Most company owners dream of having a steady stream of prospects walking through their doors – virtually or otherwise. In an ideal world, these prospects would be ready and willing to buy your products or services, loyal to your brand, and easy to satisfy. While that may be unrealistic, you can increase the likelihood that you'll generate leads with real potential by taking four straightforward steps. Read on to find out how to find your ‘ideal customer’.
1) Identify your most valuable clients
Firstly, examine your existing client list and find your ideal customers. Although it's important to take the amount of money that they spend with you into account, that shouldn't be the only factor that you consider. If a client is high-maintenance or only stays on board because you offer them significant discounts or deals, that could diminish their value in real terms. Smaller clients, meanwhile, who pay full rates and don't require significant amounts of support, could be of greater value to your company.
2) Create ‘buyer personas’ based on those customers
Once you've selected your ideal customers, you can use the information you hold about them to build up pictures of your ideal clients. Create buyer personas (profiles of fictional customers) based on the information that you've collected. Each persona document should include information about your imaginary buyer, such as their age range, their job title, and the communications channels that they prefer to use, as well as details about the type of company that they work for.
3) Use your buyer personas to identify potential clients
You should then use your buyer personas to work out how to target potential clients like this effectively and persuade them to sign on the dotted line. The more common factors that you can identify, the easier it will be to develop an effective strategy to get them on board. It's also important to note that the more in-depth your buyer personas are, the more helpful they will be. For example, if you can identify the types of objections that your ideal clients may initially raise in response to your proposition and the responses that will allay their fears, your sales staff will be on the road to success.
4) Target these prospects via the most appropriate channels
Using buyer personas will help you establish where you should be looking for new clients and how to approach them. For example, if your research shows that your ideal clients are LinkedIn users, you can start your search for new leads there. Create engaging marketing content that will appeal to your buyer personas and share it with your target customers using their ideal channels.
Find out more
If you need help creating buyer personas and use them effectively to attract more clients, contact JDR. We're business growth experts and will be happy to work with you in order to optimise your results.
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