Are you struggling to identify your ideal client and create an avatar for your business?
Here is an easy 3 Step Exercise to get you through the challenge quickly.
First, let’s clarify… What exactly is a Client Avatar? And WHY do you need one?
What is a Client Avatar?
A client avatar is simply a “Picture” of your ideal client or customer. You don’t need a photograph or to know what color hair they have, but you do need to know who they are, their demographics, and what interests them enough to gain their attention. If you want to work with them or get them to buy your products or services, you must know what motivates them, what is their profession, what struggles do they experience in their business, and what influences their buying decisions?
Why Do You Need a Client Avatar?
So, now we know exactly what a client avatar is… Why do you need one? If you’ve been successful in your business thus far, why create one now? Or, if your business is new and you’re looking to get your first couple clients, why take the time for an avatar? You’ll take any paying clients and market to everyone to get your business off the ground, right? Well, yes. However, you’re setting yourself up for a generic business, marketing generic content, to a generic client base.
Sounds pretty generic = BORING… Not only is it boring, it is ineffective!
With all the marketing and social media that bombards us daily, how often do you stop what you’re doing to read something generic and boring? NEVER! Your ideal client is not going to notice you and they’re not going to pay attention to boring. You must get noticed and you must share relevant content or it won’t be seen or read.
The problem with trying to market to everyone, is that you reach no one! You must speak to your ideal client’s issues, interests and offer opportunities to alleviate their struggles if you want to stand out in the social media market place.
Identifying Your Client Avatar is Essential to Your Business Growth and Sustainability
Take the time now, no matter what stage your business is at, to identify your client avatar, so you’re not wasting your time marketing to a generic client. By the way, Generic Clients do not exist, so they are not going to work with you or buy your products! 🙂 Just thought I would throw in a little humor here.
Every aspect of your business is dependent upon knowing exactly who you are marketing to = Your Client Avatar. From your product creation, services offered, content marketing, email marketing, all the way to the look and feel of your branding, everything should all be focused on your client avatar. What will appeal to them, how can you help them, what will attract their interest and solve their problems?
Where you market is dependent upon your client avatar too. If you are spending all of your time marketing on Pinterest or Instagram and your client avatar is solely on LinkedIn, then you’re wasting your time and not being seen; possibly you’re feeling this in your struggle to gain more clients and grow your business right now.
So, Let’s Identify Your Ideal Client and Create Your Client Avatar!
The process is actually quite easy. Some tutorials will have you create an avatar from scratch. Here is a great guide from HubSpot explaining how to create your “Buyer Personas” which is another term for Client Avatar. Although, it is very informative and even has free templates available to use, I personally found it to be, too intensive for my needs. But please give it a look if you would like additional guidance.
My version is simplified because we will start with your current and past clients as a reference point. Think about them, list their names and utilize their demographics to help shape your avatar. If you have a client who does NOT fit your IDEAL Client Avatar, that is okay. This will help identify qualities your avatar does not have and you can design your avatar with opposite or complementary characteristics, based on what you may not be fond of with a current client. We won’t tell anyone what you write down! (yes, more humor attempted here!)
If you struggle on some of the information, skip it for now, and move forward so by the time you finish this exercise, you at least have a good draft to start with. You will want to review your avatar regularly to ensure it hasn’t changed, so mark your calendar for a quarterly or annual review and repeat this exercise again as needed.
Step 1
Make a list of your current clients.
Add in some of your past clients.
Do you have at least 10 names down yet? If not, that’s okay, add in the name of someone you would love to work with. Go ahead, add Oprah, Richard Branson or Mark Zuckerberg.
Ensure you have at least 10 names and focus on those who you enjoy working with (or if you didn’t, focus on the traits you wish they had) when you answer the questions in the Step 2.
Step 2
This is an easy 5 Part Portrait, we’ll paint a picture of their demographics, goals and values, challenges and solutions, sources of information, and objections and road blocks.
Your Ideal Client Avatar Demographics
Using your list of 10 names identify your client’s:
- Gender
- Age
- Income Range
- Education Level
- Marital Status
- Children, How Many and Their Ages?
- Location
- Occupation
Your Ideal Client Avatar Goals and Values
What are their Goals?
(Example: Client 1 is looking to grow her business and leverage her skill set to support more clients)
What are their Values?
(Example: Client 2 is committed to providing value to his customers while supporting the environment)
Quote:
(What is a quote your avatar would use? This is where you dig deep into the thoughts and desires of your ideal client avatar.) Example: Client 1 has a favorite quote:
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” ~Winston Churchill
Your Ideal Client Challenges and Solutions
What are their Challenges?
What are the Solutions You Can Offer?
Your Ideal Client’s Sources of Information
What Books and Magazines do they read?
What Blog Topics or Podcasts do they follow?
Which Social Media platforms do they use?
Who do they admire, or who are their Influencers?
What are their Interests and Hobbies?
Your Ideal Client’s Objections and Road Blocks
What will your ideal client’s objections be to working with you?
(Example: Client 1 loves your work, but doesn’t want to hire you right now. Why should they pay you to manage their Social Media Marketing when they are perfectly capable of doing it themselves?)
What are your ideal client’s Road Blocks?
(Example: Client 2 is ready to hire, however, they don’t believe they can afford to hire someone with your expertise.)
Step 3
Take all of the information you have just documented in Step 2, and you have just painted a portrait of your Ideal Client Avatar! Isn’t he/she gorgeous?!
CONGRATULATIONS!
See, it wasn’t that hard.
Step 3+ Bonus
Now, I know I said there were only 3 Steps, however, Step 3+ is a Bonus to Propel You Forward. Use the momentum you’ve just gained to solidify the answers you have to share with your new Avatar. As you’re going through the discovery call with your potential new client, or as you’re creating your new content to reach them, answer their questions in advance! Prove your expertise by sharing you already understand their struggles and you already have solutions in mind for them.
Utilizing your answers from the preceding questions (you’ve already done this work in Step 2) approach your new Ideal Client Avatar with this information:
- Client 1’s Goal was to grow her business and leverage her skill set to support more clients. Share how you can support her in this process.
- Client 2 is committed to providing value to his customers while supporting the environment. Write a blog post about how you add value to your clients’ businesses. Write another post about your commitment to preserving the environment and share a personal story about how/where you volunteer your time supporting this cause.
- What were your ideal client’s challenges you identified and what were the solutions you had to offer them? Use the answers to these questions to write a series of Facebook posts or Tweets. You will be speaking directly to your ideal client avatar with this information! This is priceless information for your social media marketing and will get you noticed! No more generic content, you will now be providing value directly to those you want to work with.
- What were your ideal client’s objections and road blocks? These will come up most often in your discovery call. Well, now you have already identified the questions, answer them now, in advance. Write them down and share them often. You can share your solutions before the questions are asked, because they are the most common questions you will hear. Share your solutions in your marketing and assure your ideal clients that you’re familiar with their business, their challenges and you already have the solutions they are looking for! Simplifying their business is what they desire, prove your value and you will gain their confidence and they will hire you.
Good Luck and Have Fun with this exercise! Have you identified your ideal client’s avatar? Do you feel it was a real turning point for your business and how has it changed your marketing strategy? Please share in the comments below and share this post.