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Understanding exactly who your customers are and what makes them tick is key to planning your communications. But how do you even figure that out?

When creating content for your marketing and communications, it’s a whole lot easier if you can picture a specific person you’re talking to. Plus, it helps you connect with the people who are most likely to stick around and become loyal customers.

Where to start?

Understanding your unique selling point  (USP) goes hand-in-hand with defining your ideal target audience. What do your customers value and why do they choose you over a competitor? What makes your business unique – is it your brand, your team, your values or your industry knowledge? It’s these USPs that will make you the only choice for your ideal customers.

Look at your existing customers

Next, take a look at and learn from your existing customers. Start with general demographics, you can get more specific later. Who are your most profitable clients? Where do they live? Are they families, young professionals or retired? What budget do they have? What kind of experiences are they looking for?

Then think about your customers’ preferences – why does what you do matter to them? Why do they choose you? Listen to what your customers are telling your customer services team or online through feedback and reviews. Analysing your social media and website analytics can also give you valuable insight into understanding your existing customers. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, if you would like to find out more from your existing customers, ask them!

Also consider their lifestyle. What are their hobbies and interests? What do they do for a living? Where do they shop? What magazines do they read or what media do they consume? What do they value? What problems are you solving for them?

Finally, are your current customers aligned with your dream customers? If not, what do you need to do or change about your business that will appeal to your ideal target audience?

Create customer profiles

There are a lot of questions to consider when looking at your target audience, so it can help to create customer profiles or personas. These provide detailed descriptions of who your typical customer may be, based on the answers to the above questions and can really help in bringing your target audience to life. Think of them as fictional characters – some businesses find it helps to give them a name and even a photo and mood board of their lifestyle and aspirations to really help them  visualise.

You are likely to find that you have a few different customer profiles. Prioritise them as to which you would most like to work with and which ones are most profitable for your business and the product or service you offer.

An example customer profile for a travel brand could be:

Busy working parents with school aged children who want to spend some quality time as a family. Cash rich but time poor, they are tied to school holidays. They want a holiday where they can switch off from the stresses of their working days and the chaos of their home life, but also provides plenty of activities they can enjoy as a family. They would like everything planned and paid in advance so they can simply enjoy their holiday whilst away. They enjoy style and comfort and are happy to pay for upgrades.

Make sure you are not trying to be all things to all people. What makes your business special are the same things that will put some people off. It can be helpful to consider a customer profile for those who aren’t your ideal customer. Sometimes it can help to understand who the right fit is, by defining who isn’t.

Creating content

Now you have your target audience mastered you will be able to create content that is specifically designed to speak to these personas. You will also know which of your USPs will appeal to each of your target audience profiles and your key messages can be tailored appropriately.

It is also important to monitor your market and current trends so your content stays relevant and up-to-date.

Now you are confident with your target audience, take a look at our blog on brand storytelling for how you can maximise your appeal to your ideal customer.

You might also like to listen to this episode of the Revitalise & Grow podcast: How To Go Viral | Is There A Secret Formula? (hint: understanding your target audience is also key here)!

If you feel like you need some further help in understanding and targeting your dream customers, apply for our FREE strategy call, where for just half an hour of your time our communications expert who will listen to your challenges and identify gaps within your current strategy.