Who is your perfect customer?

Do you know who your target audience is? If not, then you could be spending a lot of time targeting the wrong people. So how do you know who your ideal customer is and how do you then attract that customer?

The goal is to paint a picture of who your ideal customer is. You’ll likely have other types of customers, but focus on the ones that you enjoy working with, and who you want more of:

• Who is my ideal customer in terms of age, gender, education, location?
• What other sorts of products do they buy that relate to mine?
• If you’re B2B, what role does your customer have in their company?
• Where do they get their information about brands? Online? Print? Television? Friends?
• How did they find your company?
• What’s important to them?
• What do they think of the value of your product or service?  You don’t know – just ask. People love to help.

Then review your brand message. What you say about your products or services will either compel or repel your "perfect customers". What is unique about you? What makes you different from your competitors? That is why I encourage my clients to clarify their message before we start on their website design. social media marketing or e-newsletters.

​Once you've gone through the exercise of identifying your perfect customer, you need to find them. To do so, you should explore where the conversations are taking place. Where are your potential customers discussing their issues and problems? Where are they looking for solutions?

Where you might find your perfect customers

Search engines like Google use keywords to attract customers and to search for customer problems which you may have the answer to. For example, if you are a florist, you need to search for phrases such as “How do I keep my wedding bouquet fresh?" Then, comment on discussions that are happening within those search results.

Set up internet alerts. You can use web alerts to get notified when new content appears relating to your key words

Industry magazines, blogs, or forums. Find out which are the most popular & active communities in your industry and find ways to add value into those relevant conversations. (Find these through internet searches, trade shows or social media referrals) Customers trying to find an answer to their problems will be found in these places.

Facebook. Search Facebook to find relevant business pages. For example, if you are a florist, search for pages that discuss holidays, weddings and other similar life events.

Twitter hashtag conversations. Search for popular hashtags to identify relevant conversations. Using the florist again you might use #Sayitwithflowers. Once you find the conversations, you can offer expert advice to meet new prospects.

LinkedIn groups. Search for industry-related groups that your company can join and become part of those conversations. For example, as a commercial florist, you can join a hotel décor, interior design, or venue discussion group. Again, offer advice, tips and expert insights, but don't overtly sell your product or service.

Instagram for the florist!  Set up your account and start to post images of you buying and creating your bouquets. You might also create short videos explaining the types of flowers you are using and why - adding to your expertise. 

---