Your Client Avatar

Do you really need to take the time to build a client avatar?

You may wonder, “Why is it so important to have an ideal client?” or “how do I make my own ideal client?” There are many good answers for these questions, the main one being: Creating the perfect client avatar means you know exactly who you are marketing to while staying true to your brand.

Yet, some people think they don’t need a client avatar, that they can just have their own selves in mind when creating their content or product. Let me tell you right now, that’s not how it works.

Don’t just make your ideal client yourself!

If you realize that you are someone who does this, now is the time to stop. By making yourself your own client avatar, you are limiting yourself TO yourself. It is important to reach beyond your own demographics and likes or dislikes. Odds are, there is an important differentiating detail between you and a real client that could have brought traffic to you, but instead simply turned them away.

For example if you are an interior designer and you think your ideal client is you, then your ideal client wouldn’t need your services, they’d already be an expert! See what we mean?!!

People aren’t going to be diving for your product if they don’t see it right away, so you need to make sure that you are marketing to the right client so they DO see it easily. After all, whatever product you have, it is your job to sell it to someone else, NOT to yourself.

So what now? What do you need to do to create the perfect client avatar?

1. First thing’s first: Demographics.

This simply means figuring out the basics of your ideal client. Examples of this could be:

Where they live
How old they are
If they are employed or not
If they are married or not
How many kids they have
What level of education they have
And so on

This is important to know because it is the basic foundation for the type of client you want to attract to your business.

Figuring out what demographics are important to your business can help you figure out a lot about the client. You can figure out if your client has the time, money or effort to invest in what you are producing. For example let’s say you offer a time consuming class like pottery, quilting or cake decorating. Someone who is always busy and on the run is not very likely to take you up on those classes.

2. Once you finish figuring out your client’s demographics, it’s time to go a little bit deeper into this person’s interests and personality.

Here is where you start to question the deeper things about this person such as their:

Likes
Dislikes
Fears
Why they go online
Their favorite social media channel
What they are willing to spend money on
If they like quality over quantity
What they would consider a business
What their favorite brands are
Their life goals
What they have time for
What they do not have time for
What about their life would have them wanting or needing your product or service
And so on

The know you more about this person, the more you will understand why they want or need your product. Doing this will bring real people to you, real people who are ready and willing to buy your product.

If you base these things on yourself, you may find that your demographic and the things you need are not the same as what others need.

3. Give your Client a Name & Story

If you make your client as real and human as possible, when you’re creating products or creating content, you are able to market directly to them. It becomes second nature to have this person in mind and easier for you to come up with the next thing to sell or create.

Let’s say for example, that I create my avatar client, Jane. She has a name, so that’s it right? Nope! Now it is time to create her story. What are Jane’s fears, struggles, where is she from, why does that matter.

We give our avatar client names and a story as a way to remember everything we have created about them. Remember earlier when we talked about demographics and interests? We want to remember those things when we create! Having “Jane” in mind will remind us those important things about her when we are in the creative process.

4. Practice

When I say practice, I mean practice telling someone about this client so it is ready and fresh on your mind, and practice coming up with more questions and answers about your ideal client avatar and how your product benefits them. Talk to someone about this perfect client – the more you practice, the faster you can create, market or sell to those people who are ready to buy!