How to Find Your Ideal Customer

In your business, figuring out who your ideal customer is gives you focus. It allows you to know exactly what you should be doing and how you should be marketing.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you buy from my link I might make a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay. See the full affiliate disclosure here.

Because – Want to know something that’s exhausting? Being everything to everyone.

Now, chances are that you know that feeling all too well! Every tendency in our culture pushes us to do more, please more people, push harder.

What if there was a different way in our business?

I’ll let you in on a secret: There IS a different way.

And it involves defining your ideal customer.

Figuring out who your ideal customer is gives you focus. It allows you to know exactly what you should be doing and how you should be marketing it. Just like you would know how to talk to a good friend, you can know how to talk to your customer.

Set aside some time and go through a simple brainstorming process. During this time you will really think about the type of person that LOVES your products and your brand.

You will end the brainstorming session with a very specific description of a person. If THIS person walked into your business every day, they would purchase from you every time.

Now, let’s get into that brainstorming process:

As you are defining your ideal customer, go into great detail. Answer questions such as:

Is you ideal customer a man or woman?
What age is your customer?
Where do they live?
Are they married? With kids?
What’s their occupation?
What level of income do they have?
What are their hobbies?
What things are important to them?

After you have the answers to your questions, here’s the fun part. Create a story around your answers and let this ideal customer come to life! Tell a story about where they grew up, what their childhood was like, where life has taken them, where they live now and what life is like for them. And, even give this person a name! (Let’s say, for example your customer’s name is Sarah.)

Though it may feel strange to be going into so much detail, you now have a VERY clear picture of your customer. You know what things Sarah likes. You know what attracts her. You know how to “speak her language.”

This description is POWERFUL as you are marketing your business.

As you do photo shoots of your product, you can create photos that Sarah would like. You can post graphics that would be appealing to Sarah. You can write text that sounds like you are just having a conversation with Sarah.

For some detailed help with talking and posting for your ideal customer, check out these 2 of my absolute favorite books on the subject:

Also, if you are struggling to know what this customer would be attracted to, look at magazines that market to Sarah. Find other Facebook pages and websites of companies that are marketing well to Sarah, and you can get a great feel for her tastes!

You are not even attempting to be everything to everyone.

You are talking to and posting for Sarah. And Sarah only.

Now, you may be thinking that this approach feels very “exclusionary.” Don’t we want ALL people to love our product?

The answer is simply this: All people do NOT love your product. It’s true!

You will do far better to market well to one ideal customer, with the result being that more and more people who are similar to this customer will LOVE your product. The ones who are repelled by your marketing wouldn’t be loyal fans of your product anyway.