Branding 201: Identifying Your Ideal Customer

We’ve talked about finding your why to better connect with your customers and prospects, but what does that ideal customer look like? Are they top-tier decision makers or gatekeepers? Are they local or global? Are they at the beginning or towards the end of their buyer’s journey?

The truth is that it’s much harder to sell to the wrong person. That’s why knowing who is your ideal customer can help you direct your messaging and reduce the hustle of the sales process.

Let’s define your ideal customer:

Who Do You Want to Work With?

Demographics: Do you want to talk to high-level executives? IT decision makers? Think about the departments and titles of the people you want to work with. CEOs are busy; do you have a backup plan if you can’t get in contact with that person? Are you targeting small businesses, large enterprises or both? While large corporations have more gatekeepers, small businesses have tighter budgets. By targeting decision makers and gatekeepers, you can ensure you’ll be connected with the most influential people.

Geographics: Where your desired customers live also plays a factor in creating the ideal customer profile. Is community a large selling point in your why? If so, you might target more local companies and small businesses to allow you to build a community within your customer base. If your why is to create a global impact, you might look to larger companies across the nation or even internationally. Keep in mind that businesses in other countries may have different processes, business practices and communication styles and you may need to adjust your ideal customer profile to accommodate those needs.

Industry: Do you come from the manufacturing industry and aim to provide a better IT experience for manufacturing companies? If industry plays a pivotal role in your why, your customer profile may include industry-specific companies. It’s important to note that if you choose an industry-specific route, it doesn’t prevent you from serving other industries (after all, business is business), but it does mean you should more heavily target the industry you’d prefer to work with.

How Do You Reach Them?

Once you’re done identifying your ideal customer, there are many ways you can reach them through marketing collateral and sales efforts.

Appointment Setting: Appointment setters call prospects that fit your ideal customer profile. If you outsource appointment setters, this list may come from your own sales department or can be a list purchased by your partner. Appointment setters are great for getting warm leads in your door.

Email Campaigns: You can create custom email campaigns to target your prospects and existing customers. Whether you want to send timely security emails or remind customers about other services they need to meet compliances, custom campaigns are the perfect chance to reach your ideal customer with opportunities you know they need.

Website & SEO Optimization: Your website is the first thing most prospects see when they want to learn about your services and business. By optimizing your website to appear on the first page of search engine results, you can ensure people see you over your competition. By developing a user-friendly website, you can entice visitors to fill out forms and contact you directly.

Social Media & SEM Campaigns: Almost everyone is on social media, making it a great place to remind people about your services. Regularly scheduled posts (organic and paid) show prospects and customers that you’re still relevant, your business is open and you’re willing to connect with your customers. By investing in SEM (search engine marketing), you can use paid advertising to direct customers back to your website or social media pages.

Conferences, Trade Shows & Events: Often an overlooked outlet, conferences, trade shows and events are a great place to find prospects. Find out which conferences your ideal customer is attending and set aside a budget to allow your top sales reps to attend and get your company’s name in front of new prospects. These events are also good opportunities to let your existing, happy customers do part of the work for you by bringing their friends to your booth.

How Marketopia Can Help

As your partner, Marketopia provides the marketing collateral and training needed to define and reach your ideal customer. Our company focuses on providing opportunities to help you generate more sales, more leads and more profit. For additional tips on identifying your ideal customer profile and how Marketopia can help, contact us today.

RECENT POSTS