How to Define your Ideal Customer: Part Two
Use our free 3-page worksheet to better understand who your ideal customer is!
In my last post, I discussed why it’s so important to know who your ideal customer is. Understanding who they are will allow you to:
- Stand out in a crowd because your product/service was designed to solve a specific problem for your ideal customer!
- Appeal to your customers on a psychological level. Instead of just telling them about your product, you will be able to tell them exactly how your product will make their lives better!
- Target your marketing message, saving you time and money by not marketing to the wrong customers. There will be no more wondering who you should be marketing to, what language you should use or how your message should be delivered.
- Understand your customer’s buying habits and needs, allowing your to better serve them. You will be able to offer the right products and services at the right time to the right people!
Who is your Ideal Customer?
Now that we better understand why it benefits our business to have an ideal customer, it’s time to figure out exactly who that person is. You, as the business owner, get to decide who you want your ideal customer to be. Remember that your ideal customer is really just a representation of your target audience. Whomever you market and cater to is who you will attract. Make sure that it’s a population you enjoy working with.
Remember, you aren’t trying to attract just any customer. You are working on attracting the right customers! The right customers are the ones who see the value in your products and services, are willing to pay the prices you ask and will become repeat customers.
By clearly and specifically defining your ideal customer, you will be able to better meet their needs. If our goal is to have wildly satisfied customers, it makes sense that we need to know a lot about them! We need to know who they are, how they live, what they like, what they don’t like, and so much more!
How to Define your Ideal Customer
One of the best ways to start getting acquainted with them is to create an Ideal Customer Profile. To create a profile of your ideal customer, you will start by defining the basics of who they are, such as age and gender. Then, think about their home life: where and how do they live? Next, describe what their professional life is like. You will also want to consider their day-to-day life, their hobbies and their interests. Use as many details as possible to describe your ideal customer! Finally, name your ideal customer and write a couple paragraphs describing exactly who they are. This may seem like a silly exercise, but giving your customer a name and a story helps to make them more real, which will be more impactful for your business.
Tying It All Together
Now that you have defined your ideal customer in great detail, try to view your business through their eyes and ask yourself these questions:
- What does (Ideal Customer’s Name) like about my products/services?
- How would (Name) most likely hear about my product?
- What does (Name) like and dislike about my packaging?
- What would (Name) change about my products or services?
- How can I make my product more accessible to (Name)?
- What is keeping (Name) from buying my product or service more often?
- What would (Name) tell their friends about my products/services?
- How can I encourage (Name) to refer others to my products/services?
- How can I best keep in touch with (Name)?
- How can I better serve (Name)?
Continue to expand on these questions now that you know who your ideal customer is! Examine everything through the “ideal customer lense”, asking yourself what they would think. As you begin to attract customers who resemble your ideal customer, ask them for feedback! Ask them about their day and their lives – really get to know them! The more you can understand and connect with your ideal customers, the easier it will be to reach and serve them which is the best way to turn them into wildly happy and faithful customers!
