So who is your ideal client? Do you even need a client avatar?

We all know that successful businesses, and individuals, are those known for their niche. The specialist is usually paid more than the general practitioner.

It can sometimes take a while to find your niche, more so for services than products. However, once you have a clearer idea of where you are heading, creating your client avatar can make business decisions easier (or sometimes doing this exercise helps you find your niche). I will say this now. Having a niche, and having a client avatar, does not stop you from attracting other types of clients, others will still be drawn to you.

The benefits, of having a strong image of your ideal client, include:

1. Easy referrals. Oh you want someone who specialises in strategy for schools? I know the person. Looking for a healthy product to match your campaign for young professional women? Sure, I have one in mind.
2. Advertising. Since you know your client inside and out, it becomes easier to know where to market. Which magazine, site, store, or trade event. What demographics for online ads. When to share content.
3. Joint ventures. What will and won’t work becomes a lot clearer, as you won’t link up with anyone that comes along, you can be specific and focused.
4. Client base. This becomes easier to grow, especially with social media.  For example. once you know who they follow, you can start interacting with that person/organisation/brand, and their followers.
5. Content and images. Selecting your words, the tone, colours, topics, and images becomes easier. The difference between marketing to a 20 year old university female vs a 50 year old male in sales. Again, you can also see what other brands, or individuals, are successfully doing for the same target audience.

Decisions become quicker and easier. You become focused and streamlined. Either it fits with the ideal client, or not.

Client Avatar (Your Ideal Client)

So what do you need to do? Come up with a clear image of who your client is.  Don’t fall into the mistake of presuming you are your ideal client. You may not be. You can even give your client avatar a name. There are lots of questions you can ask yourself. The key is answering as specifically as you can. Here are my top 14:

1. Gender and age. (30-45 is possibly too wide unless there is another strong common element.)
2. Location.
3. Spending habits/income level. Do they save up? Impulse buy? What do they spend extra cash on?
4. Job/industry/post/level of seniority.
5. Marital status. (This can include impact on decision making, when they are online, and focus of spend.)
6. Routines. (What time do they get up, or go to sleep? When are they at work, shopping or buying services? Where?)
7. Habits and interests. (Food – is it convenience, healthy, in a restaurant, in front of tv? Shopping – stores or online? Which shops or food establishments? What publications or books do they read?)
8. Activities and hobbies. (What do they do? Where? How do they learn more about it? Think about home interests such as cooking, sewing, painting, reading, as well as activities such as climbing, yoga, ocr’s, salsa.)
9. Personality and behaviours. (Are they tidy, conservative, driven, shy, outspoken, compulsive, spontaneous?)
10. Values and motivators. (What drives them or is important to them? What might turn them away? What else – Do they like to travel, spend time with family or friends, focus on their health or wealth?).
11. Goals and successes. (What are their personal and business goals? What does success look and feel like to them?)
12. Fears and struggles. (What do they want to overcome? What do they find hard? What area of their life do they feel unsatisfied in, or consider out of balance?)
13. Language and images. (What kind of pictures, gifs, and videos do they share and like? Are they comfortable with swearing? What is their humour? Formal or casual?)
14. Influences. (Who do they follow? In what format? What do they watch? Are they brand focused? What do they subscribe to? Events they attend?)

If you have very different client avatars for your various products of services, you may need to think about different branding and separate avenues of marketing, including social media accounts.

What next?

Brainstorm and be creative, think of everything that your ideal client avatar could be, or would want to be, before ruling anything out.

Once you have it honed, stick it up where you can see it, and then when looking at images, content, potential opportunities, ask yourself….would my ideal client find this interesting?

Now that you know your avatar, and therefore your audience, you can obtain focused feedback on branding, pricing, new products, and more.  Of course, on the flip side it may be you discover that who you thought was your ideal client isn’t quite right, and so it needs tweaking.  Either way you can be specific and make any necessary changes quickly. This will save you time, energy and money. It is worth doing this exercise at a very early stage if you are setting up a business, or thinking of launching a new service or product.

If you really want to make the avatar come to life and stick, write it out as a story, rather than a list.  For example.. I am Jason, turning 38 next year. I really want to go to the gym more, but since recently becoming a dad I don’t have as much time, however, I was thinking of getting an indoor gym kit that I saw in Men’s Health. I mostly eat well. We get a lot of our food from Waitrose (I love cooking but it tends to be on the weekend), otherwise……and so on and so forth’

Now go and grow your successful business all you amazing people.

 

One Life.Your Life.Live It

Simona is a professional leadership trainer, coach and speaker, working with motivated individuals to create successful professional lives and purposeful personal lives. Her focus is on mindset and strategy.

If you are looking for leadership training or business coaching to develop yourself, or grow your business, please get in touch for bespoke programmes.