Who is Your Ideal Customer?

Getting to know Your Ideal Customer to connect more genuinely online.

One of the most important aspects of building a business is creating relationships that will last, and the best way to do this, is to take the time to get to know your customer on a more intimate level. This isn’t anything new and I have no doubt you’ve already gone through an avatar worksheet that helps you know your ideal customers better. But have you ever thought about how that information can help you connect online with more than just words?

Check out this Facebook Live Chat were take the avatar exercise to the next level…

Understanding who your customer is helps you connect with them on a much more genuine level. Today I want to take that even deeper so that you can start using this information to build a more solid relationship with them online through your website and social media pages.

Thinking that “everyone” is your ideal customer is either going to seriously dilute your message or create serious exhaustion when it comes to developing content both written and visual that connects with your ideal customer.

Age

Knowing the age of your ideal customer is important because despite our similarities across generations there are quite a few things that are different. Especially when it comes to technology. For example, if your target market is age 50 or older, creating a website with lots of animation and moving parts would probably turn them away, as they are more comfortable in a traditional website layout. Whereas someone in their 20s would feel right at home in a website with animation.

Questions to consider…

• Did my ideal customers grow up with computers readily available?
• About what age were they when they got their first cell phone? Smart phone?
• Just how comfortable are they with technology?

Gender

It’s okay to market yourself to just women, just men or both. Let’s face it some products are just made for women, and some or made for men and some are gender neutral. But you still need to understand where you, your products and services fall so that you can create a visual connection that is comfortable for your ideal customer.

Think of this, if men are your ideal customer and you create a website that is pink with flowers, how comfortable are they going to feel? Even if they are one of this “tough guys that wear pink,” and love flowers, if they were to land your website, or see a social media post like that their brain would automatically tell them that it isn’t meant for them.

Questions to consider…

• What is the gender of my ideal customer?
• Does it matter in what I am offering?

Keep in mind the gender of your ideal customer really may not matter, but you still want to know that so that you visuals connect with them. For example, you may be selling the best hiking equipment in the world, which would easily appeal to both genders. Use that understand to choose words and images that connect with both genders, (so not the pink and floral.)

What is their average day like?

How does your ideal customer spend their time throughout the day. Perhaps they are a busy mom on the go shuffling kids around and volunteering at school functions. Or maybe they are a working mom juggling career and kids. Or may they are an empty nester with lots more free time on their hands to do the things they didn’t always have time for.

Knowing this can help you determine exactly what kind of visuals you want to create within your website and social media posts.  For example, as a working mom who juggled kids and careers, I didn’t have time to dive into website that was super heavy on words. I needed to be able to understand what you were offering right away through images and bulleted lists. I also didn’t want a lot of videos where audio was required, as I would often connect in the small minutes of free time throughout the day where audio would have been disruptive to my surroundings.

Questions to consider…

• How much free time does my ideal customer have during the day?
• How can I display what I have to share in a way that fits into their schedule?

“Go to” resources for information

Where does your ideal customer go when they need answers. And yes I know Google is at the top of your list, but I want you to think a little bit deeper. What in their google search appeals to them most? Blogs? Videos? Combination? Are they more prone to find information on Social Media? Images searches?  Knowing this is going to help you create the content that is most comfortable to those you are speaking too.

For example, if I were wanting to connect with people who loved to read, are often reading long lengthy novels, and carry a virtual library around with them in their Kindle app, creating a website or social media presence that is heavy in videos probably wouldn’t connect as well as creating thoughtful and well written blog posts.

Questions to consider…

• When my ideal customer is looking for answers are they more likely to checkout  …
  – Books and blogs with detailed information?
  – How-to or informational based videos?