Not doing any research on your audience is dangerous business. It means you’re building everything on guesswork. Which is a big risk. I don’t mean chatting to your mates who are sort-of, maybe, yeah I guess would fall into the ‘ideal customer’ category. I mean real research.

Ok, you get the point! Now tell let me tell you how…

1. Start by creating a survey focused on what people know. Focus on their experience of your brand/products/services, your competitors brand/products/service, their pain points, their objectives, what makes them tick, how they feel currently and how they want to feel. What is their ideal future state?

2. Interview 7 – 10 prospective customers/clients and go deep! Get to the crux of what they really think. Walk in their shoes. It’s a good idea to interview both existing customers with experience of your brand and those who haven’t worked with you or bought from you before.

3. Recreate your customer’s journey and how they experience and feel about each touchpoint of your brand that they would encounter.

4. Find out where they hang out and observe them (in a non creepy way). How do they behave? How do they communicate? Make notes.

The idea is to look for insights into how they feel, think and behave. By the end of this exercise you should have a solid idea of who these people are, the problems they’re facing and how you are uniquely positioned to alleviate these problems for them and help them reach their desired future state.

Building a business without really knowing your ideal customer is like shooting in the dark. And you’re likely to shoot yourself in the foot. It pays to get curious about your ideal customer.

Do you think you truly understand your ideal customer? If not, can you get to know them better using the framework above? Let me know how you get on: claire@claireholly.co.uk

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6 reasons why it’s so important to truly know your ideal customer

When you’re not clear on who your ideal customer is, you get crickets. You’ll spend a bucket load of money, time and effort marketing to absolutely everyone and speaking to precisely no one.

We’re constantly bombarded with huge amounts of information. To give you an idea of the sheer amount of information out there: WordPress users alone are generating about 82.6 million new posts a month. So, if you’re not out there speaking to a specific group of people, in the way they want to be spoken to, there’s a good chance your message will end up drowning in that sea of unfocused noise.

When you identify and fully understand who your ideal audience is, your marketing efforts go so much further. Even better, your conversion rate will improve dramatically. It also means that you’ll be able to work on the type of projects you’ve always dreamed of and with customers you absolutely love. *Breathes a sigh of relief*

Here’s why truly knowing your ideal customer is crucial:

1. You can offer solutions to real problems

If you start with a product or service and then look for an audience to sell it to, then you’re doing it wrong. Instead start with your ideal customer in mind. If you know the problems they’re facing you can create products or services that help them and that they’ll actually buy.

2. You’ll have loads of ideas for great marketing content

Knowing your customer’s problems will help you come up with ideas for your content marketing. Simply put, you’ll know what your audience wants to see, know and learn. This is a great opportunity to show your ideal customers that you understand them, can help them and that you’re an expert in your field. Leading to lots of lovely incoming leads to help you grow your business.

3. Your marketing efforts will be far more effective

If you know who you’re targeting, you’ll know where they’re hanging out and how best to reach them. What a disaster it would be if you built a presence on one platform – only to find out your target audience doesn’t even hang out there? Aligning your brand marketing efforts with your ideal customer means no more wasted money advertising to the wrong people or in the wrong places.

4. You’ll turn your ideal customer’s into raving fans

5. You can say goodbye to clients and projects that aren’t a good fit

We’ve all been there. Unenjoyable customer experiences and projects that just weren’t a vibe. However, as soon as you get clear on who your ideal customer is you can start attracting them. So you’ll spend far less time working with people and projects that don’t light you up.

6. You won’t waste time in phone calls and meetings with the wrong people

Not only will working with the wrong people be a thing of the past, you’ll also stop wasting time having conversations with them. Sounds harsh, but this is best for both of you! We all know that stressful feeling when you’re half way into a sales call only to realise you’re just not a fit. Or the frustration of waisting your time playing email ping pong before it becomes evident that they can’t afford you. Being crystal clear on who your actual ideal audience is will cut all of this out.

So there you have it, 6 reasons why knowing your ideal customer is absolutely critical for business success. All of your business and marketing strategy should start with a solid understanding of your target audience.

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Considering investing in a brand coach? You’ll walk away knowing exactly who your ideal customers are and how to attract them. Pick my brains, for free, by booking a virtual cuppa: click to book

Wondering why brand strategy is so crucial for business success? click to read

Do you really know your ideal customer? Here’s how to…