/ Opening

One purchase can contain several audiences

The person using the product may not choose it. The person choosing it may not pay. The person paying may still need approval.

ROLE

What part do they play?

User, buyer, influencer, approver, gatekeeper.

MARKET

How is the decision organized?

B2C, B2B, B2B2C, public sector.

BURDEN

What must be proven?

Utility, value, risk, compliance, political cover.

TAKEAWAY“The customer” is often a decision system, not one person.

/ Quick Test

Who is the customer?

A school buys learning software for teachers and students.

SINGLE-AUDIENCE VIEW

The student is the user
Market to students
Measure student interest

DECISION-SYSTEM VIEW

Teacher champions use
IT verifies fit
Procurement buys
Administration approves

TAKEAWAYThe audience map must reflect who controls each stage of the decision.

/ Model

Map the roles before choosing the message

Different roles require different answers.

01UseWho experiences the product?

02InfluenceWho shapes the shortlist?

03AuthorizeWho approves risk and budget?

04Pay / renewWho carries the economics over time?

TAKEAWAYThe message, proof, channel, and timing should match the role controlling the next decision.

/ Distinctions

Market structure changes the buying system

The product may stay the same while the decision burden changes.

B2C

Buyer and user may overlap

Faster path; identity and convenience often matter.

B2B

A committee distributes risk

Proof, integration, procurement, and internal politics matter.

B2B2C

Partner and end user need value

The intermediary controls access and economics.

PUBLIC SECTOR

Public accountability shapes choice

Rules, fairness, compliance, and defensibility matter.

TAKEAWAYDo not carry a B2C decision model into B2B, partner, or public-sector work.

/ Team Challenge

Map one offering across four markets

Use the same skills platform and redesign the decision system.

Individual learnerCorporate employerUniversity partnerState workforce agency

FOR EACH: user · influencer · buyer · approver · proof burden · likely blocker

TAKEAWAYA market type is useful only when it changes the audience, proof, path, and risk model.

/ Pressure Test

Does the role map change the plan?

A role list that produces one message is not yet useful.

1.Who controls awareness, shortlist, approval, payment, and renewal?

2.What does each role fear or protect?

3.What evidence does each require?

4.Where can one role block a decision another role wants?

TAKEAWAYDesign for the decision system, not for the person most visible in the brief.

/ Example

One software purchase, four reasons to believe

Each role needs different proof before the system can move.

ROLEQUESTIONPROOF

UserWill this help me work?Demonstration and usability

ChampionCan I defend this internally?Use case and peer evidence

Economic buyerIs the return worth the cost?Business case and payback

IT / procurementCan we safely adopt it?Security, integration, terms

TAKEAWAYThe same product becomes relevant through different reasons at different decision points.

/ Close

Ask who does what

Audience strategy begins with the real distribution of control.

MAPName the roles

MATCHGive each role the right proof

MOVEDesign the next decision

TAKEAWAYDo not say “customer” when the work requires a role, market structure, and decision locus.