In a crowded marketplace where competition is fierce, finding your niche and standing out can feel like an uphill battle. But fear not, because the key to unlocking the true marketing power for your service-based business lies in defining your ideal customer.
Before you say, “I can sell my services to everyone”, remember that relying on that strategy will mean your marketing attracts no-one! Any investment in pushing out content is going to be a massive waste of time.
Here are my 6 steps to harness this power effectively:
1. Make it Personal
For context, there are 4 key steps to consider in the customer journey you offer and at every step, you need to make them feel good, showing that you totally get them and what they are about.
The 4 steps are:
1. Discovering who you are
2. Getting to know, like, and trust you
3. Becoming your customer
4. Finally, becoming a true fan who will recommend you to others.
In a crowded market, personalised experiences can set you apart. From the initial interaction your ideal customer has with you via a DM on a social channel through to post-service follow-ups once they become a customer, strive to make every touchpoint with your potential and existing customers feel tailored and special.
2. Get Intimate
OK so now it’s time to truly understand who your ideal customer is. What are their pain points, desires, and preferences? What challenges are they facing that your services can resolve?
Dive deep into the challenges they have, the things they need and how you can demonstrate that you are the absolute best choice for them. Create a comprehensive description of the who, what, where, when and why.
3. Know Your USP
Next is to define what sets you and your services apart from your competitors? Your Unique Selling Point (USP) should resonate with your ideal customer and address their specific needs in a way that competitors can't replicate.
Don’t be put off because you are in a crowded market where many offer what you do as they are not you – with your unique skills, commercial experience, industry knowledge, personality, passion for certain aspects of what you do, you get the gist.
Be mindful that your USP is never just exceptional customer service – everyone can say they offer that – think much deeper and define your unique approach, or specialised expertise, consider what you love working on the most and focus on making that part of your key offer.
4. Have a Clear Offer
Only once you know their pain points and have your USP defined, only then can you start to package your services so that what you offer is crystal clear for them to easily understand why they should work with you!
What are the results they will get from working with you, and in what timeframe? Do you offer different levels of the same service – budget, mid-range and high ticket?
To make sure you stand out in a crowded market, you should have a signature offer plus a freebie on your website to attract them onto your email list – so you can entice them to join your customer journey.
5. Be Consistent
Instead of casting a wide net, focus your marketing efforts on reaching your ideal customer where they are most likely to be found. You do NOT need to be across all social media channels as all that path does is lead to total overwhelm and an intense dislike of social media!
Whether it's through social media community growth, targeted online advertising, strategic partnerships, or networking events, concentrate your time and any budget on marketing channels that will give you the best opportunity to reach and engage with your target audience so you can start to build the all-important know, like and trust.
6. Stay Current
Markets evolve, and so do your ideal customer’s needs and challenges. Be adaptive in your approach to your marketing by continuously monitoring any trends or behaviours in your industry, for example, the cost-of-living crisis is having a direct impact on the spending power of many organisations so focusing on high ticket services may not resonate when budgets are tight. Be willing to pivot and adjust to stay relevant and resonate with your ideal customer.
Round Up
By investing the time to define your ideal customer you can harness the true marketing power that comes with it and carve out a distinctive position for your services even in the most crowded of markets.
So, roll up your sleeves, dive deep into understanding your audience, and unleash the true marketing power of defining your ideal customer. I promise you they are out there waiting to find you – carpe diem my friend, carpe diem!