WHY you need an ideal customer & HOW to figure out who she is

ideal client. target audience. right people. true fan. 

there are a lot of names used for this concept, but whatever you want to call that person, you ought to know who they are and what they mean to your biz.

your ideal client is a very important part of your business framework, your brand, your marketing plans and your sales methods.

the tricky part for biz owners seems to be really focusing on who that ideal customer is.

i chat with little biz builders everyday and it is very common for me to get the following answer when i ask them to describe their ideal customer: “mum’s, grandmas, aunties, nannies, any woman really from age 19-79.”

okaaaaaay… well we’ve narrowed it down to women, so that’s a start. but it is not enough!

many little biz builders are afraid of narrowing their focus down too much, afraid that if they do they will lose potential customers. they want to appeal to anyone who might buy their thing. 

but here is the thing: just because someone might buy your thing, doesn't mean they will. 

plus, having a clear and specific target will help your brand become strong and memorable, and it will help you come up with successful sales and marketing strategies.  

imagine this…

you walk into a huge room full of women. maybe you are at a market, maybe you are at a conference, maybe you just found an awesome place to hang out! if you have a product to sell, if you have a business to market, where do you begin?

do you just stand there shouting to the whole room at large? and what could you possibly say to let them all know why they all would love your thing? 

you probably couldn't. any message you could come up with to appeal to ALL of the women would probably actually appeal to NONE. that's the thing with a diluted, really general statement about your biz. it's bland. it's unremearkable. it doesn't resonate.

now what if, in that room, there were some obvious smaller groupings of women that you could mingle with. who would you spend your time talking to? where would your effort be best spent?

and what would you say to them? to that specific little group of women. something that would show you get their needs. that your product is right for them.

doesn't that feel so much easier? imagining talking to a certain person about their certain needs? 

notice how there are two steps to this excercise:

• figure out who to talk to - your target
• figure out what to say to them - marketing

a lot of people ask me "how do i market my business". and i usually discover that those people don't have a solid idea of their target. and that makes marketing really difficult.

if you don't know who is the right person to buy your thing, how do you find them? how do you know what to tell them? how do you know how to make it easy for them to buy from you?

when you are really clear about your target, and really clear about why your thing is perfect for them, then it gets a lot easier to come up with marketing strategies. and it actually makes doing the marketing a lot easier.

marketing feels easy when you know you are just telling the right people about something you know they will love. 

remember, it is a lot easier to sell something to someone who wants it. (click here to tweet that!)

have a look at the marketing you do now - the things you say about what it is you sell.

look at your about me page and your product descriptions and your newsletters. would those statements be easily identifiable as being from your biz? or could they come from any similar biz? and would any visitor to your biz know who you are talking to? or are you trying to appeal to 'everyone'?

your biz needs a clear target. and a strong message. just saying'

do you need some help figuring out who your ideal customer is? do you need help figuring what it is about your product that they would really need and want? 

your biz framework is made up of YOU, your TARGET, your PRODUCT (it's benefits & point of difference), the MARKETPLACE (what is happening in your niche already) and your BRAND MESSAGE. if you are not 100% clear on these things marketing, selling, and growing is really, really hard.

the blueprints to build a framework will help. click here to read about this workbook and see a sample before you buy. the blueprints are full of excercises and brainstorming prompts like this one, so that you can get clear about your biz.

readers of this post can use the discount code ' frameworkhelp ' to get 25% off. because i really, really want you to kick ass with this!

further reading:

• do you want likers or true fans?

