Your Ideal Customer is someone who is inclined to be receptive to your message and your offering. A true Ideal Customer fits a profile that complements your brand and its offering AND has the access, the resources and the inclination to actively pursue, purchase and pay for your product.
Think about that: An Ideal Customer doesn’t just fit the profile, he or she also has the ability, and the willingness, to put their money where their mouth is, so to speak. They are active in the marketplace, searching for a product solution and are a ready, willing and able buyer. Interest or Intent is not enough. Ability to act is also essential. Your greatest potential for sales success lies with these prospects. Find them.
To know them is to sell them. Invest time in identifying, describing and getting to know your Ideal Customers. Describe him, her or them in detailed words and in demographic categories such as age, sex, education, household income, marital status, home ownership and more. Seek to understand them. Are they early adopters, followers or late bloomers? Brand conscious buyers or savvy shoppers? Research and understand their media habits. What media do they use, online and off? How do they obtain their information and share it? How do they interact with others? Are they new media users or traditionalists? Are they tuned into trends or do they tend toward the safe and established? What are their priorities and drivers? What is important to them and why?
These are only a sampling of the questions that you should ask and answer to create a detailed profile of the Ideal Customers whom your brand should be built for. Get to know them, intimately. They are your Target Audience.
And remember, branding is all about THEM … not you. What your target audience thinks and cares about is all that really matters. Make sure that your product — and your message — are relevant. … Lori Martinek, Branding Expert & Author