In this blog post, I’m going to take you through how we can figure out what exactly your ideal client wants. This is so important to know because once we’ve figured this out, it will help us with our marketing and messaging, and with our sales process. We become more compelling and appealing once we start using the language that our ideal clients want to hear, and we can serve them better when we know what they want.

What is an ideal client?

The first thing we need to do is understand what an ideal client is, because we need to be focused on getting the right clients. Very simply, your ideal clients are those clients that fit the criteria that you enjoy working with the most.

You need to have a clear idea of your ideal client. What characteristics do they have? What sort of industry are they in? What size business are they? How long have they been in business? What’s their personality like? Are they a certain age? The more you narrow down and niche, the easier life gets.

If you’re not sure what your ideal client looks like, think about the best clients you’ve worked with. What is it about those clients that makes them fun to work with? Write down those characteristics.

Where do we start?

How do we discover what it is that our ideal client wants? This is one of the three core steps in marketing strategy:

1. Who is our ideal client?
2. What does that ideal client want?
3. What do we offer to better meet the needs of those ideal clients?

Today we’re looking specifically at that second core step. There are two parts to finding out this information. Firstly, we need to figure out what sort of questions we need to be asking. Secondly, we then need to put in place some processes to gather that information.

What information do we need to gather?

One of the key things we need to understand about our ideal clients is their frustrations and challenges. What are the problems they’re facing? The better you can understand this, the more you can grab the attention of the niche you love working with through your marketing and messaging.

The second thing you want to think about is what they worry about. What are their fears? We need to figure this out so that we can go on to take away their worries and give our clients peace of mind.

The next thing to figure out is what they want. What are they looking for? There are two sides to this; what do they want in business, and what do they want in their personal life? In business, this could be more cash, reduced costs, tax savings, and growth. In life, it could be when they want to retire, their dream home, or their lifestyle goals.

We also want to find out what their desires are. What do they want to achieve? What is their vision? What are their goals?

Those are the main areas you need to uncover, but you can go even further than that.

You might want to also find out how your ideal clients like to communicate with you. Some people like direct messaging, others prefer email etc.

What about speed? How important to them is it that you do things fast?

Who do they want to deal with in your firm? Is it critical that they communicate with a senior partner, or are they happy dealing with other people in the firm?

When we find out details like these, we can deliver extraordinary service.

How do we gather this information?

Those are the sort of practical questions you want to be asking, but how do we go about gathering this information? There are lots of methods for collecting this information, and you should be using every method that you can.

Firstly, we should be asking this as part of our onboarding process, right at the very start of a brand-new relationship with a client. Even before they say “yes” to being a client, as part of your initial meetings you should be asking questions.

We can also build these questions into your standard meeting agendas. Every time you meet with your clients going forwards, ask them these questions to start to get a deeper understanding of what they want from you.

You can also do annual surveys to your entire client base, or surveys just before or after projects.

If you run events, use that as an opportunity to collect feedback from people. Perhaps run a poll or ask for comments in the chat box.

Another great source of information is social media, particularly Facebook Groups. I’m in lots of Facebook Groups, and I also have my own Facebook Group, and I’d highly recommend you build your own Facebook Group. But whether you build your own Group or are just in other people’s, there are going to be some of your ideal clients there too. It’s a great way to start to understand your ideal clients better. Ask questions and see what people are talking about.

What do we do with this information?

Having got all of that information, what do we then do with it? We can use it in a number of different ways.

Firstly, we can use it from a marketing point of view. When we better understand our ideal clients, then we can do better targeting. Plus, more importantly, it will help with your whole messaging. The copy that you write is so important – you want to get inside your ideal client’s head. If you can understand their problems and needs better than them, then you can use their specific language in your marketing. That’s going to make them take notice and want to take the next step.

It's also going to help you as part of your sales process. If you know in advance what your ideal clients desire, fear, want etc. then you can build that into your sales process by making sure your solutions meet their needs. Make sure you communicate the value of your solutions. Talk about the outcomes of your work.

There are so many ways you can use this information in your business to help serve your clients better.

If you found this valuable and would like to learn more about value pricing, I run a free live online training session every month with a topic chosen by you. Attend live and you can ask me any questions you have. Click here to register and I will send you an invitation to the next session.

Wishing you every success on your pricing journey

Mark Wickersham

Chartered Accountant, Public Speaker and Author of Amazon No.1 Best Seller “Effective Pricing for Accountants”