Messaging. It’s what B2B product marketers do. And it’s also what proposal professional professionals do, as we shall see.
But even the simplest B2B product suffers with one-dimensional messaging.
Why? Because even simple products often require many types of people to get involved in the purchasing cycle.
Marketers often talk about target audiences. I personally believe that term doesn’t describe the concept properly, so I prefer to refer to hungry people.
Which brings us to the Las Vegas buffet.
Variety for hungry people
Las Vegas is a destination visited by over 40 million people per year from all over the world. And the casino hotels know that they’re hungry for food, and they hope the hungry people will stay on property.
So do they serve Caesars Burgers?
Um, no. 40 million people don’t eat the same thing.
This becomes very clear if you visit the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace, with over 250 items prepared in 10 kitchens.
“From Roman-style pizza to Carne Asada Tacos inspired by the food trucks of L. A., there’s something for everyone. Find a world of flavor at our nine live-action cooking stations. Indulge in originals like slow-cooked prime rib, smoked beef brisket, crab, and wood-fired pizza. Or try something different, like whole Ahi Tuna Poke, roasted duck, or Singaporean Blue Crab and seasonal agua frescas.”
There is literally something for everyone. And the hungry person salivating for Ahi Tuna Poke doesn’t care about the beef brisket.
Which brings us to local police automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) proposals.
Variety for hungry people
If you had asked me in September 1994 (before I started at Printrak in October) the target audience for local police AFIS, I would have replied, “fingerprint people.”
That answer would be incorrect.
Tenprint and latent people
Because, even if you limit things to the criminal AFIS world, there are (at least) two types of fingerprint people: tenprint examiners, and latent examiners. I asked my buddy Bredebot to summarize the stereotypical differences between the two. Here is some of what he said:
“‘Assembly line‘ comparisons: Because tenprint comparisons use high-quality, known impressions taken under controlled conditions, their work can be automated and is often perceived as a high-volume, less complex task. This is in contrast to the specialized analysis required for latent prints.
“Artistic and subjective: Because latent prints are often smudged, distorted, and incomplete, examiners must make subjective judgments about their suitability for comparison. This has led to the criticism that the process is more of an art than a science.”
Bredebot has never attended an International Association for Identification conference, but I have. Many many years ago I attended a session on tenprint examiner certification. Latent examiners had this way cool certification and some people thought that more tenprint examiners should participate in their way cool certification program. As I recall, this meeting way heavily attended…by latent folks. Even today, the number of Certified Latent Print Examiners (CLPEs) is far greater than the number of Certified Tenprint Examiners (CTPEs).
Other people
But you can’t procure an AFIS by talking to tenprint and latent people alone.
As I noted years ago, other people get involved in a local police AFIS procurement, using Ontario, California as an example:
- The field investigators who run across biometric evidence at the scene of a crime, such as a knife with a fingerprint on it or a video feed showing someone breaking into a liquor store.
- The information technologies (IT) people who are responsible for ensuring that Ontario, California’s biometric data is sent to San Bernardino County, the state of California, perhaps other systems such as the Western Identification Network, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- The purchasing agent who has to make sure that all of Ontario’s purchases comply with purchasing laws and regulations.
- The privacy advocate who needs to ensure that the biometric data complies with state and national privacy laws.
- The mayor (still Paul Leon as I write this), who has to deal with angry citizens asking why their catalytic converters are being stolen from their vehicles, and demanding to know what the mayor is doing about it.
- Probably a dozen other stakeholders that I haven’t talked about yet, but who are influenced by the city’s purchasing decision.
Feeding the hungry people
So even a relatively simple B2B product has multiple target audiences.
Should product marketers apply the same one-dimensional messaging to all of them?
Um, no.
If you did that, purchasing agents would fall asleep at mentions of “level 3 detail,” while latent examiners would abandon their usual attention to detail when confronted by privacy references to the California Information Practices Act of 1977. (The CCPA, CPRA, and CPPA apply to private entities.)
So, whether you like it or not, you need separate messaging for each of your categories of hungry people.
One time, as part of an account-based marketing effort, I had to construct a multi-variable messaging matrix…for a product that is arguably simpler than an AFIS.
And yes, I used Microsoft Excel.
And I can use my mad Excel skillz for you also, if your company needs content, proposal, or analysis assistance in your technology product marketing operations. Contact Bredemarket at https://bredemarket.com/mark/.
And proposal professional professionals, read this.
Bredemarket 