June 23, 2020
If you’ve been around for a while you know we’re big advocates of niching down and speaking directly to your ideal client. Common questions we get in conjunction with that are, “How do I narrow down?”, “How do I even know who my ideal client is?”, and “ How do I start speaking directly to them?”
Today’s show is about to answer all of that. This is Marketing 101. We’re diving into client avatars, marketing strategies for how to know who your ideal client is, how to get their attention, and stand out from the competition.
Are you struggling in your business? Do you feel like you’re constantly hitting a wall? Are you constantly trying to follow all the Instagram strategies? Are you working sun up to sun down, but you’re constantly feeling burnt out? Are you not working with people who value what you have to give? Do you feel like you’re constantly getting price shopped and people are always ghosting you? Do you LOVE what you do, but it’s starting to take a toll because you know where you want to go and who you want to work with but getting there seems like this crazy wild maze filled with trap doors and hidden tunnels? Do you continue to say something to get people’s attention but it falls on deaf ears?
The truth is, in order to cut through the noise and start attracting your ideal client you HAVE to start speaking to them DIRECTLY. In trying to speak to everyone, you’ll speak to no one.
By the time you’ve finished this episode, you should be able to walk away with a clear gameplan of finding and reaching your ideal customers.
A client avatar is a fictional character that you create as detailed as possible. Who are they? What makes them tick? What struggles are they facing that you’re going to solve for them? Think through where they shop, what they do on a day off, what their annual income is, and what stage of life they are in. Go as detailed as possible when creating this character. This is going to turn into the client avatar that you are directly speaking to every single time you market.
Base this off of a real person or at least an idea of a person. You could model it off of someone you have worked with in the past or someone you would ideally want to work with.
For example, if you are a virtual assistant, who are you trying to assist and help? What type of entrepreneur? Are you trying to assist a specific type of entrepreneur? Photographers? Graphic designers? Wedding planners? Educators and course creators? WHO?
If you’re fresh and don’t know who you wanna work with yet, think of past clients you loved or similar business’s clients.
Get specific. Who do you specifically want to work with? Even if it is not a certain type of industry, what type of person could you best serve?
Your avatar can grow and change as you grow and change. It’s a part of growth! Don’t be afraid to keep adjusting.
What struggles are they facing? What things get them overwhelmed?
As business owners, we are PROBLEM SOLVERS. Point blank. We solve problems. We ease fears. We answer questions. We step in and help our ideal client get from point A to point B.
Ex 1: Virtual Assistant. If your ideal client is overworked entrepreneurs who need help, what specifically are they struggling with? Too much to do, too little time? Constantly feeling overwhelmed? Not getting to basic self-care or family time because work is taking up too much of their life? Do they not have sustainable systems in place to work efficiently? This allows you to speak directly to this need.
Ex 2: Elopement Photographer. Your ideal client is an adventurous couple who wants to forego the traditional and plan a celebration that feels like them. They don’t know where they should elope, how to get permits, what to prioritize, how to tell their friends and family they’re eloping, what wedding dresses look best in the outdoors, or how to get officiants in a national park. There are so many questions that your couple may have and you need to answer these.
When we say speak to them, we mean to create content that solves their problem. This can be copy on your website, emails, freebies, stories, or social media captions.
Make sure you’re using the language your client is going to hear and register. Don’t speak like a high level 50 year old businessman using technical jargon if you’re talking to teenage girls. On the flip side, don’t talk like a valley girl if you’re trying to reach high level business owners.
Ex: Evie’s financial PDF. Evie talked about “necessary expenses.” She used the example of non-essential expenses such as a shopping spree to Anthropologie and a trip to Greece. She used those examples because she knew she loved those things and her ideal clients probably do too! If her ideal client was a 40 year old man, she would probably use a golf example instead.
The curse of knowledge: It is easy to forget that the more knowledgeable you might have about something, the more you forget that others might not know what you are talking about. Remember that the “basic information” that you may know, is not “basic information” to everyone else.
Remember that they don’t have the experience or expertise that you do and it’s your job to serve them by explaining what they may not know and solving that gap of knowledge. (Tip: DO NOT EVER “TALK DOWN” TO YOUR CLIENTS. EVER EVER EVER.)
Are your people on TikTok? Great. Show up there.
Are they on Facebook? Great. Show up there.
Pinterest? Google? Instagram? Show up where they’re searching for answers, entertainment, or community.
In order to show up where they’re at, you need to know who they are and where they’re hanging out.
The younger generation is generally are hanging out on Tik Tok, Youtube, and Instagram. The older generation is typically more on Facebook, Linkedin, and Google (SEO, websites, etc..).
Show up and prioritize your content on the platform and space your people are at. Show up where they are searching for answers, entertainment, and community.
You could be saying all the right things, in the right way, but if you’re not saying it in the right room people it’s going to fall on deaf ears.
Make sure your content that you’re sharing is relevant. In order to be relevant, it needs to meet people where they’re at.
Be strategic with not only who you are trying to speak to and how you are saying it, but also what room you are saying it in.
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WASSUP FRIENDS. We’re Evie + Lindsey, co-founders of this wild partayyy called The Heart University. Our goal is to empower entrepreneurs to kick freaking BUTT in their businesses, dive down into the heart of their why and how, and serve you with all possible tools you’ll need to up-level your business game and CRUSH those goals of yours.
Whether you’re coming to an in-person workshop, joining our online course, or soaking up all the strategies via this blog or our podcast, we’re STOKED you’re here + can’t wait to see you out there kicking butt.
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