When your ideal client goes home, where do they go? To a house? To a unit? It it in Australia? Is it in a city? The country? A particular suburb? There will likely be a mix, but picture your best client walking through the door now and answer for them.
Please picture your ideal client at work. There's no such thing as too much information. As thought starters, you might think about
- Industry?
- Type of employer? Size?
- What’s their job title?
- To whom do they report (job title)?
- Who reports to them?
- Does what you’re offering fall under their primary responsibility? What else are they responsible for?
- What pressures are they under?
- Whom do they have to impress?
- What are they measured on?
- What’s their #1 goal at work? #2? (e.g. deliver projects under budget; grow the company; retain staff…)
- What’s going to make the difference between a big bonus and a disappointing bonus?
Regardless of whether you deal with clients in a work or a personal context, the better overall picture we have, the better we can speak your client's language.
There’s a difference between how we might write to a middle-aged church-goer and a 24-year-old surfer who lives in a share flat and enjoys couch surfing holidays.
These are some things you might tell us. They’re thought starters, not an exhaustive list.
- Industry?
- Marital status?
- Kids?
- Values? (Left-wing, right-wing, conservative, green, relaxed, uptight, all about the family, all about the quality of life, all about wealth…)
- What problem do they have that they’re on your website trying to solve? (Be as deep as you can, e.g. if you sell a floor cleaner, obviously the problem you solve is a dirty floor. But at a deeper level the problem might be about the health of the family or about the way the house looks to visitors.)
- What pressures are they under?
- Whom do they have to impress?
- What does a good day look like for them?
- What do they drive?
- Where do they go on holiday?
Are you more competent than the competition? More conveniently located? Have a better reputation? Have a skill someone else doesn't have? Do it a different way? Are you cheaper? Better quality? More experienced?
It could be one thing or lots of things. Is it your attitude? Your service? Your quality? Your responsiveness? Your sense of humour? Your superior location? The office pug or cat? Please be specific — “We’re higher quality” is less helpful than “We’re high quality in the following ways… because in our industry…” is much better.
Now you’ve told us what makes you different, how can you prove it? Awards? Testimonials? Photographs? Videos? Results from your work? Something you do that no one else can say they do?