Are you attracting the right clients to your business?

 So often I hear from business owners that they just aren’t attracting the right clients, those people who might appear to be interested but ultimately will not invest time or money into what you are offering.  It does not matter if you have a product or service it is imperative to attract that ideal customer. 

Here are steps you can take to identify that ideal client.

1.) Start with the people who have already done business with you.  Write down who they are and what they have purchased from you.

2.) Rank them in order from most to least amount of business they have done with you

3.) Write down how you would spot your ideal client

The key here is to understand your most profitable work.  Where do you make the most money along with what you enjoy doing the best.  So once you answer this, really look at that ideal client and write down everything you can identify about them from the age demographic to where they live and every other detail because then you will have what is called a “personna” of your ideal client.  I want to mention that the more narrowly you can focus your ideal client the better.  Please don’t tell me “my product is for all busy women.”  The likelihood of that being the case is not really true because then why do all women not buy your product or service? 

Once more idea – poll your clients.  I like this because if you ask your current and past clients why they did business with you that data will help you develop a solid marketing message.  Pay attention to the language they use and repeat it back and use it in your copy writing.

If you are developing a new market you should consider the following;

1.) Do you have what they want?  (remember the difference between need and want)

2.) Do they value what you do?  Tip here:  look for others who are already will to purchase your types of services or products.

3.  Are they willing to pay for what you do?  (It is important to know that no matter what you provide you don’t ever need to compete on price if you are attracting your ideal client.)

 How to track down where your ideal clients are hanging out

A simple way to find out where your ideal clients are is to check out your competition.  Go to their websites and see what social networks they are focused on, then go to their networks and see who they are connected to.  You can make some assumptions about where these ideal clients are based on this research.

With social media platforms like Twitter and Google + you can easily follow those people and start to build an awareness about yourself.

What makes you different?

Knowing what makes you different than your competition is an important step in marketing.  People need a way to compare and contrast and if you don’t explain it to them they either defer to price or don’t buy at all.  Not sure what makes you different?  again a great polling question to ask those people who have done business with you in the past.

Stop trying to put that square peg in a round hole

Lesson here is that not everyone is your ideal client and the more you can focus on who is and then meet them where they are the more likely you will grow your business. This approach is strategic versus throwing things against the proverbial wall hoping something will stick like a potential client.