Getting clear on your branding and marketing is such a vital stage of setting up your business. It is the difference between getting lost amongst the noise of your competitors, and standing out from the crowd and identifying your ideal client is a major part of that process which you shouldn’t overlook.
Do you often find yourself just trying to get your voice heard among all the other experts in your industry, saying you can help everyone because you’re desperate for SOMEONE to say ‘yes’ to you, but just find your messages are falling on deaf ears? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
By identifying your ideal client, you will make sure your marketing messages resonate much more clearly with your audience; rather than trying to speak to everybody but finding that nobody is listening, you’ll grab the attention of those who really want to work with you – your dream clients.
The following guide will help you to identify your Ideal Client and get more clarity and consistency in your content on social media and marketing materials. Let’s get started!
1. Who do you like working with?
Firstly, it’s important to point out that you don’t just have to have one single ‘ideal client’. You could actually have several, depending on where your marketing is directed. For example, if you’re a wedding florist, you might have a young, 20-something bride, who’s been dreaming of a fairytale princess wedding her whole life, but you might also have someone later in life who is getting married for a second (or more!) time, but only wants a small, low-key event this time around. Both are equally as valid as each other, but their wants and needs (and budgets) might be very different. Or as a florist, you might have an ideal client who’s looking for flowers for a funeral of a loved one – again this is a very different market to be reaching out to. But let’s start with concentrating on creating one ideal client avatar (often referred to as an ICA) to begin with.
Start by thinking back to your past clients – who have you enjoyed working with the most? What made them a joy to work with? Make a note of their key features – were they good-humoured? Did they pay on time? Were they easy to please? These traits will be a good basis to start creating your ideal client avatar.
2. What are their values?
Next, think about what makes them who they are as a person – what are their values? Do they have strong ethical feelings about who they work with? Are they family orientated? What are their best (and worst) personality traits? Do their values align with your own values?
You’ll often end up finding that your ideal client will be a reflection of ourselves in some ways – after all, how often do we actually enjoy working with someone who is completely different to ourselves? Having common ground as a foundation to your working relationship can make the whole process a lot easier and more enjoyable.
3. What are their pain points?
The third thing to think about is how you can help your ideal client – what are they struggling with within their life or their business? What are they afraid of? What services can you provide that will make their life easier? Once you’ve identified these fears and pain points then you can start talking about them in your content, making your messages resonate deeper with your audience.
4. Where do they hang out?
And yes, I do literally mean can they be found down your local Costa with their other mum-friends, or at the gym with their fitness buddies. But as well as that, you need to think about where they ‘hang out’ online, and then start showing up there as well. Are they on Instagram or TikTok scrolling through stories and reels for fun, or are they on Facebook, hanging out in local parenting groups that you could join and start participating in the conversations? They will literally be posting their pain points here ready for you to answer and help provide solutions. Or are they more of a LinkedIn corporate type person, who keeps their personal life more to themselves and concentrates on business? These are all important points to consider when identifying your ideal client avatar and how you want to construct your content.
5. What are their biggest goals?
Lastly, think about your ideal client’s biggest hopes and dreams, their goals and aspirations. Where do they see themselves in five years time? How about 10 years time? What about their personal life, where do they want to be living, what kind of house, how much do they want to be earning? If they run a business – where do they want to take the business? Do they want to scale and grow, get investment, franchise out? When you’ve identified all of these details then you can work out how you can help them to realise these dreams and make them a reality!
Now, put it all together!
Now you’ve worked out all the finer details, you’ll want to put it all together in a handy A4 infographic so you can print it out and reference it when you are writing your content – whether that’s your email newsletters, your marketing content or your Facebook posts. It’s important to always think about who you are talking to. Give them a name, find a photo on the internet that you think most represents this person; write down their age, where they live, where they work, are they married? Get as granular as you can!
Do you want more help identifying your ideal client?
I’ve put a worksheet together to help you collate all your details together which you can print off. Download your free worksheet below and get clear on who your ideal client really is.
Identify your ideal client
Download your FREE worksheet now
What’s next?
Do you want more help to identify your ideal client? Why not book onto one of my group workshops where you and up to 9 others will spend 90 minutes taking a more in-depth look at the process and help you to get really clear on your ideal clients – you’ll end up knowing them better than your own best friends!
Find out more and book yourself onto the next workshop today!
Main Photo: Windows on Unsplash
Leave a Reply