Why is it way easier to talk to a friend over tacos and beers than your ideal customer? Because you know how to! Building an ideal customer profile allows you the opportunity to truly build a relationship with someone, not just hope they click 'add to cart.'
When you first get started and have all the nervous butterflies, it's hard not to internalize what you would want to see and hear as a customer. It is important to have a brand that is representative of you but also connects enough with your ideal customer to gain their trust.
Why is it important?
It is important that you do a deep dive into your ideal customer before even getting into the nuts and bolts of your brand. There are three reasons why.
It helps you understand what they want. What do they want or need? What is keeping them back from meeting their ultimate goals? What is stressing them out that you can solve easily?
It helps you clearly communicate with them to build trust. Like I mentioned before, talking to friends over tacos and beers is easy because you KNOW them. You know their likes and dislikes and what makes them tick. By understanding their needs, you can understand how you can help them overcome those issues.
It gives them a touchpoint to connect with you as an individual. By being conversational versus sales-y, you become more than just the product you are trying to sell. They are building a relationship with you and investing in you as much as you are in them.
By focusing on the ideal customer, you will start to build relationships that you want to serve and find the business worthwhile.
This part of the process is by far my favorite. I remember being in grad school and often volunteering to write our customer profiles. Maybe, I was an FBI profiler in a previous life but I love to think about how people live and why they make the buying decisions they do.
For example, I created the ideal customer for the Katherine Way Beach Boutique when I was serving as the Creative Designer there. Katherine Way is a Made in America company that targets the 45-75 crowd with UV and moisture-wicking properties in classic cuts.
Katie Anne is a 35-year-old married woman with two children. She is a proud graduate of UGA and active in their Alumni Association. She works 9-5 in insurance and then picks up her oldest daughter from dance. She is looking for casual pieces that can easily transition her from the office to late-night dance rehearsals, keeping her cool and comfortable in the Florida heat. Katie Anne is currently looking for affordable pieces for every day but willing to invest in pieces for events once she has established brand loyalty. Her hobbies include watching college football, spending time with friends, and walking dogs at the shelter with her son to earn volunteer hours.
This type of customer profile puts you in the right frame of mind to write emails, create content, and have a conversation with the Katie Anne of your business.
In the next post, we'll cover how to actually build your Ideal Customer Profile!
Happy Designing!
B
Having an unconventional high school experience (Art School kid here!) has defined Becca into the creative that she is today.
With degrees in Fashion Merchandising + Luxury Management, Becca understands what branding means to heritage brands (think Givenchy + Moet) and how those attributes can be applied to your business. Let's Work Together!
Did you miss the other parts of this series?