Stop letting Fred distract you

Why you might not have your ideal client nailed like you thought.

Understanding your client is central to your business. Not just marketing but every element of your business. But I am sure you know that.

What you may not know is that quite often your ideal client isn’t actually your IDEAL client. It is probably more a mixture of comfort zone and historical experience. 

In just a few months I have come across multiple business owners who had their client persona all mapped out but when I started asking questions that linked their 'ideal client' to their services things didn't quite match up. 

The trouble is that on paper they had done all the marketing basics.  

Client persona ✔️

Services and Packages ✔️

Value proposition ✔️

But when you put it all together it was mismatched.

THE PROBLEM WITH MISMATCHED MARKETING

When your marketing is mismatched it sets off a world of pain. How many of these do you recognise? 

❌ Clients do not approach you 

❌ Your sales conversions are low 

❌ Your engagement isn’t growing 

❌ You find it difficult to create content ideas 

❌ You feel like something is wrong 

❌ Your confidence starts to dip 

❌ Marketing seems hard

❌ Your team are all pulling in different directions 

 Want my advice? Here’s an actual quote from one of my marketing review calls….

 “Stop talking to Fred and neglecting our Robert”

Here are a couple of examples from the clients I have worked with recently…

Client A explained during a marketing review that they were trying to sell an emotional product to very logical people using emotional language even though they had much better results with the more emotionally driven people. We realised that the reason for this was they had a history with the more logical industries from their corporate days and were falling into their comfort zone. Once this was highlighted it made a lot of sense to change to where the success was now. That change sparked a whole different approach for content which made marketing easier and more enjoyable. 

Client B was selling a ‘fantabulous’ product which didn’t get the attention it deserved during the launch. When we started, it was very clear they had done their research into their ideal client. But during the launch it became apparent that they were targeting people who were indecisive and held themselves back when really, their best clients, the ones where they could add the most value were people who were far more bold and decisive in their thinking. 

Initially we thought the reason for this was simply the language being misinterpreted attracting the wrong crowd but when we started to dig, we realised that it was the wrong positioning and maybe the wrong delivery model for the ‘real’ ideal clients. 

Often we complete these types of tasks, the mapping of a persona, development of product packages on our own perhaps after being given some advice or maybe by using a template off the internet. After all, we should know who we want to work with and why our products are the right fit ... right?

Well, it appears not always. Working on your own to get started is great but in reality you get much better results when discussing it with someone who will challenge you. But just like copy writing, it is always best to have someone else edit, or sense check your work. You could have made a glaringly obvious mistake but you can't see it as you are so .. in it.

You can't see the wood for the trees!

When you talk your brain engages on a much deeper level. When you are challenged you start to see insights that were not clear before.  You benefit from a different perspective and experience. You face questions you had previously avoided or glossed over and together you start to shape your 'real' ideal client

With 2020 just around the corner, before you hit your marketing campaigns hard I would suggest that you grab your mate, book a 121 with a trusted colleague or assemble your team to ensure that your 2020 marketing does not get off to a bad start. 

If you would like help identifying your ideal client please get in touch at kelli@kellidoorne.online or if you have a question, add a comment below and I will do my best to help.