Here's How Do You Understand Who Your Ideal Customer Is?

And why is that important? 😉

As a huge fan of Harry Potter, let me start by creating a sense of urgency and importance. In good stories, there's always a hero who struggles with something, prompting them to start a journey to find a way out. Donald Miller's template (BrandScript) looks like this:

A Character -> Has a problem -> Meets a Guide -> Who gives a plan -> Calls them to action -> That ends in success/helps avoid failure.

And then the Character transforms.

As you (maybe) noticed, it all starts with the Character—their needs, fears, and expectations. That’s why an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is so important. To avoid shouting into the void, you need to know who you're talking to, the best way to communicate, and even what language to use. For instance, if you try talking to me in Norwegian, no matter how loud you scream, I won't understand a word. I might cry, but that's about it...

Okay, hopefully, we've established that understanding your Ideal Character is crucial. Now, how do you create it?

If you google this topic, you'll find tons of information. Some of it might be filled with buzzwords and fluff, but generally, you'll discover that the key components of an effective ICP include:

• Industry
• Company size
• Number of employees
• Business needs
• Customer base
• Challenges and aspirations
• Valuation
• Budget and annual revenue

This is great, but to build a story using the template I mentioned earlier, you need a touch of empathy. Enter the empathy map! I know you enjoyed my little joke there. Empathy—empathy mapping...

Anyway, back to business. Empathy mapping adds Pain and Gain sections to these details.

• Pains: Fears, Struggles, Frustrations
• Gains: Needs, Measures of Success, Hopes, and Dreams

I'll leave a link to an empathy mapping template in the comments. I encourage you to print it out, sit down, and try to fill it out for any of your customers. It doesn't matter if you're in B2C, B2B, or B2-I-have-no-idea-what-you're-talking-about. If someone pays you, you have customers. Analyze them and understand as deeply as you can: Who are they? What do they need? Why do they need it?

I hope this was helpful. Let me know if it was, because I'm on a mission to make LinkedIn articles for small businesses and startups a bit less boring and more useful.