I saw the phone light up with a call out of the corner of my eye.

My heart stopped when I saw the caller id — my daughter's preschool. Where she currently was.

Smashing the accept button, I answered the phone, already moving towards the door with Mama Bear mode activated.

"Is this Mrs. Ricci?" I heard the secretary ask.

"Yes," I replied.

"Everything's okay," she said quickly.

Instantly, my heart calmed. "Everything's okay?" I repeated as I stopped in my tracks.

"Yes! I just wanted to talk about registration."

As my heart returned to a more normal pace, I couldn't help but smile as the secretary's understanding. She knew her target audience — worrisome moms — so well that she made sure she eased my fears before launching into why she was calling.

I truly saw Christ's love in just that simple acknowledgement.

And that's how your target audience feels when you see them.

Because in a world where it seems like everyone's out to make a name, a fortune, and convenience for themselves...

...your acknowledgement of the other person and their feelings, simply thinking about others and expressing it, stands out. It creates change and causes action.

And it's not just critical in marketing; it's the epitome of love that Jesus taught us in the Gospels, which is at the heart of Catholic marketing (aka other-centeric marketing).

And you can't do that by being general.

Not because you want to be exclusive, but because you can't know how you're specifically called to serve someone if you don't know specifically who they are.

That's why I'm so passionate about making sure you all know your target audience really well, because without it, all the other marketing stuff will fail (and feel a lot harder).

The things like

• What kinds of content should I create?
• Which platforms should I prioritize?
• How do I get more followers/subscribers/engagement?
• How can I increase my open or conversion rates?
• Why isn't _______ working for me?

For all of those questions, my first question in response is always going to be: "Who are you trying to reach?"

And if you can't answer that in specificity, we need to start there.

If you're struggling with that (or other marketing foundations like knowing what you solve or figuring out your customer journey/value ladder), you can still grab the free replay for my webinar last week, "5 Ways Jesus Used Marketing (That You Can Use to Grow Your Business or Ministry)."​

Or if you signed up, this is your friendly reminder to go watch it! (No judgement, I do that all the time too — sign up for free stuff and then forget to actually watch it!)

​Just click right here and I'll send the replay your way!

For His greater glory,

Emily