You know you are not the target audience, but your colleagues sure don't. Here you are again, sitting in another meeting sharing your awesome marketing communications when someone pops out one of those gems that makes your head spin. "I don't like it, and I'm a woman."

You find a tactful way to keep the conversation going. Nice work! Annnnnnd then someone else says, "…well, I have a (you fill in the blank), and they would never like this either…"

This #strategymoment is brought to you by, "My son wouldn't like that!"

I can't tell you how many times I've been in meetings with well-meaning people, who can't seem to remember that they (and the people they know) aren't the target audience.

Almost without fail, a former colleague would bring up her son. Whatever the real purpose of the meeting was would go right out the window and turn into a vent sesh about this one person's son. Yes, he happened to be an undergrad, but he wasn't the target so his behavior wasn't relevant.

Meanwhile, other people in the organization gathered millennial staff members to share their input about the kinds of events and activities they would like — because they were millennials. Even though they matched some of the demographics, they were too aware of the organization's internal focus to authentically represent the target community.

It's a common issue. For whatever reason, people make the mistake of thinking that how they (or someone they know) experience the world is exactly how the audience does. It's not. They're not the audience.

Most of the time you remember that, but your awesome work keeps getting derailed by folks who tend to forget (or think they know the audience best). You end up with some diluted or misguided plan that once again is for nobody…or inaction.

#StrategyMoment: What can I do to get us all on the same page about the audience for this effort and politely remind colleagues — you are not the audience?

The problem, as you know, is that the people you are trying to reach are not well defined. You (or the organization) don't have enough data on them or enough time to analyze the data you do have. You're aware the answer is making audience personas based on research, surveys, and interviews of your target audience. But, of course, there's no time (or money) for that now. It sure does sound dreamy, though, doesn't it?

Coming back to reality…

Sure, you could go with intuition and test some guesses, but then you're no better than that person in the meeting who is going with gut instincts. What you need is credible data that can unite the room in service to the audience. You need to be able to put something in the center of the table that will bring the attention back to the audience.

Gather meaningful data for FREE in MINUTES to avoid the commentary

Ideally, if you can show up to the next meeting with sound data about the community members you most want to reach, you'll stand a better chance of avoiding the whole ordeal. Time and money remain HUGE and very real barriers. So, here's a fast and free way to walk in looking like the pro you are.

Often, geography is a central focus of a campaign's reach. Maybe you're working on an event in a particular area (and you're inviting people within a 30 minute radius) or a mailing or social ad to people from a particular region. When you know where the people are that you want to reach, you can use their zip codes to better understand them.

The Tapestry Segmentation system classifies US neighborhoods based on their socioeconomic and demographic compositions. You can do a quick zip code lookup — and BAM…free downloadable fact sheets about the area, the people in it, and their behaviors.

It's not the fully customized persona of your dreams, but it's methodologically sound data you can use to inform your positioning efforts. It's also presented professionally. You can download and print the PDF with all its glorious charts, graphs, and bullet points. And, you know your colleagues will LOVE those charts and graphs!

You'll be prepared with a physical representation of the audience. Instead of the conversation devolving into opinions and personal experiences, you can help your coworkers stay focused on the audience they're holding in their hands.

Introduce your colleagues to the audience

The next time you walk into a meeting to review your plans, bring copies of the audience profiles. They're usually 3–4 pages so you'll want to come prepared ready to call attention to a few specific data points you used to inform your plan. Alternatively, give each person a few minutes to read the profile quietly on their own.

Either way, make sure you start the conversation with a reflection about the audience. Highlight what surprised you, ask what surprised them, and briefly discuss what you all learned and the audience. It'll help get them to relate to the community members you're targeting.

Sharing an experience is also a great way to help you all start on the same page. Talking about the audience and the audience's experiences will make sure that same page is the audience. It will position you as partners working on a problem together.

Then, go into your awesome marketing and communications, keeping that audience at the heart of your efforts. Make connections for your colleagues. Point to data they can see in front of them, and connect that data to the positioning you chose, the messaging you crafted, and/or the visuals you designed.

Say things like: "As you'll see in the ______ section of the profile, the people we are targeting are/prefer…that's why we…."

Politely remind colleagues, "you are not the target audience"

Inevitably someone will still say some version of, "Well, I'm 38, and I don't play the lottery so this 'try my luck' language won't work."

But, you've now got data on your side.

It might be tempting to bluntly say, "Well, you are not the target audience." Doing that tends to create an adversarial exchange and a downward spiral of opinions.

Instead say, "We actually went that direction with the language based on community data. Let's all turn to the market profile section. Here, we learned the 'City Lights' group we're targeting in zip code 08876 likes to try their luck at the lottery. So, we're testing that positioning."

When someone insists, the person they know who lives in that area wouldn't like it, fight back an eye roll.

Instead nod your head in agreement, and say, "You bring up a really important point. This data provides a picture of a group and not of a single individual. It focuses on the trends. Like all trend reports, this data doesn't always hold up at an individual level. As our organization becomes more sophisticated with our data, we'll be able to really customize and tailor efforts down to that individual level. For now, it's important we focus on reaching this target group to maximize our efforts rather than drill down to one individual. We just aren't there yet, but I'm totally with you and want to get there, too."

How to tell the most irrational among them — you are not the target audience

If you happen to be lucky enough to be dealing with the type of person who just has strong feelings, fear not. Whether they don't like or don't believe the data, take a breath and stay relaxed.

When you're dealing with someone who's stuck on their impressions and feelings, facts don't tend to work. So, rather than arguing their points, move the conversation forward.

Say, "I'd also love to use more customized data to inform our activities. What we really need to understand our audience are personas based on research, surveys, and interviews of community members. Unfortunately, the organization hasn't had the staff or budget to make that happen, but I'm hopeful we'll get there. In the meantime, we chose this market segmentation because it gets at lifestyle, life stage, and behavior — and it's free. I have some information about their methodology you can review. I'm open to other segmentation systems you might know that are free — or ideas you have about where the organization might get the resources (or buy-in) it needs."

What you'll likely hear is crickets, followed by — "yeah give me that methodology."

I've never had someone respond with another free tool, but if they do, you can say "Great, we'll look into that for next time. Thanks for the tip."

Keep it positive, factual, and forward-looking.

Worst case, you move on, and that's still progress. Best case scenario, you might just create an advocate who can help you get the resources you so desperately need.

And remember….

It doesn't hurt to practice a few go-to responses. It's not always easy staying calm and collected when someone's animated and insistent — especially when you have to politely tell them they're wrong. Prepare for that part of the meeting as much as you prep your marketing and communications plans.

Think about what your colleagues so frequently say in these meetings. Develop a few responses to address those kinds of comments. When you're driving or getting ready for the day, practice them. The more comfortable you get politely telling people "you are not the target audience", the more natural the words will feel coming out. You'll also give yourself the best chance of sounding confident, informed, and professional.