5 Things To Ask When Defining Your Ideal Customer
Your products and services however great they are will only appeal to a certain group of people. That group is referred to as a niche and this is the group of people you need to concentrate on when marketing your business. They are your ideal customer.
Ideal Customer
This is what I will be concentrating on today which follows on from my post yesterday which looked at why your marketing strategies may not have been working as well as you hoped they would. That may all stem from adopting a blanket approach of marketing to everyone which ultimately results in marketing to no one. If you are not sure as to what I am referring to then check out yesterday’s post here.
So, carrying on from yesterdays post I am going to share with you the 5 things or questions to ask yourself to define exactly who your ideal customer is. By doing this you will have the clear understanding and clarity as to the marketing message you want to put out to the world to attract the highest quality of people to your business, and the products and services that you offer. Sound good? Then let’s get into it.
Before we get into the specifics of identifying your ideal customer the best place to start is to look in the mirror! Now that may sound a bizarre statement but bear with me for a moment. Your business, products and services may be a perfect match for you as a person. If you have a vested interest and passion in your products and services, then you are your ideal customer. If you would buy them then for sure other people would buy them to.
Ask yourself what solution your products and services solve and then reverse engineer the process as to what would make you buy them in the first place. What purpose do they fill? What solution do they provide? What were the pain points you were suffering from?
Look at your personality and concentrate on your interests, your passions and what makes you tick as a person. How old are you? What is your income? You may have responsibilities such as family and a mortgage. Then look at your lifestyle, what do you like to do, where do you hang out in the real world and the virtual world.
Now this information will build up a picture as to your ideal customer and who to target your marketing to. You are probably thinking this sounds a bit random and I totally understand your thinking, but I will make things a whole lot clearer when I lay out the five things to focus on when creating your ideal customer avatar. So, let’s do this right now!
Ideal Customer – The 5 Things That Make Up The Perfect Customer Avatar
- Who Are They?
- What Do They Do?
- Where Do They Hang Out?
- What Do They Want?
- What Is Stopping Them From Getting It
This information is crucial to matching your products and services with the right person and it will take a bit of research and applying a bit of logic on your part, so take some time, maybe an hour or so. It could be the best time you ever spend in your business.
Who Are They?
What is the demographic of your ideal customer which matches your products and services? Here you want to establish age, gender, if they have a family, what level of education they have.
Then look at what their occupation and the salary they earn and the position that they hold. Also, you need to determine their values in life and their character.
What Do They Do?
Apart from their job and career roles you then need to look at what activities do they participate in. Hobbies, interests, family. Do they like to travel? Are they people who are investing in themselves with their education and always trying to improve their social standing?
Maybe they are passionate about helping others, if so, are they involved in charitable work and local causes.
Where Do They Hang Out?
Odds on they will hang out on the internet, but you need to know where. Your products and services may suit people who are on Facebook but not on Instagram. Do they favour YouTube and if so then creating videos may be what you need to concentrate on more?
So, you need to explore the virtual world of websites, forums, blogs, community forums and information sites such as Wikipedia. Saying this though you must not forget the physical world. Are they members of clubs and community groups? What newspapers and magazines do they buy and read? Also do they attend conferences, seminars and other learning platforms.
What Do They Want?
Usually what people want is a result of the challenges and pain points they are suffering from. Hear you can look at your most recent purchases, what were the reasons you bought what you did.
Use these principles to get in the head of your ideal customer and then look at what your product offers to them. Always concentrate on the benefits of your product within your marketing message. What do I mean by that?
For example, let’s look at the Golf niche. Say your product is an electric golf trolley. Most people aren’t interested in the lightweight alloy wheels, the carbon fibre frame or the battery pack as these are features of your product.
They are more interested in the benefits of having it such as how it will save them energy while they are walking around a hilly course. Or if they suffer from back problems then it will reduce the stress on their back, so they are pain free while having a drink with their friends in the clubhouse.
I think you get the point so look at the problem your products and services solve and then sell the solution. This is what people want.
What Is Stopping Them From Getting It?
A good percentage of people are sceptical as to whether things work or not so the best way to get around this is to give them social proof. Testimonials and reviews are great because it instils confidence in your product.
Products and services in the internet marketing and make money online are a great example of this as people unfortunately do get scammed and are afraid it may happen again. So, it is your job to reassure them by offering guarantees, trial periods etc.
Maybe your ideal customer doesn’t know you as a person or business so you may have to spend some time building that relationship with them, so they get to know, like and trust you before they overcome their objections of buying your products and services.
Another reason is solely down to how much things cost. Maybe they have not got them money to pay the full price upfront so maybe an option would be to offer a payment plan or a free trial.
So, look at your products and services and determine what objection people may have to purchasing them. A great way to do this is to ask a friend or impartial person if they would buy it or not and work on their feedback.
I bet you didn’t think that there was so much to think about when it comes to attracting the right person to your products and services. Once you go through this exercise you will have more clarity as to who your ideal customer is so that you can start that conversation with them through the messaging you put out there. Please leave your comments below, or you can message me here.
I wish you every success.
Pete Harris
Digital Marketer & Information Publisher