This is part 3 of the “DIY Customer Focus Series”. You can read Part 2 here…
In our last post, we explored the significant steps involved in better targeting your marketing audience and the importance of such strategies. Now, we delve into the “how” of crafting your key marketing asset: the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Understanding how to effectively create an ICP is crucial because it directly influences how you connect with and engage your potential customers, ensuring your marketing efforts are as effective and efficient as possible.
The Idea Customer Profile Format
Building these profile cards do follow a certain recipe, and here’s what you can expect:
- 1 Ideal Customer Profile per Customer Segment
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- E.g. Your service is home painting for a specific city. Your market segments could be:
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- Property Managers for Rental Properties & Landlords
- New Homebuyers
- Real Estate Builders and Developers
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- 1 to 2 pages in length for easy reference.
- Be specific about your audience and their goals, values, and problems.
Key questions to ask yourself when writing your Ideal Customer Profiles
- What is this Ideal Customer’s Problem that my service addresses?
- What does my ICPs Demographic data look like?
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- Age range
- Majority Gender
- Income level
- Approximate Education level
- What your key client contact’s job role is.
These kinds of data points are critical in crafting your marketing efforts. You should be able to figure them out early in your marketing journey.
- What are my ICPs Interests, values, pain points, motivations, and behaviors?
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- This is where understanding the motivations behind your audience’s actions comes into play: Outlining why they’re buying products or services, making purchases (online or in stores), or how they’re using social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram (or both).
- Does your ICPs’ interests include specific social causes, Environmental Concerns, or common personal goals?
- What are my ICPs general geographic information? Their broad location or regions where they are are based.
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- Does your ICP have Location-Specific Preferences?
- Consider using your country’s census data (if available) for your region as a hint of what region your nearest target clientele may be in.
- Business Information (for B2B Marketing)
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- What is my ICPs’ Industry, company size, revenue, number of employees, etc.?
- What is my ICPs’ Buying Behavior? Buying patterns, decision-making processes, and preferred communication channels.
- Writing in a way that expresses understanding of your client’s problems and their reality is key to writing more impactful messages
- Keep your tone aligned with your audience: This is best illustrated by an example – Would you write formally to target young adults? Probably not. Would you write in a casual and familiar tone when you are trying to convey your professionalism as a lawyer to 55-year-olds? Probably not.
- Who are some key partners that could help me reach these ICPs better? Using the painter example from above. Reaching your first-time home buyers? Would be more easily achievable. Should you have a partnership/referral relationship with some Realtors.
Conclusion
Crafting an Ideal Customer Profile is more than a preparatory step in your marketing strategy; it’s a continuous process that will dramatically enhance your engagement with clients over time. By focusing on specific segments of your client-base and understanding their unique needs and behaviors, you can tailor your marketing messages to resonate with one group at a time. Remember, the clarity and detail in your ICP will dictate the precision of your marketing efforts, making it essential to keep refining and updating your profiles as market dynamics evolve. This strategic approach not only saves time and resources but also positions your business for greater success.