Module Two – Revisit Your Ideal Client

If your business is going to be successful, it’s crucial that you have a clear picture of your ideal customer. You may have done work to identify your ideal customer the past, but now that you want to grow your business you need to be absolutely sure that the customer you’ve been selling to is the same one you want to sell to in the future with your up scaled company.

In this module, you’ll revisit your ideal customer avatar and find new ways to locate them.

Your Current Customer

When you want to scale your business, the first people you should look to are your current customers. Since they already know, like, and trust you, they will be the first people interested in anything new you’re doing.

Gather information about the people who buy from you now. You may have systems in place for this but if not, then a review of the following will give you data:

• Look at who’s buying your product or service
• Study your customer database for information
• Investigate which prospects convert to sales.

You may think you already know this information, but don’t skip this step as concrete data is more reliable than a gut feeling.

You need to establish what these people have in common. If you’re having trouble with this, pick up the phone and talk to current and past customers to find out what they like about you and your offerings. Then do a comparison.

Revisit Your Avatar

Probably the last thing you want to do is create another ideal customer avatar. You’ve defined this once (or more than once) and every business program you take repeats the same message. That’s because there’s a reason for it – if you don’t know who your ideal target market is, you won’t be able to gear your marketing campaigns to them, and you won’t see the sales you want.

In light of your business growth ideas, it’s crucial to look at your customer avatar again and keep it up to date. Your business is changing and there may be changes in the marketplace, so don’t rest on the laurels of an outdated customer profile.

Get as specific as possible on who your ideal customer is. Here’s a reminder of the two elements to research:

• Demographics – age, sex, location, profession
• Psychographics – interests, emotions, and needs.

Do your investigation and write up a new avatar which you can compare to your current customer profile. Make sure that the people you’re targeting fit into your updated profile.

Where to Find Your Ideal Customer

You now know exactly who you’re looking to market and sell to. What you want is to find look-alikes to expand your reach.

You already have existing sources for customers and ways of advertising to them. But remember that social media usage has exploded in recent years and is only continuing to grow.

You may not be using social media enough to find where your ideal customer hangs out.

Take your customer avatar and research relevant groups on social media. They might be called ‘lists’ as on Twitter, ‘group chats’ as on Instagram, or ‘group boards’ as on Pinterest.

Here are the main social media sites to check out groups on:

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter  
• Instagram
• Pinterest

What people are saying in these groups will give you valuable information for your marketing and product development.

There are also online conferences and exhibitions which might be appropriate to your business. And don’t ignore offline events like trade shows and fairs as these are great places to chat with potential customers and find out what challenges they’re dealing with and what they’re looking for.

Key Takeaways:

• Revisit your ideal customer profile to make sure it’s up to date.
• Keep track of where your ideal customers hang out online.

Action Steps:

1. Quick Win: Write down who you think you are selling to – their needs, characteristics, etc. Then check this against your data.
2. Write an up–to-date ideal customer profile.
3. Research your ideal customer on social media and anywhere else you know where to find them. Then record what they are looking for.