Why you need to be really clear on your target client or ideal customer!

If you know me well, you’ll know that I’m always talking about the importance of understanding your target audience!

If you're a virtual assistant, solo entrepreneur or freelancer, I always say that you should know your ideal client as well as you know your best friend!
Yes, really! 

If you want a successful business, then taking time to understand your target audience is so important!

Yet it's one of those tasks that is often skipped because small business owners are excited to get to the exciting stuff! 

I do understand. It’s much more fun designing a flyer in Canva than it is racking your brain about your target customer.  But if you don’t understand your target customer, creating that flyer in Canva could be a waste of time because your marketing message might not work well enough. How can you make it appeal to someone if you don’t know who that ‘someone’ is?  

Unless you understand your target audience you don’t really know who you should be targeting or what aspects of your products and services they might be interested in!

In fact, although you might need to put your thinking cap on to identify your target audience, once you understand it, it makes marketing your business SO much easier.

 Why? Because instead of trying to market to everyone, you know exactly who you’re trying to reach and how to get in front of them!  So whilst it may be a tricky task to undertake to start with, you won’t believe how much simpler it makes your marketing in the long run!

Your target audience affects EVERYTHING you do!

The thing is, your target audience affects everything you do! What products and services you offer. What social media platforms you’re on. The marketing copy you write,. The marketing activities you undertake. The keywords and hashtags you use. Everything!

So, if you don’t take the time to fully understand your target audience, you could be wasting time and money.

Your target market isn't EVERYONE!

It’s easier for some businesses than others. For example, if you’re a dog groomer, then obviously your target audience is people with dogs.

But for other businesses it’s a little bit trickier.

I wish I had a pound for every time I asked someone about their target audience and they answered: “Well, everyone, really!”.

Even if a product or service could appeal to everyone, there are some people it will appeal to more than others. And they’re the people that you want to be talking to, because as a small business owner, it’s not possible for you to market to everyone! There’s simply not enough time or budget!  

For those entrepreneurs who do have an idea of their target audience, often that target audience is still too broad. For example, many virtual assistants say their target market is small business owners. But that’s a HUGE marketplace to target! Instead, I always recommend they narrow it down further. Maybe concentrate on small business owners who work in a certain location, or certain market sector, or are male or female, or have a certain job title, who have been trading a certain number of years?

Even with my dog groomer example, yes, their target market is people with dogs. But, what kind of people with dogs are they after? They're likely to want people who fall within an appropriate travelling distance for them to serve. But, depending on their pricing structure, they might want to specialise in those owners who dote on their dogs and therefore money is no object, or go after the general family pet where there may be more of a fixed budget.  

Start thinking why your current clients and customers use you...

If you’re not sure about your target audience, start thinking about your current clients and customers? Maybe the ones you enjoy working with most, or the ones who are the largest spenders. What do they all have in common? That might give you a clue as to the kinds of people you could be targeting….

But the key thing with target audience is understanding WHY someone might want to buy from you!

What problems or challenges do they have?

What problems or challenges do they have that your products or services can solve?

And are those problems or challenges of high enough importance to them to make finding out more about your products and services a priority? Or is that it’s a ‘nice to have’ rather than an actual priority need.

If your marketing isn't working, you might need to do more work on your target audience! 

When you are putting out the right messages to the right people, they’ll want to comment and engage. They’ll ask for more information and arrange a discovery call. So, if that’s not happening. If your marketing isn’t getting the response you desire, then it’s worthwhile taking some time to review your target audience and the promotional material you're putting out. 

Like anything to do with marketing, you may not get it right first time – but the more you work on it, the closer to your ideal you’ll get.

And if you’re really struggling with your target audience, then why not book a FREE 30 minute call with me and let’s have a chat about it. Just click to access my diary HERE.