Create Your Ideal Client Avatar
At all stages of your business you are going to need to make decisions about the direction you are going to take. From the style of your website to attending a conference. From accepting a speaker request to employing new staff. Every decision you make will in one way or another be impacted by your ideal client.
It is therefore of real importance that you have great clarity around who your ideal client is. The best way to do this? Create your client avatar. Give them a name, a personality, a family, a job. What car do they drive? Where do they live? What are their hobbies? Make it specific to this person. It doesn’t mean that every one of your clients will fit this avatar exactly. However, if your avatar is a true representation of your ideal client, then when you are making a decision or stumped with a particular problem, you can think of your ideal client avatar and use them as the basis for making your choice.
Currently my client avatar is closely based on one of our actual clients. Before this client came to us, my client avatar was based on Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Kate Reddy, in the movie ‘I Don’t Know How She Does It’. I had a poster of the movie up on the wall and we brainstormed the types of requests Kate might ask us. We took into account her children, her husband, her work and travel. We took into account their old car, the fact that they took a lot of public transport, that the children were in primary school and that they had a nanny but no other assistance. If Kate rang us to enquire about our services, what are the key things we would tell her? If we met Kate at a networking event, what questions would we ask her? If we were writing an e-newsletter, what types of information would Kate want to read? Was it likely that she would even read it?
Using a client avatar to get really clear on your ideal client is not only fun, but really helps you laser beam your focus on what you need to do in your business to attract and keep your ideal client. Although the initial concept may challenge you, once you’ve done this, you will find that hard decisions get easier, and the question of “what shall I do today?”, especially at the beginning of your business, becomes a no brainer.
This is an extract from my book Defining Your Ideal Personal Concierge Client – Why they and not your services will be your niche. You can download your copy from Amazon.
PLUS download your FREE Ideal Client Avatar template here.
Abbie Allen is the founder of The Concierge Society, as well as Lifestyle Elements and le Porter. She started Lifestyle Elements in 2004 at the age of 23 and now operates internationally from her head office in Adelaide, South Australia. She was the 2014 Institute of Concierge and Lifestyle Managers Association Golden Key Award winner, as well as a finalist in the South Australia Telstra Business Women’s Awards in 2012. She works with her husband Tim, and they have three daughters. If you handed Abbie a brand new book, a glass of red wine and some chocolate, plus the time to enjoy it, you would have made her day! Have you joined our free private community? Click here now!