Defining Your Ideal Client: The Key to Business Bliss (and not getting GHOSTED!)
I hear a lot about 'getting ghosted' when I talk to other small business owners! The hardest part, that I wish I could tell EVERYONE...is this...
many times (me included!) we take the 'no' or 'ghosting' personally. Of course, our business is personal, and it's hard not to. But, often, it really isn't personal when someone "ghosts" us.
Look, one of the best lessons I learned, I heard Seth Godin talk about in his book, This is Marketing. While it's not my favorite read, and it feels a bit monotonous at times, the man does know his marketing. And he said, that a NO right now, doesn't always mean no forever.
Sometimes it does, yeah, but...sometimes they come back at a time that is better for them. And often, the no, isn't about us, it's about them.
Whether it's budget, creative differences, scheduling, how fast we got back to them, there can be a A LOT of big factors at play here!
With that said, if you aren't targeting the RIGHT AUDIENCE, or your messaging and marketing isn't clear towards your ideal client, that could very well be a part of the problem. It's your job to make sure your extremely specific and that you are marketing to the right audience.
You'll get ghosted a lot less, and get more of the clients you want, and less of the ones you don't!
Here are 5 steps below I want you to consider running through (or going through again if it's been awhile!) to identify your ideal client:
1. Research Your Target Market
Who are your customers, what do they need/want, what are their pain points? Get to KNOW them by doing some research! You can personally ask clients, do a Google form and survey, or simplify it and do some Instagram polls in your stories! It doesn't have to be hard, just get some feedback! Remember, you are looking through the lens of the business owner, we often forget how to see from the customer's perspective, and it's key that we do in order to really truly understand what THEY want, not what we THINK they want!
2. Create a Buyer Persona
Once you've gathered enough data, create a buyer persona that represents your ideal client. This persona should include their goals, motivations, interests, habits. Don't worry so much about what kind of car they drive and their hair color (okay I get how the car could align with status/income/motives but let's not get crazy) unless it really feels relevant to a point. Honestly, understanding the perspective of them is more important than the physical stuff a lot of ideal client avatar things tell you to do. Again, guilty! I've done it AND taught it. But, I realized some of those not so important factors never mattered much.
3. Analyze Your Competiton
If you're new to me, you probably haven't heard me talk about how I suggest everyone I work with put on the 'horse blinkers'. Head down, don't worry about what everyone else is doing! However, when doing and gathering market research, there are times when we do need to know how our competition is positioning themselves in the market. This can help you NOT TO COPY THEM...but to IDENTIFY the gaps in the market that YOU can fill!
4. Identify Your USP
Your USP aka unique selling proposition helps you identify what makes your business unique and how it can solve your target markets pain points. Your USP should be a big, central part of your marketing message and resonate with that ideal client of yours. Now, I don't want you to get too caught up in 'pain point marketing' aka twisting the knife in what is already hurting that ideal customer to get them to buy. Instead, think of how you can uniquely market and sell to them using more positive points, rather than negative.
5. Refine Your Marketing Strategy
Now that you've done the leg work, you can go back to the drawing board with your marketing strategy to make sure that you are targeting and resonating with the RIGHT audience. Where are these ideal clients? Where can they find you? What social media channels, or other ways do they want/like to be sold to? Do you have a compelling message that speaks directly to them? What stories can you tell in order to connect with them and build that relationship up?
If you struggle with that last part, turning your ideal client avatars into solid marketing strategies, this is exactly what we do inside The Messy Marketer Membership!
It doesn't matter WHAT your business is or what you sell, the membership is all about combining storytelling, mindset, and organic marketing strategies to book your dreamy AF clients.
Want more info on the membership and what it's all about?! Get it here!
