The most important thing you can do in your business is to understand your customers. Ask any seasoned founder and they will tell you the same.
One exercise that is very helpful is creating an Ideal Client Avatar (ICA). That is because in order to properly market, sell to, and lend customer support to your users you need to take the time to understand them.
I know what you're thinking. Perhaps you feel like you already know your ideal customer and don't see the reason to document the information in a formal way. However, it isn't just crucial for you to understand your ICA, but for your entire team as well.
Think about it, your sales, marketing, and customer service people need to know your ICA in and out so they can really be effective and create genuine relationships. You also need to be aligned on who and how you are servicing them.
How to Create an Ideal Customer Avatar in 5 Easy Steps
Identify their Goals and Values: Spy on your ideal clients by joining their communities, using the products they already love, conducting surveys, taking people out to lunch. Do your research, but then continue to be curious about who your customers are, what frustrates them, and what lights them up.
Find their Sources of Information: Keep a running list of influencers, blogs, brands, and publications that your ideal customer consumes. Be diligent in extracting recurring themes and messages that those sources use.
Fill in their Demographic Info (and NAME them): Image them as a human being. Name them. Assign a photo that looks like them. List out all those tiny demographic details. Know your persona inside and out. Pick and choose different details from folks you've interviewed or built a relationship with from step 1.
Identify Challenges & Pain Points: Formally list out the pain points you've uncovered from Steps 1 & 2. For a bonus, create a value matrix that connects those pain points to the solutions your product/service provides.
List out their Objections & Role in the Purchase Process: Have sales conversions and document objections. At first, you may fumble your way through countering those objectives. But as you collect them and allocate time to working on them, you and your team will get much better at selling to your ICA.
Now, order it to really press the Easy Button, I have a Free Resource that I have used with clients again and again. It makes creating and sharing your Ideal Client Avatar super easy. It is the Make my Persona Tool from Hubspot. Simply, follow the prompt to fill in the basic information about your ICA, and then the program allows you to add as many sections as you want. It's perfect for creating a living document. One that can be easily passed around to your team.
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
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Victoria is a Marketing Mentor to early-stage founders. She has built compelling brands around the globe and has worked as a marketing director across several verticals. She is passionate about helping women think BIGGER about their businesses and giving them the tools to grow. She'd love to connect on LinkedIn or email her at hello@ugliboss.com.