An Introduction to Creating Your Ideal Customer Avatar

Ever heard the saying, "He who dares, wins." Well, when it comes to marketing and crafting an effective message, he who knows his audience best, wins. 

It's no doubt that any marketer would agree that having a true understanding of your target customer is one of the most important aspects of selling any product or service online.

Think about it. You wouldn't talk to a 61-year old woman the same way you would talk to a 28-year old man, would you? They certainly wouldn't have the same interests or needs either. Therefore, it is only by having a clear idea of who you would like to serve that you will be able to attract and connect with the right customers. 

Below we'll dive into an exercise that can help you define your customer avatar and improve your brand message. 

What is an ideal customer avatar?

Essentially, a custom avatar is a fictional character that represents the ideal customer that you either want to work with or buy from you. This is also the person that is most likely to buy from you and engage with your brand. You don't just want to be able to envision who your customer avatar is, but also what their life is like on a daily basis. 

Some questions you may start with:

• What's their age?
• Male or Female?
• Are they single or married?
• What social media platforms do they hang out on most?
• What's their yearly income?
• What magazines or books do they read?
• What stores do they shop at?
• What type of hobbies are they into?
• What other pages might they like on Facebook?

No matter how much research you must do, it's crucial that you know your customer avatar down to T. 

Once you get really clear on all of this and you feel like you know your ideal client like the back of your hand, figuring out what your message is and what content to create becomes a lot less of a struggle.

Because now you know what your target customer's biggest challenges and pain points are. You know what things excite them and bring them joy. You know how to provide them value and serve their needs. 

So let's put it all into perspective....

Creating A Story using your Customer Avatar

Let's say I have a home workout app & program that I'd like to advertise to women that are 25-35 in the United States. So to come up with a customer avatar, I must get deep into of a 30-year old woman and really think about her life, what interests her, etc.

Just for the sake of this exercise, I'm going to name and call her Emily.

Emily lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband, their two daughters, and their dog Charlie. Her day starts early by waking up to cook breakfast for her husband and two kids before she rushes them off to school like the super mom she is. Emily then heads straight to her office job where she's on the phone or in meetings most of the day, usually getting home exhausted each night around 7 p.m. She then cooks dinner, puts her kids to bed, and finally sits down to have her first moment to herself around 9pm. 

By this time, Emily is usually too tired to do much of anything at all. Because of this her health and nutrition has also taken less of a priority and gaining the motivation to get back in shape is something that she has been struggling with for over a year now. Emily loves her family and her job but she misses having the time to workout and exercise. When she starts to think about her lifestyle and the example she is setting for her daughters, she knows for sure she needs to make a change. This is when Emily starts to search online for the a good home workout.

And this my friends is when my business can sell to Emily. Because now we understand she is exhausted and needs something that is convenient around her crazy schedule, like a home workout app. We understand her priorities cannot be centered around her fitness, but rather her fitness centered around her priorities. We understand that Emily's need to stay fit and healthy is not just for herself, but to also set an example for her children. 

With all of these things in mind and with relation to Emily, we can now sell to her and everyone just like her with ease. And by writing our marketing messages to speak directly to Emily, we're way more likely to be found relatable and attractive to the rest of our target customers. 

So I challenge you if you haven't already to go create a customer avatar for your business. You may have a few, but the more time you put into crafting these personas the better you'll be able to communicate with your customers and create products and offers that suit their needs. 

Did you find this exercise helpful? Let me know in the comments below!