{your ideal client} do you want 'likers' or true fans?

with the increasing popularity of facebook as a way for little businesses to promote their stuff the emphasis these days seems to be on gaining 'likers': those people who have clicked on that little like button on your facebook page.

these are questions i have seen recently:

• where can i promote my facebook page to get more people to like my page?
• how can i have a contest on facebook to get more people to like my page?
• i don’t want to be spam-ish but how else do i get more people to like my page? 

in general people will like your page to:

1. be polite
2. be supportive
3. return the like after you liked them
4. hope that you will return the favour and like them back
5. win a prize or help someone win a prize
6. because they love your stuff

perhaps it is time we stop searching for likers and start focusing on true fans. you know, the ones who love your stuff and will actually buy what you’re selling? it is all fine and dandy to want 1000 likers for your page. but if none of them are buying your stuff, how is that working for you? perhaps instead you ought to try to find 100 true fans.

who are they?

close your eyes (yes, this is kind of a woo woo excercise, just go with me here!) and picture your ideal client. you know the one you love to work with. the one who buys anything you are selling. who passes your name on to others and comes back for more and more. maybe you have a client like this already or maybe this person hasn’t walked through your door yet. no matter, picture them as vividly as you can.

describe:

• appearance & manner
• likes & dislikes
• family & friends
• neighbourhood & social circles
• hobbies & interests
• values & desires
• finances & budget
• problems & needs

where do you find them?

look at your list of descriptors for that ideal client. based on those things, where are you going to find these people? where do they live? shop? eat? work? hang out? socialize? excercise? play? relax? now find your people in those places!

for instance: if your ideal client values one-of-a-kind custom handmade items, does not have children, and is health and environmentally conscious – hanging up flyers at the mcdonalds play area ain’t gonna work. just sayin’.

it’s the same on facebook. if your ideal client is a fan of a local fine art photographer, can you pair up with that photographer and get your thing in some of her shots? if your ideal client is a fan of a local bakery can you get your stuff displayed on the walls of that shop? become fans of the pages your clients hang out on and start chatting. network. make connections. be helpful.

how do you get them to like your page?

if your focus on getting likers is to draw people in with freebies, prizes and contests – those likers are not likely to buy something from you. they came for the free stuff. but if your focus is on SOLVING PROBLEMS those fans will buy what you are selling. look back at your description for the problems and needs of your ideal client. now solve that problem. meet that need. fill that gap.

if time is the problem (no time to shop, no time to cook, no time to clean, no time to plan a party...) show how you solve that problem. if the need is to have something unique and spectacular so that the client has bragging rights and is a trend setter – then show how you meet that need. if the client has been searching high and low for that one thing no one seems to be selling - find a way to get that thing for your client.

how do you demonstrate that you can solve their problems?

• share useful resources on your page – when you can help a person out they will love you forever
• ask questions and provide answers – generate conversation on your wall, chat about the things your fans have on their mind
• get reviews and testimonials – when someone tells you that you have helped them ask them to write a review on your reviews tab
• comment, connect, engage – when you see discussions happening on other pages, join in! make yourself known. start connecting with people. 

in doing these things, if people then come on over to like your page, it will be because they are a true fan of you and your stuff!

quantity vs quality

don’t get me wrong, you need to promote your biz. so if you want to do reciprocal liking/shout outs as a way to get known, and that is working for you go for it. and perhaps all of those contests and promotions are part of your brand, part of the reason people love you and your stuff. if that is the case – keep at it. go be you!

but if you feel like you are struggling with increasing your numbers, or are finding that contests and giveaways aren’t getting you the results you hoped for, then maybe you need to change the way you think about the concept of ‘likers’ and change your tactics with your page. in the end, i think it is the quality of your fans, not the quantity of your likers, that matters most.

what do you think? do you worry about the 'numbers'? or do you focus on finding true fans? how do you find them? please add a comment, i would love to hear from you! =)

{pricing} how my 'special deal' ended up biting me in the ass

do you ever have times when the universe seems to be sending you a message? or rather beating you over the head with a message until you get it through your thick skull?

that is happening to me this week, so i thought i would share with you. we can call it a light bulb moment, like oprah does. also known as ‘duh haven’t you figured that out yet?’

