In marketing today it’s common to hear that you must know who your target audience is in order to be effective with your marketing.\u00a0This mostly implies that you determine the makeup of a market that your business is most likely to attract.<\/p>\n
What bothers me about this simple approach is that it has a lowest common denominator element to it \u2013 who can we attract?<\/p>\n
Instead, I like to take the point of view of – whom do we deserve to work with?<\/p>\n
This thought process led me to the idea of defining an ideal client<\/a>\u00a0which ties together both behavior and demographics. Identifying who this is from the beginning will save you tons of time going in circles trying to be all things to all people.<\/p>\n It really is a game changer and here’s how I recommend getting started.<\/p>\n Have you ever considered the following question? \u2013 What qualities would your ideal clients have? Thinking through this is quite a liberating feeling, no? Don\u2019t you deserve to work with clients who appreciate the value you bring to them?<\/p>\n I know that might sound a bit egotistical, but it really isn’t. At the end of the day, if you want to work with the people you want, then you need to step up your game so that can deserve to do so.<\/p>\n I recommend getting started by exploring the types of clients you don’t want to work with. Until you know who you don’t want to work with, who you must work with, who you choose to work with, it\u2019s easy to take work and clients that drag you away from the work you deserve to be doing (we’ve all been there and know what a headache it can be).<\/p>\n Who can you deliver the greatest value to, who do you enjoy working with, and who needs what you do most? Write a detailed description of your ideal client and include as much about them as possible including the problems they are trying to solve. Give some thought to how you might reach them and appeal to them. Use your best clients today to help you think about what makes them ideal for you. (Hint: they are profitable<\/a> and perhaps they refer others to you right now.)<\/p>\n Consider following these steps to best identify them:<\/p>\n Step 1:<\/em>\u00a0What are the\u00a0must-haves\u00a0to be a client \u2013 this is stuff that naturally narrows your list \u2013 must be 18 years or older, must own a home \u2013 that kind of thing.<\/p>\n Step 2:<\/em>\u00a0What are the\u00a0generally looked for attributes\u00a0\u2013 no required, but preferred \u2013 perhaps it\u2019s an age range, geographic location, or special interest.<\/p>\n Step 3:<\/em>\u00a0What makes them ideal \u2013 what are the\u00a0attributes that make them your best prospects\u00a0\u2013 perhaps they have a certain business model, unique problem, at a certain point in life or business.<\/p>\n Step 4:<\/em>\u00a0What\u00a0behavior do they exhibit\u00a0that allows you to identify them? Do they belong to industry associations, tend to sponsor charitable events, read certain publications?<\/p>\n I recommend starting with the smallest market possible. You must\u00a0find a group of clients who think what you have to offer is special and can scale from there.<\/p>\n Now that you’ve narrowly defined who your ideal client is, you must spend ample amount of time understanding them<\/a> in order to properly use them across the various strategic elements of your business. Knowing who makes an ideal client allows you to build your entire business, message, product, services, sales and support around attracting and serving this narrowly defined group.<\/p>\n Once you dig deep and profile the common characteristics you should also start asking yourself some questions about these folks.<\/p>\n Having answers to the questions will allow you to more fully address their wants and needs in every interaction and communication. Once you have this understanding, you can start tailoring your efforts to best speak to them.<\/p>\n Refocus your message<\/strong><\/p>\n Matching your message<\/a> to your ideal client is a must when it comes to marketing these days. A message that connects is one that clearly talks about what your ideal client wants more than anything else in the world \u2013 which is to solve their problems.<\/p>\n You must\u00a0let them know that you understand what they really want. Let me let you in on a little secret:\u00a0Nobody really wants what you sell \u2013 they want their problems solved \u2013 period.<\/p>\n I recommend making a list of the problems you solve for the clients you help the most.\u00a0If you\u2019re having trouble thinking about your client\u2019s problems, think a bit about the things they tell you.<\/p>\n For example, a lot of our prospective clients might say things like \u2013 we just want the phone to ring more, so that’s what we tell them we can do for them (we don’t immediately dive into our SEO and marketing services).<\/p>\n That\u2019s how you refocus your message so that it\u2019s all about your amazing clients and the problems they want to be solved.<\/p>\n Create trigger phrases<\/strong><\/p>\n Your clients don\u2019t know how to solve their problems, but they usually know what their problems are. If you can get really good at demonstrating that what you sell is the answer to their problem<\/a> they really don’t care what you call it.<\/p>\n Break down every solution you sell and every benefit you attribute to what you do, and map it back to a handful of \u201ctrigger phrases.\u201d<\/p>\n These phrases can be questions or statements or even anecdotes, but they must come from the point of view of the client.<\/p>\n Write website headlines<\/strong><\/p>\n What we mean by this is write a big, bold statement that might be the first thing anyone who visits your website will see.\u00a0Now ask yourself \u2013 would this statement get your ideal client\u2019s attention more than something like \u201cwelcome to our website?\u201d<\/p>\n Want some help creating your new message? Pick out a handful of your ideal clients and go ask them \u2013 what problem did we solve for you? Test your headlines with them. Ask them to describe what you do better than anyone else.<\/p>\nChoosing your ideal client<\/h2>\n
How to understand and speak to your ideal client<\/h2>\n
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