Who Are Your Customers?
Are you a people pleaser? I used to think I was “easy going”, but really I am just a people pleaser. In my personal life, this means I have a tendency to want everyone to like me. In my professional life, this means I want everyone to like my product and brand. Thankfully,I have discovered this personality quality because pleasing people was affecting all areas of my life! Personally, if you are always pleasing people, you can live fully in your true identity. Professionally, people-pleasing will distract you from serving your ideal customers. Your brand can’t and won’t ‘please’ everyone and that is OK. Your business will actually thrive if you can clearly answer this question….Who is my ideal customer?
When I work with clients, this is the first question I ask. At first, most people give too general an answer. They will say something like- “women in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, all over the USA, who love their home”. I get it…we all want to sell as much product to as many people as possible BUT in order to have a productive sales and marketing strategy, we must be more specific about our target market. Who is your ideal customer? Instead of describing general groups of people, try describing specific individuals. Write down their age, gender, profession, hobbies, style and favorite place to shop.
For example, The Sercy Studio’s ideal customer is a faith-based woman in midlife who lives in the south. She is thoughtful and has a big heart for friends and family. She appreciates handmade gifts and loves giving heirloom gifts. Her home is filled with treasures that are meaningful and beautiful. She is someone who is willing to spend a little extra money on a handmade product. See what I did? I used my imagination to create a customer that would love my brand. Not everyone will appreciate my craft, my faith or my product, but I want to serve the people that will be attracted to my brand.
So take some time to create a few ideal customers. If you are just starting out, try thinking about your dream customer/client. If you already have a business, think about your best customers. Then use your imagination to describe a few individuals that would be attracted to your brand.
Identifying your ideal buyer will help you greatly when creating a website, designing packaging, deciding on pricing and planning marketing. If you know what kinds of people you are speaking to, you will make decisions easier and faster. Use your imaginary dream customer to create a set of keywords that describe your brand, product and customers. These keywords will help you with content themes, visual style and copy that will make your brand strong and consistent. Plus these keywords will be useful in SEO work.
The brands I respect and admire the most are those that have a clear identity, clear message and are confident in their identity. This is also true for the people that I am attracted to. YOU BE YOU and people will respect you and your brand…even if they never buy from you.