If, like me, you initially thought an avatar was a cartoon representation of yourself on video games, you are halfway there. A customer avatar in the business world is a representation of your ideal customer (you can draw a cartoon to assist if you are a visual person).
Your ideal customer has values, problems, pain points, and objections that you can talk to them about in your social media. They speak a particular way and hang out on specific socials. If you want them to know about your business, you need to be in those places and talking their language.
By taking the time to identify your ideal customer in detail, you can find and communicate with them in a much more effective way that increases conversion to sales.
1. Be where your customers are
First thing you need to ask yourself is whether your ideal customer is actually online? If you are targeting off grid living, dog lovers with your new organic dog treats, you might be best at farmers markets and country fairs. That’s great, you’re probably not reading this. If on the other hand, you are targeting millennials who were practically born with a phone in their hand, you will still need to work out their social media platforms (and should really start now!). Every social media platform is known for a particular demographic and new platforms are coming out all the time. Taking the time to work from your experience, or your research, who your customer avatar is, will help you locate the social media platform that will have the greatest impact for your business.
2. Speak their language
This goes beyond speaking French to your customers in France. This is considering whether your ideal customer avatar has a degree in physics or a passion for Minecraft and a high school certificate specialising in Woodwork. Do they read the medical digest or the Mamamia online highlights of news they need to know today? Ideal customer avatars are not for judging, just knowing, for knowledge is power.
If you are writing to a 50-year-old Doctor of Medicine you will need to speak the language of medical science, provide evidence and reference sources they will respect. If you are writing to new parents about the importance of connecting with grandparents on a new technology, you may be more conversational with a greater focus on human connection.
3. Solve their problems
Ideal customer avatars are a little like underwear, great to have, but not necessarily great to share. Having one that you write for, does not mean you can’t or won’t work with anyone else. That would be a very small pool of clients. So, you don’t necessarily want to share all the details. But I can share that mine is only just getting into social media marketing and is interested to learn a little more.
When I think about my ideal customer’s problems, I expect they might be having difficulty working out where their clients are online, maybe which hashtags to use, or even how to create their posts and schedule them for the greatest effect. Often, they have never considered exactly who they are writing for. To connect with them, I share information like this.
I explain parts of social media that can be confusing. I invite questions and offer assistance that meets them where they are on the journey. By sharing the right information, my business appeals my ideal customer – you! You can do the same to reach yours.
4. Connect with their values
Whether we are aware of it or not, our values influence all the decisions we make. Often, we don’t even think of our own, so how can we think of the values that our ideal hypothetical customer might have? It’s a good question, but you might be surprised.
Think about the values connected with your product. Sometimes it’s as simple as family. Other times it might be environment, or success. Perhaps even respect or relaxation. If these are the values associated with your product, your ideal customer is likely to hold them too. So, write about them. Share the value benefit that most connects with the values of your ideal customer avatar.
When you connect with your customers values, you are far more likely to convert their interest into a sale.
5. Pre-empt their objections
If you’ve been in business for a while, you will already know some of the reasons your potential customers are hesitating, hopefully even your ideal customers (unless they never hesitate, in which case would you please share your secret?). If you are new in business, play a little trial and error, talk to your early clients, and keep it in mind as you grow.
Could it be that they hesitate because of lack of money? Or is it more about whether your product works? Maybe they are hesitating because they don’t understand what you sell. All these reasons and more specific to your business can be pre-emptively answered in your social media posts.
You can post reviews to assure your ideal customer avatar that your product does what you say it does. You can explanation how it helps them save money if money is a reason people hesitate. Pre-empting doesn’t mean Q&A but rather a marketing strategy that avoids the need for Q&A.
Need help identifying your customer avatar?
If you’ve read all this and are interested, but a little confused. Or unsure how to build your ideal customer avatar, contact me for a free no-obligation 30-minute chat about your business to point you in the right direction.