i decided to think outside the box when it comes to selling my thing, so i recently did some one day events in which i offered a modified, ‘more affordable’ version of my normal service, had some special prices on my products, and gave a portion of the fee to a fundraiser.

i did this as a way to get my name out in the community, to provide a service to a large group at once and to introduce another income stream into my biz that wouldn't require as much time as my 'regular' work.

before i go any further with my story, i would like to insert that these were indeed great events, and for the most part i think the clients were pleased with their service and products.

but on one day, i had a large number of problems arise from one event: repeated emails and calls asking me to do stuff for free, switched and cancelled orders, people pushing for things even after i said no, people criticising my methods because they know ‘so-and-so’ does this and offers that and doesn’t charge anything... well you get the idea. needless to say i was frustrated.

don’t get me wrong, i don’t mind dealing with client requests and taking as much time as needed to get an order just right, when clients pay the full price for my regular service. my time and expertise and attention are part of the value people get when they come to me. but these events were meant to be quick, simple and no-frills.  and it turned out to be anything but.

this is what i noticed; it seemed that the clients who were the most high-maintenance were the ones who perceived my products to be ‘cheap’. the ones who found it to be ‘expensive’ still spent their hard earned dollars on my stuff, but they never made a complaint or extra request, and are thrilled with their results.

i also found that people who knew of me from when i was just starting out and not charging much were the most difficult; i felt they did not value my work, my time or my expertise. the ones who only know me as my ‘new’ professional brand did not question my value or expertise, and treated my biz as a professional.

since that day i have had the following messages cross my path:

~ if you attract people based on price, you will attract people who are difficult (dave Navarro, the launch coach)

~ your right price has got to be enough that you are happy to do the work and you filter out people you do not want to work with (dave navarro, the launch coach)

~ when you discount you start to attract price sensitive clients who are coming to you simply for one reason, because you are inexpensive. And you are also teaching your really good clients to wait for a sale. So you are devaluing the long term value of your business and of your brand. (sarah petty, the joy of marketing, posted on MCP actions)

~ the 'give stuff away for free, make money later' strategy gives the impression that your products (and ultimately you) aren’t really valuable. (megan auman, crafting an MBA)

~ when you stop advertising low prices, those whose only loyalty was to the lowest price stop coming in (mark silver, the heart of business)

when i look back on my clients over the past 2 years i can see a pattern. the ones who were the most difficult were the ones who were there because i was offering something really cheap. they are still difficult even though i have relaunched, rebranded and repriced my biz. they still expect something for nothing.

the clients who have been the real gems to work with are also the ones who have spent the most money on my service and my products. they are not high maintenance because they trust me and they have confidence in my work. they see my biz as having value and being professional based on my prices and my brand.

ta da! price affects perception. low prices attract difficult people. the right price is more than just profits, it is branding.

in the end, i did enjoy doing those events and i think there will still be a place for them in my biz. but in the future i will be reframing the way my pricing and value is perceived by clients on that day. i will also be very clear about the service i am offering – ‘no frills & low maintenance.’ if you want the frills, you need to pay for my regular, more expensive, more value-added service. new rule. =)

what do you think? what experiences have you had when offering discounts or special deals? have you had troubles changing perception as you have changed your prices? do you agree with the statements above? i would love to hear from you!

why would someone buy your thing?

do you ever have a day or a week when you keep seeing the same message over and over? like the universe is trying to tell you something? 

that keeps happening to me. one day i kept reading things and seeing messages that made me think of one thing: why would someone buy my thing when everyone else seems to be selling the same thing?

naomi at itty biz wrote a killer post about finding a niche. in it she said:

When I was in England, everybody and their mother was starting a children’s clothing business. They called themselves mumpreneurs and they set up shops in their garden shed offices and put a shiny new website on their credit card and Voila! They were in the children’s clothing business.

I read about this phenomenon — although it was never called a phenomenon, and every writer treated each individual mum as if she was scandalously unique — in psychology magazines, business magazines and, repeatedly, home decorating magazines. Apparently there’s money in kids’ clothes.

