It wasn’t until I joined Marie Forleo’s B-School program back in 2015 that I realized everything I had previously known about having a “target market” was basically child’s play.

One thing has always been clear. It’s imperative to determine your target market for any business. Without knowing who you’re selling to, you won’t get very far. It’s like that saying “If you’re selling to everyone, you’re selling to no one”.

Ever since I learned the importance of having an Ideal Client Avatar (ICA as Marie likes to call it), I secretly cringe whenever I hear someone say, “My products/services are really for everyone”. Uhmm… sorry pumpkin, nothing’s for everyone.

Skipping this part of research in your business will result in a lot of time and money wasted on your part. That’s because you’ll be doing things like paying for vague ads that got out to “everyone” hoping they all notice and buy whatever it is you’re selling.

You’ll also be probably writing vague copy on your website that doesn’t really speak to anyone specifically. Therefore, you won’t really hook anyone’s attention.

That’s why before you start looking for customers, you must first know who they are. You need to get crystal clear on who exactly can benefit from your products or services and then market specifically to those people only.

This way you’ll save yourself a lot of time and effort because you’ll know exactly how to word your copy in order to attract those ideal customers.

You’ll be able to speak their language, touch on their pain points and provide the solution they’re desperately looking for. You’ll be the answers to their prayers, which is really The secret to getting raving client testimonials!  

To get started in creating your ideal client avatar, follow the steps outlined below.

STEP 1 – START WITH BASIC DEMOGRAPHICS

If you were to ask yourself who you’d really love working with the most, what kind of answers will you come up with? Grab a piece of paper or start a new document on your computer and answer the following questions:

• What age group is your customer in?

• Are they male or female?

• Where do they live?

• What is their income bracket?

• What is their level of education?

• What is their occupation?

• Are they married and do they have children?

STEP 2 –FIND OUT THEIR PSYCHOGRAPHICS

The next step in determining your ideal client avatar is going deeper into their psychographics. This means answering the following questions:

• What is their personality and attitude like?

• What are their deepest values?

• What are their interests and hobbies?

• What’s their lifestyle like?

• What are their top dreams and fears?
  
  
  

Knowing these values will help you speak their language. That means you’ll be able to use the copy in your website and ads that will really grab their attention.

STEP 3 – WHERE DO THEY HAND OUT?

In this step think about what they like to do and where they like to hang out so that you can start looking for them in those places.

• What do they like to do for fun?

• What do they like to read?

• What are their favourite books?

• What blogs do they check out regularly?

• What places and events do they go to?

• What social media channels do they hand out in most?

Knowing who you’re selling to makes it so much easier to find customers. Now you’ll have an idea of where they like to hang out and what they’re looking for based on the answers above.

For example, if you’re a wellness coach and your ideal customer is a woman who prioritizes health and well-being, there are good chances that she’ll visit places like women’s expos, yoga shows, or food & wine shows. You’ve already narrowed down where to position yourself as an expert. Those would all be great places for you to advertise and get the word out.

STEP 4 – HOW CAN YOU HELP THEM?

In this final step you’ll need to determine two main things:

One – What are their biggest problems at the moment?

Two – How can you help solve those problems?

To answer the first one, simply think about what their biggest dreams and aspirations could be. And what’s stopping them from achieving those?

For example, my ideal client is a visionary entrepreneur who wants to make a difference in the world by teaching what she knows and empowering others. One of her aspirations is to have a beautiful and impactful online presence to help her reach more people with her message. But her biggest obstacle is that she’s really not tech-savvy and has zero design skills.

Well, guess what? The way I can help her is to take that worry off her hands and use my creative skills to design a beautiful website for her, where she can showcase her own skills and services. Problem solved.

Use the same kind of outline to get clear on your own ideal client’s problems and create a solution. Be very clear on how you can solve their problems.

And now you have your very own Ideal Client Avatar.

One thing that’s important to keep in mind is that people like to buy from people. So building relationships is vital for any business owner. You can utilize Facebook groups really well for this purpose. Find groups that your ideal customers belong to and join. You can find out a lot about your target market this way. Connect with them and offer value for free, so they remember you, and chances are, if they like what you provide, they’ll become your customers.

If you’d like to dive in deeper on this topic, the book “Blue Ocean Strategy” by W. Chan Kim and Renee A. Mauborgne is a great resource.

Disclosure: Some of the links used in this article are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.