Welcome back to our 7 Day Brand Challenge! Day 2 is all about defining your target audience. As you will see on our journey, defining your target audience and ideal customer cannot be understated.
Journey Overview: Build a Brand That Matters
- Brand on Purpose
- Target Audience Identification
- Differentiate or Die
- Humanize Your Brand
- Know your core message
- Develop a storytelling framework
- Strategic Design
Do you want to attract more of the customers you love so you can let go of the ones who just aren’t worth your time? That’s exactly how I used to feel before I defined my target audience. It’s funny, I never had an ideal customer in my mind when I started my branding agency. As a result I worked with some pretty shitty clients who made my life miserable. Once I defined my dream client everything got so much easier. You may think you have a good idea of your ideal client right now but I know from experience this customer is nothing but a mirage and today is the day we turn that mirage into a detailed picture of the customer you love. How do you ever expect to get more of something when you have not clearly defined it and have not pictured it vividly in your mind? I believe in the law attraction and have witnessed it working throughout my life. It’s part of the reason I met my wife; I defined my dream partner, then communicated and acted in such a way that I would attract that dream partner into my life. Attracting your dream client is no different as you will learn.
I completely understand the position you are currently in; I have been there myself. My message was not resonating because I never took the time to clearly identify who I was talking to. Do you feel like no one is listening to your message and not engaging with you? I did! Most of the time, I didn’t even know what to say. It was all because I didn’t know EXACTLY who I was talking to. This is one of the common pitfalls of commodities and a difficult one to overcome. It’s a trap! It’s so easy for us to feel busy and think we are making progress on social media by posting and posting and posting. Part of the problem lies within that mindset. You aren’t just posting! You are communicating! Communicating with who? Please don’t say everyone!
Marketing to everyone is expensive. When we talk to everyone, we attract no one. Your advertising and marketing is inefficient and very costly. There are also hidden costs in your business you are not calculating when you continue to let the customer who is NOT FOR YOU inside. If you are an established business, you know exactly what I’m talking about. These customers end up costing you both money, energy and time. I’m going to share a little wisdom with you. You don’t want these customers! They are the root cause of arguments between you and your staff, they drain your resources as you try to please them and make things right, which always seems like you can never please them – am I right?
I couldn’t take it anymore, I was overextended and could never live up to their crazy expectations. They didn’t value my team, our time, or expertise. These bad customers were sucking my passion from me and holding me back as I was trying to move forward. They were calling me at night and on weekends when I was spending quality time with my wife and 3 kids. My wife would get mad because I would take the call and get stuck talking to the bad client for over an hour and then I would have one of those crazy mood swings us entrepreneurs have and come back to my family a different man. My wife was fed up, I was fed up…I needed change in both my life and my business. If you are like me and have a family you love and want to spend more quality time with, I want to help you do so. I want to show you exactly how I got better clients and fired the bad ones.
Listen, I know that in business it’s important to get momentum and you need sales to breathe. I also know the appeal of getting inquiries and any customers in the first place. We take what we can get – right? When you start, you want to be anything to everyone; because it is your nature to help people and serve. I do too! But helping and serving anyone and everyone (people who don’t value or appreciate you) does not bring fulfilment.
This mindset, of being ‘everything to everyone’ is making you a commodity and preventing you from building a brand. You need to build a brand that matters to people who care. Your brand can’t possibly matter if know one cares. You see, your customers are part of your brand. Your brand is not what you say it is – It’s what THEY say it is. If you continue to let the wrong people join your brand because you don’t have a clear profile of the people who ARE FOR YOU, you will never create a brand, let alone – one that matters. In preparation for our journey in 6 days I need to make this mind shift today.
You need to clearly define who you want your brand to be for. Who are the type of people you want to be part of your brand. Think of Tesla, Harley Davidson, Starbucks, Lululemon. You can clearly picture in your mind the type of people that are part of these brands.These brands were all built with the same time-tested brand strategy I’m going to share with you on our journey. At the end of this email I have included one of the best tools for defining your ideal customer; and if you use this tool, you will have the clarity you are missing when it comes to your ideal customer. I want you to practice using it today so you are confident and will be able to use it again during our journey of building a brand that matters.
This tool along with the 20 other tools and countless strategies I’m going to share with you will make your brand magnetic and attract customers you love that make your life more fulfilling. You will go from feeling like you are pushing your products and services to anyone, to feeling your brand PULLING the right customers towards your brand because it matters to them. This can only happen when you understand and empathize with your target audience. You need to get to know your ideal customer so well as if you are prepared to marry him or her. What are their dreams, desires? What really motivates him or her? What’s his/her fears they are running away from? What do they want? But more importantly what do they need?
Take my ideal customer profile, practice using it and pack it in your bag for our journey. Don’t procrastinate because it will start transforming your business right now as we prepare for our journey.
Continue preparing because we head out in 6 days! I will chat with you tomorrow and until then, Brand with a Plan!
Your guide,
Mitch Sanker
Action Steps:
Download Dream Client Magnet
Watch:
