Attracting the right clients for your business isn’t just a good idea - it’s essential for the sustained growth of your business. And while many business owners like to think “everyone” is their target customer, attempting to attract an overly broad group of people is not only a waste of your time, energy, and money, but also dilutes your brand and your business’s core values.
When a business tries to market to too many people, it markets to no one. Rather than risking being viewed as inauthentic and disorganized, focusing your attention on a specific target market is a much better use of your marketing time and efforts.
But how do you attract your ideal customers? Hooking your target market begins with an authentic brand and a clear message. Having a strong sense of business identity is the first step in finding the right clients for your business. A brand is the foundation of a cohesive marketing strategy that attracts and keeps your prized customer base.
Want to learn more about developing your business brand? Read our Ultimate Guide to Building a Strong Business Brand.
Before you can find your ideal client, it is important to first develop a brand strategy that’s authentic to your business. Defining your brand’s personality and identity (via visual assets, company culture, personnel, digital presence, etc.) provides your marketing team with a clear vision of the promises they can make to your customers.
If you think of your company as a person, how would you describe him/her? What characteristics does your business embody to attract your customers? Is your brand friendly, warm and welcoming? Or educational, technical and professional? Think of how would you introduce your business to a friend at a social gathering, and why someone would want to build a relationship with it.
If you need help getting started with Step 1, Harvest Media specializes in building business brands and we would love to talk with you about yours!
Once you have a genuine concept of your brand’s identity, then you can begin to define the types of customers that are right for your business. Start by creating a list of features your ideal customers possess (both demographics and psychographics). What are their…?
Profiling your ideal customer goes beyond acquiring a long list of traits—it is about truly understanding your customers’ motivations when it comes to buying your product. Morphing your list of descriptors into personas or characters will provide you with several tangible “ideal clients” to whom you can then begin marketing. Only once you begin to understand their deeply-held beliefs and interests can you then effectively attract them to your business.
While understanding your target market’s wants and needs is a great step, your goal as a business is to recognize their biggest problems and challenges, and provide a product or service that helps alleviate their pain points. What keeps your customers from reaching their goals? What keeps them up at night? Which problems do they face that your competitors don’t address? And, ultimately, how can you help?
Providing a clear solution to your clients’ problems goes leagues towards showing your customers that you understand them. Once you master comprehensive knowledge of their pain points, you can then discern the best ways to approach, engage and keep them giving you their business.
Determining the solutions you provide for your clients’ challenges will shape your marketing team’s messaging and design. Steer your marketing efforts to show (not just just tell) your audience how your product or service can ultimately improve their lives. Does it speed up a process? Does it improve safety? Does it relieve stress by addressing an ongoing challenge?
Outline the solutions your product or service delivers, and then identify the most effective way to illustrate those solutions in a way that’s relatable, emotional and memorable for your ideal customers.
Next, you’ll want to determine where your audience will learn about you. Think about where they spend their days, and what kinds of technology they’re familiar using. Someone who listens to local radio stations in the car during a long commute to work is going to be affected by radio and billboard ads much more than someone who works from home on their phone and PC.
Where can you reach your ideal customers and engage with them regularly? By repeatedly introducing your product or service to your audience, you’ll create a habitual and memorable interaction. Consider social media, trade magazines, networking events, conferences, radio, television, digital advertising, mailers and more. Discover where your clients spend their time, and use that platform (or platforms) to reach them repeatedly. Remember, it often takes seeing a brand several times before someone decides to dip their toes into learning more about what you have to offer.
A detailed and well-constructed marketing plan ensures you are directing your efforts (and budget) effectively. This means implementing, tracking, and pivoting when necessary.
Using the information you’ve gathered about your target audience, create a comprehensive plan that addresses where, when, how and what you’ll market to your ideal customers. Your plan should include a budget for personnel time (creating graphics, hiring a photographer, publishing social media posts, copywriting, etc.), as well as your ad budget, broken up into your various marketing platforms.
As you create your plan, specify which marketing activities will drive the revenue, profit, and business goals you want to accomplish, and how you’ll track your successes.
Never made a marketing plan before? Read How to Create an Annual Marketing Plan.
Consistently delivering on your promise of quality has a two-fold effect: not only will you attract your ideal customer through repeat messaging and word-of-mouth testimonials, but you’ll also benefit from ongoing customer retention. Your customers are loyal to businesses that provide them with consistent quality, because they know what to expect and trust that they’ll have a similar experience each time they visit.
Give your customers a seamless, consistent experience every time they browse your website, visit your brick-and-mortar location, or speak to an employee. By demonstrating a cohesive brand in all customer interactions, you’re not leaving room on the table for unexpected (or unwanted) surprises. For this reason, it’s important to involve the entire company, and not just your marketing team, in your branding efforts. From your customer service staff to your administrative team, retaining your ideal customers comes from homogenous efforts throughout your company.
Our Harvest Media team specializes in growing business brands, and can help you attract and keep your ideal customers. Contact us today to find out more information.
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