CREATING YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER AVATAR
Customer Avatar. Ideal Customer. Business Prospect. Target Customer. Whatever you want to call this fictional character, it represents an icon or figure that defines your ideal customer. I must admit, when I first heard about how important it is to create an ideal customer avatar, I snickered. I doubted the necessity of doing this. It really did seem to be a waste of time. But, over time, I’ve realized that when you have a well-defined customer avatar, it makes your marketing efforts so much easier, focused and effective. If you take the time to create a customer avatar, it will be the basis for your marketing efforts including your branding, the marketing channels you use, and the way you interact with your customers. Whether you haven’t started your business yet OR have been in business for years, START NOW to create your customer avatar.
Think of your avatar or ideal customer as the person who can benefit most from the products or services your business offers. When establishing who this fictional character is, it will help you understand how to best market your business. Without taking the time to create a customer avatar, you will most likely waste time and money sending the wrong messages in your marketing efforts. If you have a diversified business, start with a single avatar. Start marketing to that avatar. Then create multiple avatars for different segments of the market or different parts of your business.
To create a customer avatar, gather as much information as you can. You can research industries and also think about your existing customers pr other people you know as you develop your description.
These are the FIVE AREAS to detail when creating your ideal customer avatar:
1. DEMOGRAPHICS:
The first step in creating your ideal customer avatar is to list the demographics.
An accurate picture of your ideal customer starts with identifying where they are and what they do. Some of the things you should identify include:
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Age
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Gender
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Marital Status
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Children (number/ages)
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Location
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Favorite Quote
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Occupation/Job Title
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Annual Income
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Level of Education
2. GOALS:
By understanding your customers’ goals and values it will help you craft marketing messages and other interactions that they can relate to. After detailing your demographics, it’s easier to determine what the customer avatar’s goals are.
3. INFORMATION SOURCES:
Defining your avatar’s goals, information sources, challenges and buying objections will help you develop an effective marketing plan.
How your ideal customer obtains information is important because it will help you direct your marketing efforts. List common sources of information:
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Books
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Magazines
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Websites
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Social Media
4. CHALLENGES:
Your ideal customer is facing some challenges that your products or services can assist with. You need to discover what challenges and needs they have so that you can offer solutions with your products or services.
5. OBJECTIONS:
Many people get close to making a buying decision but don’t for one reason or another. Determine what the avatar’s objections are. Then, through your marketing efforts, address these objections making them non-issues.
Finding data on your ideal customers can be fun, especially if you like research and puzzles. Here are some ideas:
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Conduct research online in forums, Q&A sites, and social media groups.
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Talk to existing customers or other people you know.
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Obtain media kits from magazines in your niche; these will often contain demographic information.
Make sure to write down all the data related to your ideal customer avatar. Here’s a sample of how you can list your information:
Now, let’s pretend we live in Boise, Idaho and we’re opening a yoga studio. Here’s what our ideal customer avatar may look like:
After completing an ideal customer avatar description, it is so much easier to focus your marketing efforts. It’s also easier to relate to your ideal customer. And, it doesn’t stop there. It will help you think of other products and services that you can offer your customers because you’ll be able to understand them, their goals, how they obtain information, their challenges, and their objections better.
In the yoga studio example, Kris is the name of the ideal customer. Because she has a school-aged child, the yoga studio can offer a special for PTA parents or advertise in the school bulletin. Kris is busy and doesn’t have a lot of free time plus she needs to ensure her child is taken care of when she attends classes. Because of these things, the yoga studio may offer shorter 30-minute classes and free or low-cost daycare during classes. This example demonstrates how helpful and powerful it can be for your business to create a detailed ideal customer avatar.
The first thing to do is to start with a single avatar. Start marketing to that avatar. Then create multiple avatars for different segments of the market or different parts of your business. Also, revisit your avatars periodically and update them and your marketing efforts as changes arise.
You can download a FREE CUSTOMER AVATAR WORKSHEET BY CLICKING HERE!
With your newly-developed customer avatar, start marketing your business with fresh ideas. To help you and your business, check out these other articles:
And don’t miss out on this FREE LIST of 40 WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS:
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Sondra Kirtley, MBA, is an entrepreneur who owns and operates a retail and service business in Eureka, California. Known for her helpful nature and small business expertise, Sondra founded SmallBizpathway.com to share tips and experiences with other small business owners.
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[…] CREATING YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER AVATAR […]
Is the customer in question an imagination, hallucination or someone you know well and is a consumer of your product?