Meet Susan. Susan is a 43 year old school teacher who has 3 kids at home, a husband who is in the financial sector and works long hours, enjoys scrolling IG after her kids go to sleep at night and spends most of her afternoons and weekends shuttling kids to and from activities in her Toyota 4Runner, circa 1998.
Susan is looking for ways to organize her life, get her kids to help out more around the house and improve her relationship with her husband through more 1:1 time than the 10 minutes they get after the kids go to bed and before she falls asleep.
Traditionally, this would be a pretty good customer Avatar. It definitely gives you a defined person to write your marketing pieces to. It paints a picture of who your avatar is, you could even Google a photo to attach if you want it to feel more personal.
This would certainly be enough information to drive product creation, sales copy and offer building.
But is it enough?
“Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.”
Is it truly enough to help you know your client and stand out in a crowded field of people trying to sell Susan things she needs, wants and would love to have?
Probably not.
I know, I know. Creating your avatar is marketing 101. It’s actually one of the first things that is recommended to many aspiring business owners.
But again, I ask, is it enough?
And again I say no, probably not.
Ok, so what gives me the audacity to say this? Let’s take a look…
A little over a year ago our world turned upside down. Most of the world was sent home from work. Businesses closed, many forever. People lost their jobs, either temporarily or permanently. Workers were turned into remote employees with new technology to learn and different challenges facing them.
And we all survived!
We made it through one of the strangest years most of us have lived through. And now the world looks a little different.
There are more online businesses than ever before. The digital ad landscape is crowded with more noise and it is harder to get our audience’s attention.
It stands to reason that if the landscape is noisier, and more people are advertising and marketing than ever before, we would need more info about our audience to dial in our messaging and get their attention.
So what does that mean?
Well, that means that simply knowing the top level demographics is no longer enough to get Susan’s attention. Because everyone is talking to Susan.
Her Facebook feed is filled with ads. Her inbox is flooded with email offers of programs that will change her life, improve her relationships, and get her kids involved in chores and organization.
She has more choices than she knows what to do with.
How can you stand out?
Simple. You have to up your game.
You need to connect with Susan as a friend would, not as an acquaintance would. You have to understand her deepest fears, what keeps her up at night. You need to know what she is thinking about when she is scrolling IG. Why is she spending her time there? What is she looking at?
You’ve got to be as confident about knowing what’s bothering her as you are that your solution is the best one out there.
How do you do that?
By going deeper on your study of Susan than you are used to.
You have to be able to answer these questions to truly know and understand what drives her decisions.
- What keeps Susan up at night?
- When Susan daydreams, what is she thinking of?
- What is her dream day out with her girlfriends?
- What is her idea of a perfect date with her husband?
- Does she want a spotless, museum-like house or is she going for a comfortable, lived in feel?
- When there are no plans on the weekend, what does she choose to do?
- Is her perfect vacation a family vacay with a full agenda every day or a relaxing, adults only trip to an all inclusive resort?
- Where are they in the awareness journey?
- What does success look like for them? What does it feel like?
Do you see how going deeper into your understanding of your avatar can be a total game changer? Imagine for a moment how your copy and marketing will change once you are able to answer these questions about your ideal client?
“You can say all the right things for all the right reasons, but if you’re talking to the wrong person, it will never matter.”
How will your messaging shift? How much more clear will you be in everything you do with your prospects and clients?
How might your products and services become more useful, even indispensable to your clients? What will your sales pages and upsell pages look like?
Game changer, right?
Maybe you’re thinking “Hey Tracy, I already do this, I’m good. I know my avatar.”
Ok, awesome! You are ahead of the game and are likely enjoying more success than some of your competitors.
But I would challenge you to dig deeper.
Regardless of how well you know your avatar, think a bit more about these questions. Once you have answered these questions, challenge yourself to ask them again. Get more specific in your answers. Dial in your knowledge of your client’s inner thoughts.
Get inside their heads.
Once you’ve done that your entire business will improve. You will know your clients as well as, sometimes better than, they know themselves.
You will have an inside track to their inner thoughts and worries. You will know exactly what they are looking for so you can provide it.
Your products will become irresistible. You will sell more upsells. Get more testimonials. And create the most loyal and raving fans you can imagine.
Because everyone wants to be seen. We all want to be known. Truly known. And accepted.
Your prospects are no different. When you can have an honest conversation with them about their deepest fears, the inner demons they don’t talk about, and you can let them know it’s ok…
That’s when you will build a business that will truly impact as many people as possible.
And that’s when you will finally make the change you are meant to in this world.
