Every business owner should be very focused on their prospective customers. Finding a client, selling your products and services to them, and satisfying them so they buy from you again has to be the center of your entrepreneurial activity.
Zeroing in on the right clients can be the miracle your business needs for a boost. It helps improve your conversion rate, extends buyer lifetime, increases referrals, and reduces expenses. The more understanding you have regarding your ideal buyer, the more intensely focused and result-oriented your marketing endeavors will be.
Let’s walk you through six steps you can follow to identify the ideal customer for your business:
Step #1. Define the Value of Your Products or Services
The best place to start is by describing your product or service, what it does, what makes it unique, the problem it solves, and how users would benefit from using it.
Your value may vary depending on the type of products or services you offer, your industry, and other factors. For example, a B2B company may provide value by offering to help clients make more money, increase efficiency, reduce expenditure, boost employee morale, or improve their customer service.
A B2C company, on the other hand, will be more focused on helping clients save time, live healthier lives, save money, improve their relationships, or learn new skills.
The list of ways business owners can provide value to their user base is endless. All you need to do is figure out the one that applies best to you.
Step #2. Identify the Demographics of Your Target Audience
Not everyone needs what you are selling. So, to make sure your products or services reach the intended users, start by defining their demographics. Ask questions like:
- What is their age group?
- What is their gender?
- What is their geographical location?
- What is their job description?
- Do they earn enough to buy what you are offering?
- What is their educational qualification?
- Are they single, married, or divorced?
- What languages do they speak, and how well do they speak them?
The answers to these questions will make it easier for you to know who you are channeling your marketing efforts to. You can go ahead and tailor your messages to the person who will pay attention to you.
You can also include their psychographics, which profiles your ideal clients based on their opinions, interests, and activities. Their behavioral profile will also help you know their likes, dislike, attitude toward your products or services, hobbies, and interests.
The more specific the picture of your ideal buyer is, the better. Why? Because your strategy will be clearer and you will have more chances of success.
Step #3. Find Out Where They Get Their Information From
It is the 21st century, and information is practically everywhere. However, not everyone gets their information from the same source.
So, after determining who your marketing efforts are targeted at, your next point of action is to find out where they get their information from–online and offline.
Are they Instagram junkies, or would they rather spend their time on Twitter? Do they favor one news agency over the other? Is there a particular genre they prefer when subscribing to blogs or newsletters?
Having this information handy will tell you where you should publish and promote your content to reach your desired audience.
Step #4. Know Your Main Competitors
Every business has competitors, whether you are a start-up or an enterprise. You need to know who your main competitors are.
Find out what products or services they offer and what their charges are. Determine how their products or services differ from yours. What are they putting into their marketing efforts–online and offline–that you haven’t tried yet? What online platforms do they use the most, and how do they engage with their audience on social media?
Do they offer any incentives for their patrons? Do they have a website, and what kind of content do they post? How long have they been in business, and what are people saying about their brand?
These are all questions you should be asking and searching for answers to. Getting answers to these questions will take some proactive measures.
● Do your research:
Check Leadar to get their business information, personal information, employee details, contact data, and social media handles. Then, follow them on social media to keep up with their activities online.
● Read customer reviews:
Another proactive step you can take is reading customer reviews on your competitors. Check review sites like Trustpilot and Yelp to know how people rate their business, products, or services. Social media is another very good place to check for honest reviews.
● Run a competitive analysis:
A competitive analysis is an excellent way to compare your business to others in the same industry. You can use it to determine your competitive advantage and asses your company’s limitations.
Here is how to run a competitive analysis:
- Create a list of your competitors.
- Gather relevant competitive information.
- Analyze the information gathered. Semrush, Ahrefs, SpyFu, and Similarweb are just some of the competitor analysis tools you can use.
- Determine your competitive position.
- Write down a detailed description of your company, including your current situation and future plans.
- Highlight the values you provide that other companies don’t.
- Clarify how your business fills a particular marketing niche.
- Find out whether or not there is a market for your products or services.
- List your strengths, weaknesses, and achievements.
Step #5. Find Out the Present Situation of Your Target Clients
What is the situation your ideal users currently find themselves in, specifically with regard to work, school, and family? More importantly, how can you come in?
Determine what the worst scenario would be like if they remain in that situation and the best thing that can happen if it improves. This knowledge will help to identify gaps in their lives that you can use to pitch your products or services and get their undivided attention.
Step #6. Create a Customer Profile
The preceding steps should give you a clear picture of your ideal buyer’s profile. This profile represents the attributes of a particular group of potential clients who would be more likely to need your products or services.
You can now go ahead and create an avatar or persona describing them based on all that you have discovered about them. Afterward, and most importantly, you can come up with a marketing strategy that is tailored to them. You will notice better results without wasting valuable time, effort, and resources.
Final Thoughts
Profiling may seem like a bad thing in some cases, like education, law enforcement, and other civic scenarios. However, this is business. In business, your aim is customer satisfaction. You can’t do this without finding the right buyers who will benefit the most from the value you offer.
So, to clearly identify the right people for your products or services, you must do some profiling. Then, you will have to use the customer profile you create to make decisions that will fill gaps in your target users’ lives and boost your business.
There are a series of questions you have to ask and lots of steps to take. We have covered the most basic ones here. You can use this information to target your marketing, personalize your content, and get the perfect clients for your business.
