Does your business have an ideal customer profile? Your ideal customer profile (ICP) describes your target audience as an individual. It also tells you where you should focus your sales and marketing efforts for the best results. An ICP incorporates objective data to help you develop a clear picture of your ideal customer and streamline your marketing efforts.
With all the resources available online, creating an effective ICP is easier than it’s ever been. Here are some tips to help you source the data you need to develop your ICP.
Social media offers a wealth of opportunities to learn about your market. You can look at your own followers to gain insight into their demographic information and attitudes. Check out their profiles and listen in on their conversations. You can also post questions to generate conversations for marketing purposes.
Go beyond your own followers and you can learn even more. Use hashtags to search for keywords related to your audience and your products. Follow the competition and see how they’re marketing to your audience.
Check out customer reviews of your own and similar products. Often, people will explain in the reviews why they liked or didn’t like a product. This is valuable feedback you can use to learn about their tastes and attitudes. Respond to comments with further questions and you can start a dialogue that can yield even more insights
You can also learn about your audience by observing their behavior. Look at website analytics and see what pages people spend the most time on. Where do they take action and click? Which traffic sources are sending the most traffic and why? There are a number of free analytics programs available like Google Analytics.
At every touchpoint with your customers, ask questions and take note of their answers. Social media listening and other passive forms of data gathering are valuable, but the opportunity to directly ask your audience questions is priceless. Through these kinds of interactions, you will uncover their needs more efficiently and effectively.
Never make assumptions. Assumptions are the enemy of a good ICP. Each piece of information in your profile should be backed by verified data. You may be surprised by some of the discoveries you make when researching your market. Keep an open mind and you’ll reap the rewards.
Your competitors offer a great deal of insight into your target market. Follow them, and see how they market to their audience. What’s their position in the market? Why do people buy from them? How much do they charge and how much are people buying? What do their customers say about them?
The first step is to look at the products and services you offer and decide who’s the perfect customer for them. Then, you can start researching and expanding your ideal customer profile.
Want to learn more about how you can create an ideal customer profile? Check out our upcoming course “Nail Your Niche” at Mavenzeal Academy.
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