Identifying Your Ideal Customer is crucial to everything from getting engagement on your social media posts, to getting clients, to not being overwhelmed by social media.
Now, you might be thinking that you want to help everyone. I get it, me too. But it’s physically impossible to be all things to all people. You’re not Nutella. But really, even Nutella isn’t all things to all people.
Nutella isn’t for people with nut allergies. It’s not for people who prefer savory over sweet (yes, those people do exist! I use to work with one). Nutella, in fact, has an ideal customer. Would you say the image below, from their website, is geared towards 70 year men who yell “get off my lawn!”?
I wouldn’t either.
Your website and marketing message should attract the people you want to serve. It should say. “Hey! They understand me and appreciate me and they know what I want.”
Understanding your ideal clients also helps make marketing easier. Nutella isn’t going to waste their time and money to market research a new commercial where the F word is said every 5 minutes. And yet there’s plenty of websites out there that use swear words because that’s one of the ways they tell potential customers “Hey, I understand you and I’m like you.”
Still not convinced it’s important to have an ideal client?
Picture a customer who pays you on time and who doesn’t haggle on price. Now picture a customer who you have to follow up with twice before they’ll pay. Ideal clients value your products, and they are much less likely to drain you. And us introverts work at our best when we take care of our energy.
One last point – knowing your ideal client helps you to know which social media platforms you should be on so you’re not totally overwhelming yourself by trying to show up everywhere. Brands don’t advertise every possible place they can, they’re strategic about their marketing. Should Ann Taylor buy an ad space in the Super Bowl? Probably not. It pays to be strategic about where we put our time and effort and money, especially if you’re a solopreneur, and especially if you’re an introvert who is drained by many of the day-to-day activities involved in running a brand.
Want to learn more about your ideal client? I have a free 5 days to Discovering Your Ideal Customer adventure starting October 31st!
