If you read a lot of business and branding blogs, then I’m sure you’ve heard about how important it is to know your audience; to know who is going to rave about you and your business because that is who you'll be targeting as a customer. I'm sure you've read that you need to create your ideal client avatar, including their age, interests, the type of job they have, how they take their coffee, whether they like their wings blazing' hot or mild...
Kidding. Sort of.
How does knowing your audience this well really help you make better business decisions though? I'll tell you.
Feel free to download my Ideal Customer Worksheet and follow along!
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Demographics: Demographics drive your visuals and content. The type of content you write and the tone of voice you use is going to be different if you are writing for college students or senior citizens. Your brand colors and fonts will differ as well. You always want to be sure you visuals fit you and your business, but an older demographic might sway towards a traditional serif font (think Times New Roman) while a modern serif paired with an elegant handwritten font could appeal to a female demographic in their 20s and 30s. Even font size will be affected by your demographic. If your audience is older, they would appreciate a larger typeface.
Interests: Why is it important to know what your ideal customer likes to do in their spare time? So you can relate to them through shared experiences. People connect to brands that share stories, and knowing their interests will help you decide what stories to tell. If you are targeting young, hip urbanites who live for Starbucks, you might share a story about the barista who messed up your soy latte as a segue into your latest blog post. If you are targeting momprenuers you might comment on the fact that you're writing your current blog post with one kid tucked under your arm and another chasing the cat around the living room. If instead, you shared the story about your kids with the urbanite audience, they wouldn't have a clue how to relate as they sipped their lattes, chatting about the latest nightclub and unsubscribing from your mailing list faster than you can say "stop chasing the cat, Timmy!"
Lifestyle: Lifestyle is similar to Interests in the way it guides your brand but it also starts to guide other business decisions, such as what types of products to offer and in what price range (though this will come more from the next section). For example, if your goal is to grow your email list by creating an opt-in incentive, your ideal customer's lifestyle will help you choose whether to offer an ebook, a cheat sheet, or other type of format.
Career & Financial Situation: Understanding this will help you determine your product or service pricing. High-powered, career driven people climbing the corporate ladder will be more willing and able to pay higher prices than small business owners or students.
Industry Knowledge: How well your customer knows your industry is important for determining the level of content you'll provide and the tone you'll write in. Beginners won't understand industry jargon in the same way industry professionals would. You'll also want to create different types of products or services; for example, offering a guide on beginner techniques rather than advanced techniques.
Their Problems: This one, I would hope, is fairly obvious. If you don't know your customer's problems, how can you solve them? Whether through your products, services, blog posts, free offers, email challenges, or webinars, you should ALWAYS be asking yourself if what you are offering helps to solve one of your customer's problems or fill one of their needs.
The Competition: You don't need to understand your competition so you can copy what they are doing. But it is important to be aware of what they're doing, what their price range is and how they are communicating with their customers.
Online Presence: Why do you need to know what social media networks your customer uses? So you can use them too! I'm not recommending you try to use every single one - after all, you have to be able to maintain your profiles, consistently post quality content, and interact with your followers. Choose one, or a couple, networks to focus on. Just make sure your customer is active in them too.
There you have it!
If you don't already know where your ideal customer fits into those categories, then it's time to hit the pause button, grab your soy latte, snuggle with the kiddos and do some brainstorming. Remember, “who” you serve is just as important as “why.” When you know your customers so well you could BE them, that’s when you can truly align your brand and your business to satisfy their needs and solve their problems.
If you haven't already, don't forget to download the Ideal Customer Worksheet!
If you receive a message saying you've already subscribed, you can choose the free downloads you'd like in the update your preference form in your email.