Episode 20: The customer inside your company

In this episode of Pebble Presents, I chat with Burt Alper about audience-focused communication. Not the kind you do for a campaign or a brand brief - but the kind you need every day, inside your organization. You’ll hear us discuss why the career pivot from branding to communication coaching turned out to be no pivot at all, the AIM framework, and the shift from demographic to psychographic audience thinking. We also get into why marketers - professional communicators - are so often challenged at communicating internally. If you are wondering how to diagnose when communication is your problem, and what to do about it, this episode is for you! **Emelia Rallapalli** is the founder of Pebble, a brand strategy and marketing research consultancy. With decades of experience in global brand planning, strategy, and research, Pebble has helped shape businesses of all kinds, from ambitious start-ups to global Fortune 100 companies.  **Burt Alper** is a lecturer at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. He also coaches senior leaders at Thoma Bravo, JMI Equity, Farallon, and FTV Capital, among many others. Previously, he co-founded Catchword and led the firm's strategy and business development initiatives. He has dedicated his entire career to making exceptional communication a competitive advantage. He helps clients articulate their ideas more effectively, efficiently, and confidently. Welcome to Pebble Presents. \- - - - - - - - - If you liked this episode of Pebble Presents, please share it with colleagues and friends! Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube to rate/review/subscribe to the show. Want more? Visit PebbleStrategy.com.  You can also find us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/pebble-strategy/) and Instagram(https://www.instagram.com/pebblestrategy/). Thanks for listening and joining the conversation! **References** - Burt’s website: www.burtalper.com - Burt Alper on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/burtalper/ **Show Notes**  1:01 - Emelia introduces Burt Alper 2:19 - Burt's path from branding to communications coaching 5:35 - The AIM framework: audience, intent, message 8:05 - Why people start with message instead of audience 9:03 - What makes a good intent or objective 19:40 - Burt reframes the Golden Rule into his Platinum Rule of communication 25:43 - How to think psychographically about your audience  27:51 - Why marketers struggle to communicate internally, even when they're skilled externally 31:29 - How framing determines whether you get heard in a budget conversation 36:10 - Why creative professionals struggle to sell ideas inside their own organizations 41:07 - How to know when your business communication skills are holding you back 42:47 - How to solicit feedback on your communication style 47:39 - Applying market research thinking to internal communication 50:37 - Lightning round 55:51 - Emelia wraps up the episode **Episode Credits** Executive Produced & Hosted by Emelia Rallapalli Produced by Stephanie Watanabe  Edited and Post Produced by Erin Zimmerman Artwork and design by Liisa Turan-Walters