When asked why they started these businesses, the answer was categorically the same. They were good at it and they really liked to sew.

i read that and thought: “gah! that is exactly how photography seems to be. everyone and their dog is doing it!” (by the way, naomi followed up with "Being good at something and liking it is not a sufficient business plan".)

then Jodi at mcp wrote a great post about competition between photography businesses. it was just what i was stressing about! (by the way, even for non-photographers i think her advice is worth reading.)

then at the virtual photography studio i read a post called how to stop justifying your low, low prices. and here was a piece of advice:

Stop being average. If you do what everyone else does, you’ll get the same results they get. The only way to be better than average is to quit striving for average. Ask yourself questions like, “What can I do to be the best photographer in my niche?” Take what someone else is doing and add more to it. That doesn’t mean give them more photographs at a cheaper price. It means give them more service to make them appreciate what you do. The problem we’re facing now is we have a whole lot of average, so we don’t even know how to find the WOW. Give a little bit more, and you’ll soon be the talk of the town.

i know i am not the only one thinking about the competition and how to stand out among the rest. the question is what are you going to do about it?

what is your unique selling position (USP)?

this is the thing that makes your thing different from all the other similar things out there. ie: why should someone buy your thing instead of someone else’s. and here is a tip: your USP should not be your price. someone else can always start selling their thing for less than yours. and if you need or want to change your price you need a reason for people to follow you. that reason is your USP. (i will pause here in my list to tell you to go sign up for naomi’s free course at itty biz.com. it rocks and you will be able to figure out your USP with her awesome advice.) 

can you create a niche for your thing?

if you really rock at doing your thing for a specific group of people, especially if you are the ONLY person who really rocks, you will become the go-to person in that niche. can you focus your efforts to one smaller portion of your market? can you branch into an area that no one else seems to be doing? can you think of an area that is outside of, but related to, your regular market that you can tap into? if you have a lot of competition because everyone and their dog is selling handmade cards to mums maybe you could start selling handmade gift tags & gift bags to someone who is selling knitted booties and wants some really cool packaging. 

can you expand your product list?

alternatively, instead of focusing on a smaller niche, maybe you need to branch out and offer some new products and expand your niche. if you have great clients who love buying your baby bibs and blankies can you start making some book bags and pencil cases for school kids? maybe some funky hats and scarves for teens? if you can find out what your clients might want next from you as their needs change (ie their kids grow, or they go back to work, or become grandparents or whatever) then start offering that to them.

who is your ideal customer?

picture your perfect customer in your head. now make your thing, market your thing and sell your thing to that person. you don’t have to win over the entire facebook universe, just your ideal customer and her friends. other people might go buy someone else’s thing and that’s okay! they might not have been right for you anyways, and aren’t going to be the ones who buy everything you sell and pass your name on to everyone they know (your ideal customer will). focus on your ideal customer every time you do anything for your biz.

make sure your brand fits

so if you decided to branch out and make hair clips for teens because no one else was doing it, and your new niche is teens who wear school uniforms, and your USP is that you make hairclips for teens that match their school uniform and aren’t butt ugly, and your ideal customer is a mom of 3 teens who wear school uniforms and are willing to pay the big bucks so their kids have funky hair accessories that don’t suck, then your brand better not look like you are selling hair accessories for 3 year olds. 

while we are at it, make sure your brand stands out

if everyone else ‘looks’ cutsey and sweet then make your biz the only one that is punk rock. if everyone else ‘looks’ traditional and timeless then you be modern and funky. if everyone else is using a cute little bird on a tree for their logo then make yours a lion with razor sharp teeth. i am just sayin' if you want people to remember you the next time they are shopping for your thing, then you better start being memorable. 

ok, go work on being being awesome and let us know how it is going. share this post with others, add your comments, ask a question... please, i would love to hear from you =)