One of the things I feel very strongly about as I look around at all of the different ideas and programs available is that no one seems to be talking about what I consider to be the basics: 1) Knowing who your Ideal Client is and why; and 2) Understanding you are now a Business Owner. Today I want to talk just a bit more about Ideal Client, and next time I’ll talk about being a Business Owner.
I have a number of VAs who contact me with what they call “marketing problems.” They are having a difficult time filling their practice. During our conversations, I find they don’t really have a marketing problem so much as they have an Ideal Client problem. They are trying to be everything to everyone. When I ask them who their Ideal Client is I am usually told women, or women in transition, or coaches, etc. While that sounds great, it doesn’t tell me who your Ideal Client is and why she’s ideal. If you don’t know who you are doing what to, how can you do it? And therein lies the real problem: It’s not about marketing, but about knowing who you are marketing to and why at a deep core level.
There are three words I see being used interchangeably around Ideal Client. They are: Niche, Target Market, and Ideal Client. Many people use these three words synonymously. They are not the same. Let’s take a look at each one briefly:
Niche – This is primarily an occupational grouping. For example: Sports Channels, Financial Planners, Coaches, CPAs, VAs, etc.
Target Market – This is a grouping based on one or more common characteristics. For example: age, sex, location, occupation, product purchases, etc.
Ideal Client – This is the person (and yes I am going to refer to this as one person even though you will have several) who you connect with at your core. This is the person you know extremely well, so well, in fact, that you can list their problems as though they were your own problems. You understand their values, desires, and beliefs as well as you understand your own. It is because of this deep understanding that you are able to offer effective solutions and/or guidance to your Ideal Client.
It is this concept around the Ideal Client that will allow you to address the problems of your Ideal Client, offer solutions to your Ideal Client, and create the content on your website that speaks to your Ideal Client. In turn, this will allow you to market more effectively and easily. Once you know who you are doing what to, the rest of your marketing becomes easier. 
©2010 Cindy Hillsey
{ 3 trackbacks }