If you skip defining your ideal customer, everything else in your plan becomes guesswork. Channel choices, messages, offers, and pricing, none of it works without clarity on who you’re trying to reach and why they buy. Here’s a straightforward guide to doing this stage well.
Why this stage matters
- Better leads: Filters out price-shoppers; attracts people who value your work.
- Sharper messaging: You stop writing for “everyone” and start sounding specific.
- Smarter spend: You choose channels your buyers use.
- Operational fit: You build offers around work you do best and profit from.
Step 1: Define “best-fit” with clear criteria
Create a short checklist that describes your best customers today:
- Demographics/firmographics: location, size, budget range, sector.
- Situation: urgent problem, life/event trigger, buying window.
- Behaviour: how they research, who decides, red flags (late payers, scope creep).
- Value fit: jobs you’re brilliant at; margin; likelihood to repeat/refer.
Step 2: Map pains, gains, and triggers
For each best-fit type, list:
- Pains: what’s costly, risky, frustrating right now.
- Gains: outcomes they want (faster, safer, more confident, more revenue).
- Triggers: moments that start the search (renewal date, new premises, new target, seasonality).
- Objections: price, time, trust, disruption, “we tried this before.”
Step 3: Write the mini persona
Structure:
- Name/label: “Owner-operator aesthetics clinic, Southsea.”
- Goal in one line: “Fill weekday diary with higher-value treatments.”
- What they care about: 3 bullets.
- What they fear: 3 bullets.
- Where they hang out: search terms, social platforms, groups, events.
- How to win trust: proof they recognise (reviews, before/after, turnaround).
Step 4: Turn insights into messaging
Create Messaging Pillars (3–5) you’ll repeat everywhere:
- Value: the outcome you deliver (plain benefits).
- Proof: reviews, before/after, short case notes.
- Process: how it works, in steps.
- People: your ethos—why you care, how you show up.
- Purpose: integrity boundaries (what you won’t do).
Step 5: Choose channels that fit each persona
For each persona, answer:
- Search or scroll? If search → website/SEO/GBP; if scroll → social + proof.
- Direct or nurtured? If direct → clear CTA; if nurtured → email + content cadence.
- Local or broad? If local → GBP, local pages, reviews; if broad → niche communities, partnerships.
Common pitfalls to avoid
- Writing for “anyone who needs X.” (Too broad; sounds generic.)
- Too many personas. (You don’t need them. Pick two or three.)
- Vague proof. (“Great service” ≠ proof. Use specifics.)
- Adding channels instead of fixing the message/offer/process.
If you want help doing this properly (and painlessly), I run a 6-week, 1:1 coaching programme that finishes with a complete strategy and a 90-day action plan you can run. Friendly, plain English, and focused on attracting the right customers, not just more noise.
