How to define your ideal client
When you started your business, did you put any thought into who your ideal client would be? Or did you just open your doors and accept anybody who needed help and was willing to pay? Did either of those scenarios work out well for you? For a lot of business owners, it does work at first, but then later on when you are ready to invest in marketing to grow your business you find yourself backtracking to figure out who your target market really is. We are here to help! Below we will walk you through our 3 Easy Steps to define your ideal client.
What is a Client Avatar or Client Profile?
Quite simply, your ideal client is the person you most want to help; the person who needs your specialized experience and can benefit from what you have to teach. This ideal client is also someone who recognizes the value of your services and is willing (and able) to pay your fees.
Your client avatar is a very detailed description of this person’s characteristics, their demographics. Before you can find your ideal client you have to identify the characteristics of this perfect client so you can target your marketing efforts. Follow these 3 Easy Steps to define your ideal client and think about the answers to develop your ideal client avatar. Keep track of your answers in a journal or computer document so you can reference them later.
1. What are the demographics of my ideal client? Include their sex, their name, their age, their marital status, where they live, whether they have children, the ages of their kids, their employment history, etc. Get as detailed as possible in identifying these demographics so you can create an accurate picture (aka avatar) of this client in your mind. Maybe you know a person in real life who is your ideal client; use those demographics and modify them if needed. Or maybe you are your own ideal client; use your own descriptions to identify others in this market.
2. What is my ideal client’s biggest struggle or pain point? In order to best tailor your services to your ideal client, knowing what they struggle with is very important. This may change over time or you may identify multiple struggles but rather than producing a package or a product that doesn’t resonate with your market, start off with this market research first, then offer the services or products that will resonate with your ideal market.
3. Where can I find my ideal client? You will likely have multiple answers to this question and you should be extremely specific with your answers. If you ideal clients participate in a particular Facebook group, join that group yourself and be active, offering advice and answering questions. If your ideal clients reside in your home town, participating in community activities will help bring awareness to your name and to your services. Determine where your clients are, then create a marketing plan to reach those clients.
Following the 3 Easy Steps to define your ideal client above and knowing your ideal client avatar or ideal client profile is one of the strategies we use to help our clients discover their target market.
Still need help?
Many businesses will struggle to try to be all things to all people. You just simply can’t be good or great at everything without something being forgotten. Oftentimes, people will say they’re being stretched too thin when they try to accomplish too much. You might want to consider hiring help, rethinking your business model, or narrowing down your products and services.
Check out our Digital Marketing and Virtual Assistant services to see how we can help you get back to growing your business. CLICK HERE to schedule a consultation.
