Imagine you’re scrolling Instagram Stories, and you get served an ad for a candle. But instead of highlighting what makes this particular candle worth buying, the ad explains what candles are and why you might need one, as if you’ve never thought about candles before. You might not be able to put a finger on why, but it reads weird.
On the other hand, if you go to the website for the software your dentist uses to manage their practice, a lot of the copy won’t make sense to you. It’s talking about how the software solves problems that have never occurred to you. (Unless you’re a practicing dentist and you’re reading this, in which case: apologies.)
You’ve just discovered how the stages of awareness at work.
To be effective, marketing needs to meet people where they are.
If you’ve never heard of a product, you need to know what it is before you can figure out if you need it.
If you’re deeply familiar with a product, then good messaging will address the reasons you haven’t bought yet—not explain what the product is.
The 5 stages of awareness were identified by copywriter Eugene Schwartz in 1966 in a book called Breakthrough Advertising. And once you understand the 5 stages of awareness, your marketing becomes more nuanced.
Reframes for When You Don’t Solve “Problems”
Before we get started:
When marketers talk about the stages of awareness, we like to use the words “problem” and “solution. But for wedding creatives, it may not make sense to think of your service as “solving a problem.”
So instead, consider one of these reframes:
- You’re offering a transformation.
- You’re creating an experience.
- You’re filling a gap left by existing services or products.
(Some wedding-related products and services do solve a problem, and that works well, too.)
The 5 Stages of Awareness
Unaware
When a customer is “unaware,” they genuinely aren’t thinking about the problem your product solves, or why they might need your offer.
In short: they don’t know what they don’t know.
In the wedding industry, this applies to vendors who offer something relatively new that clients haven’t seen at a wedding or on social media before. A few years ago, most couples were unaware of wedding content creators or live painters.
Now that those categories are mainstream, a better example might be a live sketch artist, or a custom lipstick counter.
If this describes your offer, your marketing needs to explain the “what” and the “how” as well as the “why.” You’ll need to show them what it actually looks like—images and video play a big role at this stage.
Problem-aware
The second group of clients is “problem-aware.” In other words, they’ve thought of something they want to do at their wedding, but they haven’t figured out how to make it happen, or who does that.
Depending on what slice of the market you target, wedding planners may need to address these clients. If your typical client is wavering on whether or not to have a planner, then your website copy and social media content should show them how different the planning process looks when they bring you on – and what it might look like if they DIY.
On the flip side, you may work with clients who know they need a planner and are just deciding who to hire. In that case, too much copy about “why you need a planner” can dilute your message and lead them to think you’re not at the level they need.
If your client is problem-aware, your marketing needs to name their problem, and from there, you move to showing how you (or your offer) solves it.
Solution-aware
If you’re offering a mainstream wedding service like photography or florals, this is where your clients typically start.
They know they want to have a wedding photographer, but they’re still in the early stages of figuring out who’s out there—and in their price range. At this stage, they might be asking friends or their planner for names, scrolling on social, and maybe doing some high-level Google searches.
At this stage, your goal is to show why you’re different from other vendors.
This means sharp messaging around your process, as well as context for the choices you make when working with clients.
If your work falls on the more artistic end, such as photography or floral, you’ll want to give clients language to describe it. You need to be aware of the terms they’re using, while also relying on your own lexicon.
(For example, the term “moody” connotes a particular photo style. If that’s not how you edit, you may want to find another term.)
Product-aware
These clients know that you exist, and that they need the service or product you’re offering, but they’re still seeking some more information. You might be one of 5 or 6 tabs open in their browser as they plan their wedding.
They’re looking for a little reassurance before they make an investment. That might mean reading through all your Google reviews, requesting a full gallery, or sitting down with you for a call.
At the product-aware stage, they may also be seeking insight into your pricing before they reach out to you.
(Product-aware clients also love a good, solid FAQ section.)
Most aware
These clients know and love you. They’re often repeat customers or were referred by someone they deeply trust, and they’re ready to jump right in and start working with you.
How Not to Use the Stages of Awareness
If you follow generic marketing advice, you might fall into the trap of assuming potential clients are at a way earlier stage than they actually are.
And that results in copy that feels “sales-y” and inauthentic.
For example, if your clients are solution-aware when it comes to photography (and believe me, they almost certainly are), they don’t need to be told a story about why wedding photos are important, and how they’ll be broken-hearted 20 years from now if they don’t have any.
But it varies a lot by vendor category—some videographers might need to tell that story because their clients see video as a “nice-to-have.”
Price range comes into play here, too—what qualifies as a “nice-to-have” for someone spending $100K might be a must-have for a couple with a $500K budget. Context is everything.
The best thing you can do is start with market research to understand what your ideal clients do (and don’t) know about what you’re offering.
Before I write a word of your website copy, I’ll figure out exactly who your ideal client is and where they fit into the stages of awareness. From there, it’s a breeze to craft copy that speaks to what’s on their mind right now. Interested? Learn more about my website copywriting services.
