Ideal client. Who are they and how can you solve their 3am problem? What the fuck does this actually mean? I will hopefully explain it in this blog.
Really nailing down your ideal client is so incredibly important when you are setting out on a new business adventure. You need to know exactly who it is you are talking too and trying to reach. It is often so tempting to try to talk to everyone because let’s face it we would like everyone to buy into us, our business and our brand. Problem is you are not going to be everyones cup of tea and you know what that is absolutely fucking A OK. As humans we want to be liked by everyone, I think that's just human nature, but do you like everyone you come across? I'm guessing the answer is probably a no. Again that is perfectly ok, we all have different tastes, likes, peeves and so on, being different helps make the world an interesting place and it's good to keep this in the back of your mind as starting a business can feel a bit like a popularity contest. The likes, follows, shares are nice but not the be all and end all of your business. People might not be interacting with you but do not let that deter you from keeping putting out your content because they are seeing you.
By trying to talk to everyone you could end up reaching no-one as the chatter on the internet could just swallow you up without giving you a real chance. You could get lost in the sea of pages, grid posts and all the bullshit that’s on the internet rather than reaching those all important customers or clients. If you sell a course for married couples you are unlikely to want to attract single people. If you sell dog treats you aren’t going to want your waste your time with people who don’t like animals and trust me there are plenty of people out there who are quite happy to waste your precious time, don't bloody let them!
Narrowing down that ideal customer, or as I like to call them your business bestie, will help you more than you can imagine. When I write my posts I write as if I am talking to Claire - the name we have given our ideal customer. I have a clear vision of her in my head and I use that as a tool to help me create content. Like we are having a conversation or putting the world to rights over a glass of something alcoholic. She is always there lingering in the back of my mind reminding me to talk to her.
I am a naturally sweary person so can sometimes (always) get a bit sweary in my blogs and posts. I am REAL about exactly who I am. I talk to my audience exactly how I would talk to my friends and if any of my audience met me in real life they would get the exact same version of me that they get on social media. Some people don’t mind swearing, some, like us, love it and some really can’t stand swearing. So those that are going to be offended by a few swear words are not our ideal client because they probably won’t get us or even like us and that is cool. I don't want to be worrying about offending people when I'm creating content. Sometimes I say to Nina ohhhh is that a bit risqué? Then I think how would Claire react? 9 times out of 10 I think Claire would wet her knickers, so it stays!
We as consumers ourselves find brands that resonate with us and we can be quite loyal to them. If they do something we like then we are likely to keep going back for more. If they talk to us in a way that resonates we will remember. When you create a business you want to create a feeling. People may forget what you say but they will always remember how you made them feel. As lovely as the clothes are in Joules or Boden they are not brands that I buy from as they are not my cup of tea. Do they worry about that? Absolutely not, they focus on their ideal clients and I'm sure they make a shed load of money in the process!
Narrowing Claire down was a fun process. The pen and pad was at the ready and we asked ourselves questions like:
What does she like? Music, films, books, trashy magazines?
What does she do? Work, hobbies?
Where does she live? Who does she live with?
Married? Kids? Homeowner?
Where on social media will I find her hanging out? Groups? Pages? How can I reach her?
What are her goals? What are her values?
These are some of the questions we answered and they could help you narrow down your very own Claire.
We wrote Claire in the middle of a page and then brain dumped all the things we knew about her. That then lead us on to how we could help her or solve her 3am problem as it is often referred too. How can your business benefit your IC?
The question you want to ask yourself is WHAT CAN MY BUSINESS DO TO ALLEVIATE MY IDEAL CLIENTS 3AM PROBLEM??
I did find this incredibly tough to answer when I first saw it. I felt like, well we sell slogan clothing, how is that "helping" anyone? What you need to have a real think about and what will help is your WHY.
Why did you start your business? What do you want to achieve? What legacy do you want to leave behind? What mark do you want to leave on the world? Might sound a bit random but narrowing these things down will always give you your why and when things get shitty and tough, which they will not going to lie to you beauts, then going back to your why will give you a sense of purpose and that kick up your arse to keep going.
So our why: we want to make people smile with our sarcastic and sassy slogans. We want to bring laughter, joy and positivity through our slogans and our brand. We want to be the go to for busy mums on the run who want to look fashionable without too much effort, comfy yet chic is what we are about.
I can go back to my why again and again when creating content and revolve it around my why.
This is just a small insight into your business bestie and I hope its helps you to hone in on your own ideal client and your WHY to keep you on track when creating content.