Why Defining Your Ideal Client Is the Secret to Effortless Marketing (and More Sales)
I recently appeared as a guest on my new favourite podcast - We Started a Business, Send Help! Hosted by the awesome Georgina and Nic. I talked about the power of niching down and why focusing on a clear, specific customer can help you stand out.
Most female founders I work with already have a good sense of who their Ideal Client is - which is great! But, in my experience, they’ve only just scratched the surface. Oftentimes as business owners, we check off the ‘Ideal Client Avatar’ task as part of a list - and it ends there. I’m here to encourage you to go a little deeper and help you to use this valuable business tool to your advantage and make your life a whole lot easier!
Why you actually want to put people off
Actively put people off your business? ‘Tamsin - you’ve lost it’ - I can hear you say! I promise I haven’t. I hear it time and time again from clients, friends and business owners - worries that niching down will exclude people. But I say, that’s the whole point!
You might feel worried that you’re shrinking your audience but really you're sharpening it and with that, better results will come. With clear positioning and a laser-focused view of your perfect client or customer, you will naturally repel those who are the wrong fit but at the same time, naturally magnetise the right ones.
If your brand is trying to appeal to a too-wide audience it becomes confusing and you will blend in. Your message gets diluted and it may make your brand appear unconfident and you might even begin to attract clients who don’t value what you do, aren’t a good fit and are a nightmare to work with.
Essentially, you’ll get ‘meh’ instead of ‘yes!’ which is all part of my ‘Pretty Powerful’ belief that clarity = confidence = conversions.
The magic of resonance: when your clients think “that’s so me!”
With aligned messaging and a really clear customer persona, the right-fit clients will feel as if you are speaking directly to them and that is SO powerful! They feel seen, heard and understood which means they will trust your brand so much more.
We’ve all been on a website or seen a social post before that’s given us that ‘oh-my-god-whole-body-yes!’ feeling - it’s likely that you’re that brand’s ideal client. THAT is the same feeling we want to create for our brand and our ideal clients.
Why knowing your Ideal Client makes marketing easier
One of the main reasons I’m such a believer in having a strong niche and a focussed customer profile is that from my experience, it makes marketing SO much easier! When you know and understand your ideal client deeply, everything flows:
Service and product development is simplified because you know exactly what your customer needs and can tailor your offerings around that
Your marketing strategy feels clear - when you know exactly who you’re trying to attract you can create a strategy that really speaks to them
You will have a tonne of ideas for your content - you understand exactly what they want/need/hate/love so ideas for social posts, email newsletters, blogs and other content will come to you easily (see below my Trello board which is crammed with ideas that I know my ideal client will resonate with, or find useful - there’s hundreds of ideas in there and they come to me easily!)
A great example of content designed for your Ideal Client
I wrote a blog post last year titled ‘The Power of Pink in Luxury Brand Design’ - about the psychology of pink along with examples of pink in luxury branding, palettes and moodboards. It is by far my best performing piece of content, accounting for around 30% of my traffic (all organic!) and a huge amount of impressions on Pinterest.
Why is this? Well, it’s completely aligned with my ideal client’s world - they care about luxury and emotional resonance, and their aesthetic is often feminine and aspirational. It taps into both logic and emotion (and it’s also highly specific which Google loves!)
I used what I knew about my ideal client, and created content specifically for them. And the results speak for themselves. I know for a fact that this post has brought in paying clients which honestly is so rewarding!
Because I used insight rather than guesswork, this content came to me easily and actually drives business for me.
Go beyond the demographics: tap into their desires and fears
Surface level information about your ideal client is all good (think age, income, location etc) but the real gold is in their feelings. Some things to think about are:
What does she want more than anything in the world?
What does success look like for her?
What’s holding her back from working with you?
How can you reassure her she’s in safe hands?
For example, my ideal client might be nervous about investing in branding and a website because it’s an unknown world to her and she might worry about the results. So it’s my job to articulate the transformation, prove the value of my work and help her to feel she’s in trusted hands.
Because I know this fear, I address this in my copy and marketing, so my ideal client feels seen and understood.
My top tip: use their own words back at them
One of the most powerful (and free!) tools you can use in your brand are your customer’s own words. By paying attention to the exact language your clients use in calls, emails, comments, DMs and reviews you can glean the best insights. Mirroring their words builds so much trust and makes them feel instantly understood.
Use these words in places like:
Website copy
Social captions
FAQs
Service descriptions
What does this look like in practice? Here are a few examples:
In a consultation, a potential client tells a Wedding Planner “I feel like I’m drowning in details, and I just want to enjoy my engagement instead of stressing.”
How they could use it in their copy: “If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the details and long to actually enjoy your engagement, I’ll take care of the logistics so you can focus on what really matters.”
A Luxury Candle Brand had a review in their store saying “These don’t just smell amazing, they look like little works of art.”
How they could use it in their copy: “Not just candles, but little works of art for your home - designed to delight the senses and the space they live in.”
In a consultation with an Event Florist, a potential client might say “I don’t want flowers that look generic or predictable, I want people to remember them.”
How they could use it in their copy: “Unforgettable floral design that stops people in their tracks and transforms every space.”
To conclude…
Your ideal client should be the anchor of your brand and business decisions, she’s SO much more than a task to be ticked off! For marketing that feels easy and natural, the right-fit clients finding you (and saying ‘you read my mind!’) and messaging that feels aligned, I’d encourage you to regularly revisit and refine your ideal client profile.
Need some help?
Download my free Ideal Client Workbook which guides you through the process of getting clear on your perfect person, and how to use the insight to your advantage!
