Why Ideal Client Avatars Don’t Work for your Business
You know you want to narrow and define your niche. You know once anyone asks you What You Do, the very next thing they’ll ask is…hey, Who’s It For?
Type “Ideal Client” into a google search bar, or begin looking up how-to tips in the Pinterest search engine and you’re inundated with free worksheets helping you ask tons of questions to find your Ideal Client Avatar.
An avatar is a kind of profile describing your ideal client so you have something to reference when you’re:
Positioning your brand
Creating content
Sharing your message
Unfortunately, since I started my brand strategy and coaching business a few years ago, I’ve seen the concept of an avatar be grossly mis-used. In some cases, I’ve seen entrepreneurs misunderstand the purpose of an ideal client avatar, rendering the avatar useless for their business.
THE TYPES OF QUESTIONS YOU ASK
One of the biggest problems comes in the questions you ask and the things you think you need to know in order to define your niche and get clear on who your ideal clients really are.
Demographic questions like:
How old is she?
Is she single / married?
How many kids?
Any pets?
City / suburbs?
Favorite questions like:
What’s her favorite morning beverage?
Celebratory drink fave?
Favorite musician?
What’s your fave: beach or mountains?
Would you rather: hike or take a yoga class?
Knowing these things can be icing on the cake - those fun facts that can help spice up your copy to help your ideal client feel like you know him / her. However, ONLY knowing these things about your ideal client doesn’t help you sell your product / service to them.
You want to ask questions that dive deeper and get to the heart of who they are based on how you specifically can help them. If your avatar is only made up of demographics and favorites, you’re missing an entire and vital category: psychographics.
What you want to make sure you ask first and foremost:
Ask relevant questions.
Ask questions that reveal their ambitions.
Ask questions about their current challenges.
Ask questions about their goals + dreams.
Ask questions that uncover their current mindsets that could be helping or hindering them.
THE TYPE OF BUSINESS YOU HAVE
Another reason why an Ideal Client Avatar Worksheet you find online may not be helping you to narrow your niche is it doesn’t take into consideration what type of business you have.
So while you’re trying to fit a square peg into a round hole answering questions about what type of person he / she is when they show up at a party (party animal, wallflower, the intelligent talker, etc)…maybe you’re not speaking directly to the consumer in your business and these questions are irrelevant.
Is your business B2C (Business To Consumer)? Or is it B2B (Business To Business)? For B2C you want to describe who your ideal customer is and for B2B you want to instead be profiling the type of business you’re interested in attracting.
Having worked with a variety of visionary entrepreneurs, sometimes you can be B2B and still be okay defining an actual client profile that’s a person. This is the case when you’re attracting small business owners who are building personal brands and are the face of their business. (Think coaches, consultants, course creators, community builders).
However, you may be a B2B business with the desire to attract bigger brands: companies like Target, Anthropologie, Yeti or REI. And in that case you need to be asking different questions - - - how to describe the businesses you’re looking to attract, not the people. Are they entertainment businesses? Purpose-driven businesses? Green or eco-friendly businesses?
In summary, an Ideal Client Avatar worksheet you find for free online isn’t necessarily the answer you need for identifying your ideal client. It can be a helpful place to start to get your juices flowing in the right direction, but remember to make it relevant for YOUR business, ask the RIGHT questions and trust your instincts.
When you commit to building your brand strategy foundation, one of the very first steps is to develop your clearly defined niche. You have to know this piece first because it informs every next step of your brand strategy. You have to know who your business is meant for in order to position it clearly.
This, and much much more, is the process I guide you through in the Brandpolish Academy- - - if you’re ready to finally get clear, jump on the waitlist to be first in line when doors open again soon.