While this may sound harsh, it is a blessing in disguise in today’s vibrant and competitive market. Not being able to please everyone means that you have a share of the market because nobody is monopolising it!
Regardless of size, successful businesses know the importance of approaching the right target market. The challenge isn’t determining who you are trying to sell to; it’s knowing what goes on in the minds of the people you are selling to. In this article, we will discuss how successful businesses familiarise themselves with the psyche of the ideal customers.
Trust us. It has nothing to do with hiring a psychic and gazing into a crystal ball.
“Being invested in your client’s best interests provides you with invaluable insight on their motivations and what makes them tick”
Do you have a favourite client or customer? There are typically people who completely understand the value of your business offerings. They are forthcoming with their feedback and you find yourself compelled to go the extra mile for them as a result of the relationship you have with them.
The Ideal Client Persona (ICP) is a snapshot of the best customer for your business. Going beyond basic demographic information like age, education, background and income, the aim of the ICP is to deep dive into their psychographics. What are their motivations, pain points and decision-making behaviours?
By identifying these characteristics, you create a clear vision of your future favourite clients, allowing you to customise your marketing efforts to resonate with them. Ultimately, it is a manifestation tool for you to attract more favourite customers.
One of the symptoms of a competitive market is the constant bombardment of countless marketing messages. To stand out in the market is to stand up for the needs of the people you are catering to. Ideal Client Personas enable businesses to cut through the noise and deliver a targeted and personalised experience to those that they are speaking to.
While the UK economy has flirted with recession in recent years, a carefully optimistic approach to marketing and business operations remains wise. That’s why a scattergun approach to marketing simply won’t cut it.
Regardless of the broader economic picture, resources are always finite, so it makes sense to focus them with laser-sharp precision on the customers who matter most to your business.
When you truly understand your customers, right down to the finer details, you give your marketing team the tools to craft content and campaigns that resonate. It also means you’re better equipped to adapt quickly when the market shifts.”
“Different customers will need different approaches to help them maintain their relationship with you business”
Creating accurate ICPs requires thorough research and analysis. However, there is a wealth of information that you have through regular conversations you have with your favourite customers.
By clearly itemising their characteristics, you equip your team to have the same clear vision you have of your favourite customers and hence, empowering them to seek them out. Here are three preliminary ways to help you begin establishing your ICP profiles.
Take a look at your existing customer base to identify common trends and patterns in their demographic and behavioural traits.
You can also apply these questions to your more challenging customers, too. This provides invaluable insight on how to deal with them in the future.
Being invested in your client’s best interests provides you with invaluable insight into their motivations and what makes them tick. As much as many will compartmentalize work away from life, there will always be times when the personal pressures inevitably impact their decision-making, especially when dealing with smaller businesses and end consumers.
Are the presses for time and/or resources? Have they got a quarterly target to hit that you can help them with? These are clues to positioning yourself and your business as the solution to their challenges.
In the same way that you can’t please everybody in your sector, you are not likely to be able to communicate or relate to your entire customer base in the same way. Different customers will need different approaches to help them maintain their relationship with your business.
By segmenting your client base into 3-5 archetypes that your business typically works with, you allow three things
While Persona does not condone plagiarising what your competitors are doing to help them stay on top of the game, there is also much to learn from them.
Having a look at their marketing initiatives and content gives you insight into who they are trying to reach. Are there overlaps between their target audience and yours? If so, are there ways that you can improve how you are communicating with your audience? Or perhaps, are there any gaps they have in their content that allows you to shine in the eyes of your common ideal customers?
Persona designs fact-based branding, marketing and communications strategies to help businesses deliver maximum impact for their marketing investments. Our team is always happy to help! Whether it is to gain clarity on how to identify your Ideal Client Personas or to audit your marketing processes to supercharge them, we are just a phone call away.
