How to identify your ideal client

Brian Tracy, Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International writing for Entrepreneur.com, believes that The most essential activity of any entrepreneur is to clearly pinpoint the very best clients for your product or service, and then focus all marketing, advertising and sales efforts on this particular type of customer.”

No longer are the days when marketing departments could throw a wide promotional net in an effort to catch business. Today’s commercial world requires hyper-targeting, where marketers are able to only focus on the people most likely to become paying customers. The question countless marketing professionals struggle with is how to actually pinpoint the perfect customer; the one your product was made for. This article will assist you in identifying your ideal client by asking a serious of key questions about your brand and your offerings.

Who are your existing customers or clients?

The first step in finding the ideal client for your product or service is to look at those clients who have dealt with you in the past. Go through your existing client base and take a look at their demographics. What is the percentage split between your female and male customers? What would you say is the predominant LSM of your past clients? Did any of them return their products or have a bad experience?

What are your target audience’s demographics?

Once you have an idea of who your most supportive existing customers are, and their demographic characteristics, revisit your client personas (should you have developed them when starting your marketing) and see how well the two match up. If you don’t have personas yet, think about who ideally needs your product or service and jot down their ideal age group, gender, area of residence, job types, income bracket, education, etc.

Where do people get information about you?

Now that you have a vague idea regarding the type of person your brand should be talking to, the next phase involves establishing where these individuals might spend their time online. This will assist you by indicating through which channels you should ideally be focussing your promotional efforts. Are they Facebook addicts? Do they read forums? Do they prefer consuming visual content like on Instagram or YouTube?

When will your ideal customer need your product?

Is there a specific problem that your product or service can solve? Write down the benefits of using your services, then write down what has to go wrong in your ideal client’s life for them to need you. Think about specifics, like if there’s a better chance they’ll need your service in winter or in summer. By doing this it is possible for you to get an idea of the lifestyle your potential perfect customer leads, and how likely they are to use your goods.

Basic qualities of your ideal client

• They have the problem that your services or product can solve;
• They have the means to buy your product;
• They are actively engaged and interested in what you do;
• They share your brand’s values and principles.

One key characteristic of an effective marketing manager is to identify and target a brand’s ideal client or customer.

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