Do you want more calls and internet inquiries from qualified customers? Would you like to work with more clients that you love? Can you pinpoint what makes your favorite clients better than the rest?
You first must identify your client’s avatar and learn how to talk directly with that client.
Today’s guide will help you narrow in on your target audience and find new ways to reach them.
Put, knowing who your ideal client is will:
Completing the Ideal Client Workbook will walk you through all the steps of creating your client avatar. Once you better understand the different segments of your customer base, you will talk directly to their needs.
With so much data available to today’s marketers, you can wield your advertising dollars like a surgeon with a scalpel, not a child whacking frantically at a piñata! Once you determine your client avatar, you will better understand making a focused strategy to find great customers.
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Eventually, your business will likely have several avatars to help guide your marketing campaigns. You may direct your marketing by giving them a name that differentiates them from the rest of the segments.
It is important to note that a name can carry a lot of significance about your potential client. You know that different generations have different names. Does it catch you off-guard when someone names their baby “Geraldine”? It may sound strange to many eras because it is a name from another place or generation. When you are thinking of your avatar name, consider the following variables:
While writing a copy, I never actually write the name of my client’s avatar. However, I think, “Alright, Oliver, how can I help you today.” or “What would Oliver think about this?” Once you define your avatar, please give them a name and imagine them whenever you write an ad or social media post.
When building your client avatar, carefully consider your ideal client’s age. Think about when your client will start noticing your product/service.
For instance, the acne treatment company ‘Proactive’ advertises on Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, and MTV. Proactive knows that viewers of Nickelodeon and Disney may not have acne yet. However, the earlier Proactive can get viewers to consider their product, the more likely teens will have brand familiarity when acne comes.
Proactive knows that a tween can be an avatar because it won’t be long until they need acne relief.
While gender seems like a simple answer, it is essential to consider how any of these demographics could identify with your brand. Does your client identify as male, female, both, other, or something different altogether?
Take a moment to think about how each gender would encounter your brand or product. Some business owners find they can best serve a niche market by focusing on gender identification.
For example, Sephora offers classes for members of the trans community because many were not taught make-up skills as children.
In today’s world, there are many different ways that people build a family or define their relationship(s). Married, single, divorced, serial monogamist, polyandrous, life partner, roommate, asexual, or a different part of the LGBTQ community- there are more labels for a relationship than ever before.
Knowing your client’s marital status can help you understand obstacles or need to be met before hiring you. For example, married or partnered people often consult with their mate before deciding.
1, 2, 5, 0, step-children, dog, step-dog, cat. Who is part of your ideal client’s life? It can seem like some questions or aspects of this exercise are irrelevant to your business. You may be thinking, “I’m selling websites! What do I care about the children of my avatar!?” Trust me; this exercise will pay off.
Clients who have dependents tend to be more risk-averse. If your product or service comes with a hefty price tag, it may put a breadwinner at risk and cause them to run in the other direction. If your clients are risk-averse to a big lump sum payment might be an excellent time to consider payment plans or installment payments.
Likewise, those marketing to busy parents may have avatars broken down by child, for example, Dana, the mom with a picky eater, vs. Jarome. This father wants to introduce his children to STEM learning early.
Even if your product or service is not for children, it is necessary to know how they can impact your customer’s decision-making.
When you think of your ideal client’s location, be specific—for example, a street, town, county, state, country, or continent. The area can also indicate the avatar income and lifestyle- I.e., Beverly Hills, CA vs. Malone, NY, are very different places.
If you are selling skis, you may want to focus on people living near your local ski shop and between you and the closest mountain or cross-country ski area.
Knowing your ideal client’s location can help you frame what visuals you should use in your ad. Selling shoes in a metropolitan area? More likely, your perfect client is running the mean concrete streets and not rustic trails in the woods.
Take a moment and think about the last five clients you helped. Does each client make a definitive statement during your interaction with them?
For example, my clients often say, “There are not enough hours in the day to get everything done.” Knowing that many of my clients feel the same way- overwhelmed, has helped me plan how I work with my clients.
