One of the biggest challenges for many startups and aspiring entrepreneurs is identifying their ideal client. It is not just your target market, but a specific portion of it that sees your product or service as a perfect solution to their current problem or need. Their preferences, behavioural characteristics and specific interests should be well captured and addressed by your offering. And because finding perfect solutions for individual problems and needs is the main drive for most buyers, once they discover them, they are much more likely to remain loyal and come back for more.
How to identify my ideal client?
Determining your ideal client is not as complicated as it sounds, however, it does require thorough understanding of your market, the solutions that are already available and the existing gaps. That helps you develop a product or service which is desirable, competitive and has its own unique selling point. Once you have that, you need to spend some more time learning about that group of people you believe will benefit the most from what you have created. Here are a few questions to help you build your ideal client's profile.
How old is you ideal client?
Do they identify as a man, woman, other? Does it matter to the product/service you are offering?
Are they single, married or in a relationship?
Do they have children and what are their ages? Is your product/service actually created for children?
Where do they live? Is location a limitation for your product/service?
Is religion a factor? If yes, what is your ideal client's religion?
Does your product or service cater for people of specific ethnic background? What is it?
Does your ideal client work? What may their profession be?
What are their interests or hobbies? E.g., are they book lovers, do they have an active lifestyle, do they go parties often, etc?
What places could you find your ideal client at when they are not online?
Where does your ideal client spend most of their time when they are online?
Do you know of any brands, related to yours that your ideal client may be a fan of?
These questions can also place the basis of forming a marketing campaign because the answers will give you a better idea of how to reach your ideal client and the type of content you should use to capture their attention.
Identifying your ideal client is not guesswork. It involves extensive research, both primary and secondary. However, the more time you have spent in a particular industry, the better gut feeling you will develop about who may be the most interested and suited to use a particular product or service.
How to Talk to Your Ideal Client
Communication is always key. You may have the best thing since sliced bread, but if you don't know how to present it, it remains just another offering on the shelf. After you have identified your ideal client, it is time to form a message you want to send to them. Your marketing campaigns will be a series of one-side and two-side conversations with the audience, however, they all must tie to that initial message.
To be successful in your communication with your ideal client you need to understand their habits, aspirations, goals and fears. The best approach in marketing and content creation is always answering questions before they were asked. It creates a feeling of familiarity and trust that the customer is understood and taken care of.
Data Analysis and Ideal Client Identification
In today's world, the most powerful tool for ideal client identification and subsequently, marketing, is data analysis. There is so much information a company can get about the interests and behaviours of their preferred audience online. With the right analytical tools and creative approach, ground-breaking marketing campaigns are absolutely achievable and of course, they bring much higher level of sales.
Privacy laws and tech updates are making it harder to access some of that vital information marketers need, however, there is still a ton we can work with. Taking the time to learn more and analyse your ideal client will always pay off generously, so do it. Here are some useful first steps you can take when you do your research.
View free and paid reports on Statista.com. There's a lot of useful data to help you with distribution channels and understanding customer behaviour.
Ask questions on Quora.com. You will get answers from both industry experts and ordinary people, who may be your ideal client.
Create surveys on SurveyMonkey.com or other primary research platforms and distribute them to your current client base, in Facebook or LinkedIn groups, where you believe there is a high concentration of the people you consider target market.
Final Thoughts
Remember that your ideal client will evolve with time and some of their characteristics will change. Monitor their behaviour monthly and make adjustments to your campaigns when needed. Every year you should review and update the general description of that group of people as necessary. A business or marketing consultant can be a great help when it comes to both the identification and refining of your ideal client. Their purpose is to streamline the process of collecting and analysing data and guide your focus on creating effective strategies and campaigns your business needs to grow.
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