mapping out the best route to get them there.

Choosing Your Route

There are probably more than a few ways to solve the problem your product or service is attempting to solve, more than one road to the end destination your audience is aiming for.

Your solution to the problem is likely based on your own experience and the route you took to get there. But while your route might be valid and may have been the best one for you, there’s no guarantee that it’s the most direct or helpful for your audience.

Your marketing builds momentum and your tribe grows when you prove consistently that you can get your audience to the next milestone on their journey as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The audience you’re looking to serve might already be further ahead than you were when you started. In that case, you must skip the foundational elements and meet them where they are now.

Or maybe it was you who had a headstart on them. You then need to find out how to get them to the point where you can apply your own personal experience of the journey.

In another instance still, your target audience might be starting from somewhere entirely different than where you started from, meaning you’ll need to commit the time and energy to understanding how to best guide them by the most efficient route.

While this might require extra work on your part, if it means tapping into an underserved and hungry audience, it might just well be worth it.

Parallel Roads

The reason you stepped up to guide these people in the first place, of course, is that you have an offer that you are guiding your audience towards engaging with, while also guiding them to their destination.

It’s important to remember that while these may seem like two separate destinations, one that you’re heading to (profit), and one that your audience is heading to (solving their problem), they are in fact one and the same.

Your ultimate profitability is directly tied to your ability to get your audience to their destination. The more efficiently and easily you get them there, the more they will spread the word about you and your offer.

Map out your route with care, empathy, and intention, then figure out how to pitch it in a way that is compelling to the people you’re looking to serve.

These people are looking for a guide, but it’s up to you to prove you’re the right choice to take them where they’re looking to go.