Getting Super Specific With Your Customer Avatar

A counterintuitive process that starts with the outcomes

In 80% of the conversations that I had last week, the person I was having a conversation with, was unsure about their ideal client.

Some of them had their avatar narrowed down to a few possible avatars but they were yet unsure about who their ideal client could be.

They were so focused on the traits of the perfect person, that they forgot to think about the transformation and the opportunity to open new markets thinking about the transformation first!

The precept for this approach is to forget about the person to start with – but focus on the transformation first!

By focusing on the transformation first, you’re opening yourself to new opportunities and new markets (that you might not have considered with a “people first” approach).

#1 - Define the core transformation

Start with remembering your purpose and why you and your service exist. Usually, your purpose is to change or transform other people’s lives.

Your purpose is centered around a change or transformation that you want to achieve for your own life and the lives of the clients you work with. Your services are the vehicle through which you can make these transformations happen.

And if you build your business around a certain transformation that affects your and your client’s lives in a magnitude that makes your offer utterly desirable for the right people – then you need to be able to offer something that’s significant, distinct, and valuable for the people you want to work with.

When you think “transformation first”, then you need to define the core transformation that you are offering first.

It could be…

From couch potato to active yogi mastering handstand positions
From procrastinator to productivity powerhouse
From being a dead weight on your dog’s leash to your dog’s hero
From content outsourcer or AI-user to original content creator
From “winging” your business to in-control wealth builder…
From being depleted from food intolerances to healing your gut and being vibrant, healthy, and energetic

Think about how you achieve that transformation in the most reliable, most accessible, and most user-friendly way.

Look into the frameworks and methods that you are using and that bring the best (and fastest) results. What techniques are you using, and what unique approaches are you using that are based on your personality, experience, expertise, and knowledge?

And then go back to what I said earlier and answer these three questions:

What makes your offer significant?
What makes your offer distinct?
What makes your offer valuable?

Write it all down in as much detail as you like and then condense, simplify, and whittle it down to a single short paragraph!

#2 – Understand needs & identify pain points, struggles, and obstacles

This step is more of a brainstorming step. You can go really wide here and try not to think of a specific person.

What are issues that people from different walks of life struggle with when going through the transformation that you have outlined above?

At this stage, you can do some research. You can talk with different people, go into different Facebook groups, or research on different platforms and search engines to identify as many pain points, struggles, and obstacles as you can possibly find.

Have an open mind and deliberately NOT think about a specific group that you might have had in mind before.

Do not judge and discard anything at this stage! Everything goes.

At this stage, you are trying to go as wide as possible and open yourself to groups of people that you might not have even considered before.

In the end, bring it back to your transformation and identify, which of these pain points, struggles, and obstacles your solution addresses best.

Which are the most significant and toughest pain points to overcome? That’s where you can make the biggest difference and where your transformation has the biggest value!

#3 – Identify goals, desires & aspirations

You have looked at the beginning of the transformation in the last stage. Now you will look at the endpoint of the transformation.

Again – this is a brainstorming exercise. Do the same as above but this time have the end in mind and think of all kinds of different goals, desires, and aspirations that people could achieve through the transformation that you offer.

Speak with people, do research, and discard nothing to start with. Capture everything and create a “bank of possibilities”.

In the end, think about the goals, desires, and aspirations that are most significant and that you can reliably achieve with your transformational service.

#4 – Define client characteristics

Finally, you can start honing in on a more specific person. But I want to challenge you to look at what W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne suggest in their book “Blue Ocean Strategy” – identify “non-customers”.

Non-customers are people who find existing offers unsatisfactory, too expensive, or they are unaware of any solutions that could help them. (I am simplifying this a lot!)

Considering people like this, the Blue Ocean Strategy suggests, you can create new markets that you can lead instead of competing in an existing and very overcrowded market.

Go wide and collect as much information and ideas as you can. Allow yourself to think outside the box and collect ideas that might seem crazy.

Once you have done that, review your notes and pick out people who need your services most, have a high level of urgency and necessity – and are able to pay for your services.

You also need to consider your values and beliefs and whether you are aligned with the group of people you are narrowing down to.

After all, your business should bring you joy – and working with people you are not aligned with won’t be enjoyable and probably won’t bring your clients the desired results.

#5 – Define the value in your offer

This is where you are closing the loop. You need to write a value proposition that is tailored to the group of people that you have identified and who benefits from the transformation that you offer most.

Play around with it, share it with others, and ask for feedback – especially from people you have identified.

Research cannot validate your offer if you don’t get answers from the right people.

You don’t need to narrow it down to only one transformational offer – instead, you can have a few statements with slightly different angles that you can test out.

But you need to be absolutely crystal clear on the value that you offer.

#6 – Test your assumptions

Armed with your value propositions (you can go with 2-3), have another chat with ideal clients or invite ideal people to answer a questionnaire that you have created.

This questionnaire can contain a good amount of multiple-choice options. Google forms are really helpful when it comes to presenting research data back to you.

Arriving at the beginning…

I know that this approach might look like it’s back to front. But I suggest that you’ll try it out – especially if you’ve been struggling for a while and have been wrecking your head about your ideal clients for a while.

I have deliberately included a lot of brainstorming and idea collection in this process, as I believe that true innovation and disruption come from thinking and acting out of the box.

If you need help with getting super-specific about your ideal client, then send me a message and we can talk about how I can support you.

And as usual – I am here to help you if you find yourself stuck with identifying your ideal client and what the messages are that your ideal client needs to hear.

Categories: Clarity, Client avatar, Content Creation tips, content marketing, Copywriting, Customer Avatar, Ideal client, Ideal customer Avatar