TIPS ON HOW TO FIND YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER

Who Is Your Ideal Customer?

Finding the perfect customer is one of the first things we tackle when we work with creative small business owners on their digital marketing strategy. Start by thinking about who this person is! (or ‘avatar’ / ‘buyer persona’ in marketing lingo) This process of identifying your ideal customer will help you solve many of your business challenges, including marketing. Who is the person that you want most as your customer? And who will most likely buy from you again and again?

Questions to ask yourself

The best way to do this is by gathering more specific focused information to create your perfect customer id. Think of it like creating a character.

Here are some question to help you get started:

• What is your character’s age and gender?
• What is your character’s occupation and income?
• Does he/she/they run their own business? Is he/she/they self-employed, or does he/she/they work for a company?
• Where does your character live? City, town, rural location?
• What is your character’s relationship status? Does he/she/they have children? If so, what age?
• Your character’s interests: Where does he/she/they spend their time? What blogs, books, magazines does he/she/they read? What does he/she/they watch or listen to? Where does he/she/they go on holiday? Does he/she/they have hobbies or play sports?
• What brands does your character use and buy from?
• What is your character’s values, fears, dreams and aspirations?
• What motivates your character and what is he/she/they passionate about?
• What problem could your character solve by buying your product or service?
• When does your character buy your product or service?
• What would be your character’s objections to buying your product or service?
• What social media platforms or search engines does he/she/they use?

These are a lot of questions and you might not be able to answer them all. However, the more questions you can answer the closer you will get to finding your ideal customer.

How To Find Your Ideal Customer?

Once you have defined who your ideal customer is you need to find them!

Let’s say you make jewellery that’s inspired by nature. You want people to see your work! Having a visual business there is a good chance that you will find your customers on more visual platforms like Instagram or Pinterest.

Do some research

Listen to conversations! Find out what people are talking about, what they want to learn more about and what they care about. For example, are they talking about handcrafted products? Is their community important to them? Do they visit local markets or craft fairs? Do they love nature? These are the people that want to buy from creative small businesses like yours.

Now it’s time to dig deeper. Look at the accounts that they visit on social media, along with the markets, shops, restaurants, events. And see who is following them. As a result you might discover more potential customers who appear to share the values of your ideal customer.

Show up where your audience hangs out, either online through platforms like Instagram – or in person at events, markets and fairs.⁠⠀

You can also find out more details on who your perfect customer might be by checking your audience insights on Pinterest analytics, Instagram insights and Google analytics.

Action your research

Create inspiring Pinterest boards

Firstly, create Pinterest boards that your ideal customer will love. It gives them another opportunity to find you.

For example:

• If they love jewellery that is inspired by nature create a board about nature or seasonal aesthetic.
• If they love sustainable fashion create boards with inspiring spring\summer or autumn/winter collections.
• If they love camping or glamping create a board of beautiful campsites in wild places.

Find like-minded people

Secondly, find like-minded people by searching for hashtags on Instagram that match your ideal customer and by joining in with hashtag projects. Your ideal customer might be joining in too.

For example:

• So Good In Every Way #sgiew @sogoodineveryway – Celebrating the “good” and founded by Ali Clifford @incredibusy
• Song of Seasons #songofseasons @song.of.seasons – Moderated by @foxglove_and_ivy & @janiceissitt_life_style
• Joanne Hawker @joannehawker – Designer & Maker, Founder of #MarchMeetTheMaker

Join small business communities

Thirdly, join small business communities which your ideal customer could be following on social media.

For example:

• The Slow Living Guide – The Slow Living Guide is a carefully curated directory of small sustainable businesses around the UK and slow living blog.
• Just a Card – “Since 2015 we have been highlighting the value to both customers and independents of shopping small to keep our towns, high streets, markets, events and online small business economy vibrant.”

Provide free downloadable resources

Last but not least, create free downloadable tips, planners, checklists, Ebooks or guides that your ideal customer might find useful. At the same time you are growing your email list.

For example:

• Top tips of how to make something
• Top tips of how to look after something
• A weekly or yearly planner
• Ebooks about a subject you’re teaching
• Food Recipes
• The ultimate guide about something

The options are endless. Just put yourself in the shoes of your ideal customers and discover how you can help or inspire them.

More Pinterest Help

Check out our Pinterest For Business Online Course, One-To-One Pinterest Coaching and Free Recourses that show you why Pinterest works and how to implement an effective strategy.