4 Ways to Find Out Who Your Ideal Customer is?
One of the biggest mysteries that i’ve cracked in my business is determining who my ideal customer is! Up until that point, it was like I was running around in circles going from group to group and random person to random person.
Like a lot of new business owners, I used to think that EVERYONE was my ideal customer. That if I wasn’t promoting to everyone, that I was actually MISSING OUT on sales.
Well that wasn’t further from the truth!
When you try to promote to everyone you have to be a people pleaser, right? You have to walk that fine line of keeping this group happy and not saying anything that will offend this group. And what usually happens instead is that you water down your brand and end up pleasing no one.
What do I mean by a watered down brand? I mean that your brand becomes bland and general. You starting saying things like, “I make handmade leathergoods for people who like handmade leathergoods”, because if you say anything more specific then that you’re afraid you’re going to turn some people off. But actually, you’re brand just becomes not interesting enough to compete.
GET MORE SPECIFIC WITH YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER
But when you get more specific and say in my case, “I make leathergoods for the home and for women who like a farmhouse rustic style” now you’re going to get a lot more lookers from that group of women. And quality lookers!
You’re going to turn people away, sure but those are the people who don’t like that style and weren’t going to buy anyways!
But the most important thing is that you’re going to attract that specific group of people who want what you have.
Once I started focusing in on my ideal customer and what they were looking for I started to see traction in my own business. I had more engagement on my social media which made things way more fun and I also got more traffic to my website and made more sales.
4 WAYS TO FIND OUR WHO YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER IS
1: Think about who needs what you have. Who could you help with your product?
When you think about your leathergood think about the person who could most benefit from it. You might be thinking, well a lot of people could benefit from it, it’s a great product. But if you had to prioritize the kinds of people who could most benefit or who would want it most, who would be at the top of the list.
So if you make leathergoods like leather leashes and collars for pets then those pet owners and animals lovers would probably be at the top of your list for your ideal customer.
Do you make eco friendly diaper bags that convert into high-end looking backpacks for the high power executive mother?
Do you make leather accessories for magicians? (This is a real things btw. One of my students in Lucrative Leathercraft does this and it is so specific and genius.) Just think about it, how many other leathersmiths are making leather accessories for magicians? Not many.
So the more specific you get the more you stand out.
2: Look at your competition. What is their audience like?
Check out who your competition is serving with their leathergoods and you will probably find who you can serve and who your ideal customer is too.
The key is to make sure the competition that you’re looking at is truely your competition. They should be making similar goods, with similar quality methods and materials and at a similar price point.
Some people call this the coattail method because you’re riding on someone elses coattails to find the answers. Everyone does this. It takes some time and research, but it is really effective.
3: What stores carry similar products to yours?
Another great way to find your ideal customer is to find a few stores that carry products similar to yours. Check out these brands and who their audiences are on social media.
Look and see who follows them?
Who are the most engaged people that are following them and what are they like?
What kinds of comments are they making?
What are their customers saying about their products?
You can get so much amazing information from this kind of “stalking” people online.
4: Which press publications feature similar products to yours?
While you’re “stalking” your competition, notice which publications they’re getting press from. A lot of brands will have an entire page on their site dedicated to the magazines, blogs and other publications that have mentioned them or featured them in their publication.
This is a great way for them to show off and also a gold mine of info for you.
Once you know which publications are interested in your competition, then you know that their audience is probably going to be interested in you as well. Dig into their audience on social media and again do your research. What is the audience like? Check out the most engaged followers - the people who comment and like every single post. This will give you a good idea of what this customer is like and certain characteristics about them that you can use in your marketing
Just know that finding your ideal customer doesn’t have to be hard and difficult as some people like to make it. Yes, it can take some research and time, but you don’t need to over complicate it.
If you’re still having a hard time finding your ideal customer, then take a look at your product and see if you can make it more specifically for a specific group.
Also know that your ideal customer might change with your new products, changing times, and new ways that you discover that you can market your business to.