Whether your business, from shoe sales to web design, you probably hear a common need or desire. Take a moment the next time you work with a client to pay attention to what they are saying- and figure out how your business can help.
Their occupation and title can be defined broadly or specifically, depending on how your target client views themselves.
For example, some small business owners identify more with their skill or trade in my work, i.e., woodworker, master brewer, or chef. Others identify with being entrepreneurs or small business owners. Whether you focus on your client’s avatar’s occupation or job title depends on the area you serve.
Seth Godin often talks about focusing on the ‘smallest viable market.’ This means you need to find a big enough group to sustain your business but small enough that clients feel heard and understood.
For example, imagine you are a farmer who grows hops. You probably won’t focus on people who identify as a small business, as not all small business owners brew beer- so you need to concentrate on home brewers and brewmasters.
If you only want to help people in your city, you may not know enough people to have a sustainable business. That means you may want to increase your service area to the entire state or even the Northeastern United States.
Does your client make zero dollars, 15,000, 30,000, 50,000, 100,000+? Is their level of education high school graduate/ GED, some college, Bachelors’s, Master’s, Doctorate? Many times (but not always), these two factors go hand in hand; those with higher educations have a higher annual income.
Your client’s annual income and education can tell you if they can afford your product or service. It can also guide who needs your product or service the most.
For example, suppose you are running a non-profit organization trying to connect high school graduates with specialized training in green technologies. In that case, education and income may be the most critical factors in targeting your ideal client, your marketing campaign.
Knowing your client’s media can help you better direct your advertising dollars. Do they follow online media or more local paper newspapers? Knowing the answer can help determine if you should spend on digital marketing or local newsletters.
Start by asking customers, “have you read any good books lately?” or “I’m looking for some new podcasts and movies; what would you recommend?” Ask your customers the same way you would ask your friend, “Have you watched anything good on Netflix?” It’s just that easy.
If your customers follow specific celebrities and gurus, you should follow those individuals on your own social media profiles. The insights you will gain from following the people your customer follow is invaluable.
You started your business to help a specific person with a particular problem. Most companies understand their client’s surface problems: an out-of-date website, a flooded basement, or childcare when they go to work.
Try to think of the problems and challenges that lie beneath the surface. The business may need a new website to stay in business or grow the business.
I’ll share information about one of my avatars, Jamie. Last year, Jamie decided that they could no longer work for someone else. For nearly two decades, Jamie worked hard while someone else became rich. Jamie decided it was time to take the risk and put their passion first, so they started their own business.
Jamie’s challenges are:
Pain points are often responsibilities that your client struggles to accomplish. You know what it’s like to have a list of duties- but you’re not sure how to make it all happen.
The pain point section is where to write down all the areas your client could struggle to achieve. To better illustrate what a pain point is, let’s check in with my avatar, Jamie.
Jamie is proud of being an intelligent and motivated person. Even though they are excited about their business, they do not feel tech-savvy enough to build a website with confidence. Jamie gets frustrated while looking at WordPress, Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace that they close their computer without getting started. It irritates them that they can’t seem to get this project off the back burner.
Putting a cherry on Jamie’s cake of irritation- their ‘jack of all trades’ mentality sometimes saves money- but it takes a lot of time. At the end of a very long day, Jamie is so exhausted that they can’t even help their child with their homework.
Objections are the barriers preventing your client from purchasing your product/ service. When you write a marketing plan, you must consider purchase objections and overcome them.
Often, emotions drive your client’s desires, not logic -but you’ll never hear them say that. Let’s go back and visit Jamie.
Jamie’s objections to hiring me to build them a website are their fierce independence. Entrepreneurs pride themselves on being able to take charge and learn new things.
Even though Jamie is frustrated- they worry about spending money on something they could eventually do themselves. Jamie will struggle to hire me because of their do-it-yourself ethos and concerns about frivolous spending.
There you have it- you better understand a segment of your best clients. Understanding your target client inside and out is fundamental in any marketing strategy. It would help if you never forgot how you could help your client succeed.
If you know where they struggle- you’ll learn how to help them win the day. If their success ensures your success and improving each other live better lives is what it’s all about.
