Identifying your ideal client is a key component to not only your success in your marketing efforts, but your overall success in your business.

When you first start your business it is easy to assume that you want to work with any and everyone who will pay you for the services or products you are offering. 

So, you start out trying to sell to EVERYONE! And, that’s who you attempt to market to as well.

But the thing is…when you try to market yourself to everyone, you are actually marketing yourself to no one.

It is impossible to speak to everyone and their pain points at the same time because people are different. Their needs and their problems are varied, and the goal of any business is to fulfill a particular need.

So, you have to ask yourself, whose need am I filling? Whose pain points am I speaking to? Who has a void in their life or business that my product or service can fill?

Take, for instance, our team at Amazing OBM. We provide boutique marketing services, but we don’t provide them to ALL businesses because their needs are too varied. Our team cannot be the BEST at filling every single one of them.

Our ideal client is heart-centered entrepreneurs. Specifically, we work with businesses that specialize in coaching, healing, online course creation, and personal transformation. That is our JAM! They are our people. Our tribe. That is who we direct all of our learning, growth, and marketing towards. 

So, how do you find YOUR tribe?

Here are five steps you can take to find your ideal client:

#1 Consider some things about yourself.

Since many small businesses are created out of a PASSION for something, it is good to examine what really speaks to you and why you started your business in the first place.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What are you passionate about? What really inspires or interests you?
• Why did you start your business in the first place? What need were you trying to fill?
• Did you start your business to help people like yourself? Was it inspired by an experience you or someone you loved went through?
• Who are you passionate about helping in other parts of your life?

#2 Imagine and define the person who most needs what you are selling.

Creating a customer avatar or ideal client doesn’t mean you ONLY work with one type of person, but having a clear image of who really needs the products or services you are offering helps you steer your business goals and your marketing. It doesn’t exclude others from buying what you are selling, but it helps you find clarity and focus.

Ask yourself the following questions about your ideal client:

• How old are they? Are they male or female?
• What type of business are they in?
• What is their financial situation?
• What are they struggling with within their business? What about in their personal life?
• What kind of personality do they have?
• What about hobbies or other interests?
• What’s their family life like? 
• What matters MOST to them?
• What inspires them? What scares them?
• What do they like to read, watch, or do in their spare time?

Again, digging into these specifics doesn’t preclude anyone from working with you, but gives you a clearer picture in your own head of WHO you are talking to when you sell. It humanizes your audience.

#3 Think about the specific benefits you offer.

There are a lot of businesses out there. Your customer has seemingly endless choices to filter through, so you have to consider what is special about you and your offer. You need to determine what about your product or service is different for your ideal client from their other choices.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the most important benefit of your product or service to your ideal client?
• What pain point are you really speaking to?
• What makes you and your business different from your competitors? What sets you apart?
• What about YOU makes your business the best fit for your ideal client? Do you have things in common? Have you been where they are on their journey?
• What will your ideal client’s life look like after they start working with you? What about a year after they start working with you? How will your offer change their life and business?

#4 Determine the location of your ideal client.

Now, that you’ve narrowed down who you REALLY want to work with and who most needs your product or service, you need to consider where you will find this client.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you already know people who fit your ideal client avatar? Do other people in your life know your ideal client?
• Where does your ideal client hang out online? What about in person?
• Where does your ideal client live geographically?
• How are you going to get connected with your ideal client?

#5 Keep in mind your client’s buying strategy or pattern.

Not all clients are created equal in how quickly they will buy what you are selling, so you need to keep that in mind when you start marketing to your ideal client.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Where/how is your ideal client buying your services or products?
• How long does it take them to make a purchasing decision? (Think back to the income of your ideal client.)
• Do you have an “easy yes” that they can purchase before making a bigger financial commitment? 
• Has your client invested in similar offers in the past? Why are they investing again?

Again, asking these specific questions doesn’t keep you from getting customers by eliminating people from your audience. These questions help you serve YOUR people and YOUR tribe with increased confidence and clarity!

Finding your ideal client may not be easy, but the process and its benefits for your business are so worth it! 

If you need help finding your ideal client or marketing to them, reach out to our team at Amazing OBM! We would love to help. Our team provides digital marketing services for heart-centered coaches that are ready to show up, systematize, and spread sensational content in the world.