Make Your Marketing More Effective by Peering Deep Inside Your Ideal Client’s Mind

Day in and day out, we humans live inside our own heads. It’s normal and it’s all well and good. Until it comes to marketing.

Here’s why…

As humans, we’re egocentric by nature. We go through most of our day thinking about everything we have to do or want to get done… Whatever’s stressing us out…Basically our own wants, needs, problems and goals.

Sure, you might think about your family or friends, and how you can help them or meet their needs. But it’s still always going to be in the context of your own life, your own skills, your own needs, your own problems, and your schedule. That’s just reality.

Your prospects and clients are no different. So the best way to get their attention is to talk about what’s most important to them. Then show them how you can help them with their wants, goals, needs or problems.

All too often entrepreneurs create products, or write marketing materials, based on what they think is important. Or on what they think their prospects need.

The reality is, and I hate to burst your bubble on this one, what you think is important may not be that important to your clients and prospects. What always matters most is what’s important to them—not you. Because if you don’t give them what they need, you’ll never achieve your own business goals anyway.

So if you want to market and grow your business more easily, you have to take a trip far away out of egocentric land and into the mental landscape of our ideal clients and customers.

You’ve gotta know: Exactly who they are…What they’re thinking about…What keeps them up at night…What stops them from taking action…And what they’re dreaming about.

Understand what’s really on their minds and most important to them, and you can create marketing messaging that slips right into the conversation that’s already going on inside their head.

Do that and you come across as someone who really understands them and their problems, wants, needs and goals…Because you do! If you can meet their needs and speak their language, you’re going to be miles ahead of the competition.

After all, who doesn’t want to stumble across a business or Website that miraculously understands where you’re coming from AND offers solutions to your most pressing problems? We all do, of course.

Plus, once you understand what’s most important to your ideal client, you can design your products, services, payment options, offers, marketing and more to speak specifically to that.

What’s really cool is…You’ll start to function almost as if you’re a mind-reader. Then you won’t have to work nearly as hard to get new clients or sell your products or services because you won’t be guessing, or focusing only on what’s important to you. Love that!

On the other hand, try to shoehorn in your own message or agenda—or push something they don’t think they want or need—and you’ll be ignored at best. At worst, you’ll create a reputation for being obnoxious, salesy, pushy or annoying. And I promise you, your ideal clients won’t give you the time of day.

To help get started identifying your ideal client and what’s on their mind, grab a pen do the simple exercises below:

1) Describe your ideal client or customer as though you were describing someone (a single person) to a friend. Be sure to give them a name to keep your focus narrow.

2) List your ideal client’s top 5 major pains or problems. This is what’s keeping them up at night or what they share with only their closest friend. Be specific.

3) If you already have clients or customers, conduct a survey by phone, in person or via email (use a service like Surveymonkey.com) and ask them what their biggest struggle, worry or problem is that’s related to whatever you do. This way you’re not guessing.

Whenever you get ready to create a new product or service, or write a marketing or advertising piece, keep this information in front of you. Then speak directly to that one person and problem, and explain how you can help.

Basically, give ‘em what they want! Trust me when I say this is a way more effective way to market your business than taking wild stabs in the dark. Or creating marketing, products and services based on what you think people need.