Avatar photo

The Best Process to Identify Your Ideal Customer

If you’ve been following along with my super interesting and a bit wacky blog posts, you’ve probably noticed that we’ve expanded into Nashville, TN.

We’re big on cultural clarity here at Mavidea. One thing we believe we can be clearer about, is understanding our perfect prospect.

We’re trying hard to understand the type of business that could get tremendous value from Mavidea’s services. So we started down the path of identifying our ideal customers.

Everyone…meet Neil, our newest Mavidean.

IMG_3261
Neil checking out a Ford Bronco

Neil was the outcome of our efforts to dig deep into the struggles and needs of our ideal customers.

Starting the journey to identifying our first ideal customer

As part of our “What’s Most Important Right Now” theme, we’ve created an initiative to identify our first ideal customer profile.

Lead by our Marketing Manager, Kim James, we used the exercise outlined by Aaron Ross (author of the book, Predictable Revenue) on his blog.

We used that tool to help us go through the process of defining our ideal customer. We looked hard at the obstacles they face. We tried to envision life as they experience it.

It helps us walk a mile in their shoes and see things through the eyes of a small business owner/manager/employee.

It was a very enlightening process that was also filled with dumb jokes and lunch meetings that starred Chipotle burritos. 

Our search for a clearer picture of our ideal customer(s)

We wanted to know what type of industries and businesses they are:

  • How big are they?
  • How many employees do they have?
  • How much revenue?
  • What kind of culture and lifestyle do they have?
  • How do they approach their businesses and their values?

We wanted to understand the types of things we could do to make their business and their lives better.

The birth of Neil

After much focused discussion, we emerged with our first customer profile.

His name is Neil. Here’s what we know about him:

We know without question that he desperately needs Mavidea’s web design, Internet marketing and IT services.

We also know that when he selects one or more of those services from our company, his business will be stronger.

We also know:

  • That his business will effectively leverage technology to grow and expand, online and off
  • What he wants and what he needs
  • That what we have to offer can help Neil win in a big way:
    • We can help him win business away from his competitors
    • We can leverage technologies that can make his business more secure and safe
    • We can make his business easier to find on the Internet
    • We can help him leverage the latest technologies to make him and his employees more effective, productive and mobile.

As we expand into Nashville and Dallas, we know this exploration can make us more effective at building relationships -- even before we meet you!

New services to suit new “Neils”

Now, as we spread the word in new marketing venues, we’re also eagerly developing new lines of services to better serve the Neil’s of the world.

It’s given us a new clarity and focus that we’ve never been able to achieve.

Next up? We’re eager to develop several new customer profiles for other businesses we’d be delighted to serve.

How we make Neil smile

Now that we understand Neil, we want to make him smile. That means building a better customer experience.

We’re also trying to better understand how to craft our packages so that Neil understands them. We want to demystify the challenges of buying technology services.

If we can make our business easier to understand, it helps Neil feel more comfortable with our services and our pricing. It also helps him understand and maximize the results.

From one size fits all. To just the right fit for YOU.

In the early days, everyone looked like a prospect. And as a result we had a variety of customer service models. We tried hard and meant well, but sometimes, our packages didn’t meet the needs of clients.

We took that challenge personally.

Now, when we talk about a new line of services or a new product, we explore how those changes will impact Neil’s company.

That is insight we didn’t have in the past.

Three signs that you need to identify your ideal customer profile

  1. If you have a wide variety of customers
  2. If you have a hard time creating a consistent customer experience
  3. If you’re guessing at how your services or products might impact your customers

Look for my next blog post: Mavidea’s social media un-policy

It’s a whole other approach than what you might expect. Be sure to tune in.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.