Knowing your Ideal Customer

You’re probably no stranger to the idea that you need to know as much as you can about your ideal customer. But is it really that important and if so, how do you go about creating those all-important profiles?

A tale of two Zooms

Imagine for a moment that an old friend has left you a message asking you to call them on Zoom. They know you’re a great cook and want your help with a recipe suggestion.

Before you even start the conversation, you probably unconsciously adopt a style that is appropriate for your friend. For example, if it was your mother who’d called, you’d probably talk in a certain way and you might be on your best behaviour (no swearing on this call). If it’s that friend who always manages to make you feel a little bit inferior, you might just check how you look and tidy up your background. If it’s your bestie, then pjs and a glass of wine in hand are fine.

With a friend you know well, the conversation will be easy and comfortable, and you’ll probably talk about a few things that interest you both before you get down to business. And because you know your friend well, you’ve already got some great ideas for some recipes. Perhaps you remember your friend went vegan last year but that she loved a particular Spanish dish that you served at your 40^th. Your brain is already thinking of a way she could substitute the meat part of the dish to create a vegan version but you’ll still ask her a few questions about what the event is, how many people will be there, etc. In short, you’ll find out as much as you possibly can before making the perfect recipe suggestion.

Now image your meeting someone on Zoom that you don’t know at all. And instead of finding out anything about them, you just suggest your standard signature dish of paella. The trouble is, because you don’t know them well you don’t know that they hate Spanish food, don’t eat rice and are allergic to seafood. Not a great first impression.

I know you so well

The conversation with the person you know well is clearly a much easier and more satisfactory conversation for all concerned but how does that play out with your customers?

1. Fine tune your products and services

Just like with our Spanish recipe, when you know your ideal customer well, you can really refine your product or service so that it provides your customers with exactly what they need. What you gave your friend was a truly personal and tailored recipe and if that was your business, the chances are she’d buy from you again.

2. Fine tune your marketing material

When you know someone well, you inevitably talk about things that interest them. Perhaps you make small talk about your children who are the same age, ask them about how they’re getting on with a vegan diet and make a couple of suggestions which will help with meal planning for vegans generally. This small talk is important because it builds trust and a connection between you.  The pair of you relate to each other, and you come across as someone who understands the issues your friend has, cares and can help.

This conversation is the equivalent to all your marketing materials. The more you know about your customers, the more you can find tune your blogs, your website, your social media posts and even your networking pitch so that they really resonate with your customers. So that doing business with you feels like having a conversation with a trusted friend!

3. Discover growth opportunities

As with any relationship, getting to know your ideal customer and learning about them takes time. You’ll start with a good idea about the essentials but overtime, you’ll find out more. And as you do so, you’ll identify new growth opportunities that you hadn’t spotted before. For example, perhaps you notice in the comments on the photos of your paella on Facebook, everyone is talking about where to source the best paella dish. Bingo, you start to realise the potential in offering a range of paella dishes to go with your recipe.

4. Increase customer loyalty and referrals

When customers can relate to you and feel like they’re getting a really good and personal service, you start to build loyalty. It’s much easier (and usually much cheaper too) to sell something to an existing client, and existing clients are more likely to refer new clients to you. It’s a win, win.

Creating your avatar

You already know lots about your ideal customer, but it really helps to put all your information into a profile (AKA an avatar). You may find you need 2 or 3 different profiles to represent different types of customers. There are lots of templates you can use to help create these like the one I have put together for you, which can be downloaded here.

Use common sense and your existing knowledge to fill in the information. If they all live in a particular part of the world, what do you know about that area? If you can, get your team together to brainstorm everything you know, then give each profile a name and maybe even upload a photo. And remember to be discerning as you collate your material. Your ideal client may or may not be the same as your current customers. Make a point of spotting any differences.

Gathering information

Gathering information about your ideal client need not be hard! Social media is often a great place to start. Study what your customers say on your own social media feeds or on that of your competitors. If they hang out in particular places, such as a community or group page, can you join – not to sell, but to listen and learn about what they discuss. What do your customers post on LinkedIn or Twitter? What can you learn from their profiles or from their own websites?

Beyond social media, customer surveys, feedback and testimonials are all great sources of information from which you’ll gain valuable insights. And don’t forget, if you want to know something, you can always ask as part of a conversation with a client. Most people are pretty helpful if the questions are appropriate, and they may appreciate the fact that you’ve taken an interest in them.

Make it personal

With all the information at your fingertips, from now on when you write any marketing materials, have a copy of the relevant profile in front of you and write as if you were having a conversation with that individual person. They should feel like a real person, someone you know and as a result, you can make what you write really personal and relevant to them like writing to an old friend.

It’s an evolving process

Learning as much as you can about your ideal client is an ongoing process. Your ideal client may change over time and there’s always more you can learn. Diarise a review session for every 6 months to update your existing material.

Don't forget to download your worksheet.

If you have any questions or would like some help with the process of identifying your ideal customers then please get in touch on 07988 676219 or email here.