February - The customer journey

Written by: Victoria Lewis VA

The customer journey is a powerful tool to help you understand who your ideal customers are and how to find them. Understanding the customer journey means taking a step back and looking at the entire customer experience, from initial contact to follow-up. By understanding the customer journey, you can better identify who your ideal customers are and where to find them.

In this blog post, we'll explore the customer journey and how to use it to uncover your ideal customers.  Over the coming months, we will break these steps down and cover them in more detail.

Who is my ideal customer?

You can start to identify your ideal customer by asking yourself these questions:

●    What does my ideal customer look like?

●    What are their demographics, goals and challenges?

●    What are their values, interests, and motivations (including pain points)?

Creating buyer personas is a key step in understanding your ideal customer. A buyer persona is a representation of the ideal customer for your small business and can be used to guide marketing and sales decisions. The process of creating a buyer persona involves gathering data on potential customers, understanding their motivations, and ultimately discovering what they want from your product or service.

To create an effective buyer persona, take advantage of social media platforms to gain insight into your target market. For example, you can use LinkedIn or Twitter to understand what topics your customers care about, and Instagram to get an idea of their interests. You can also ask existing customers questions to better understand who they are and what they need.

By collecting all this information, you can begin to create a picture of your ideal customer. Think about what kind of person they are, what motivates them, and what makes them likely to buy your product or service. Ask yourself questions such as: What does my ideal customer look like? How do they think? What do they value? What are their goals? Once you understand who your target market is, you can start crafting strategies to reach them.

How do I identify the different types of customers that I serve?

Don't make the mistake of thinking that you only have one ideal customer.  Often, you will have at least two or three, sometimes more.

Let's say you're a photographer. You'll likely have different types of customers that buy your services. You may have entrepreneurs looking for a full brand photoshoot to launch their new business, while others may be looking for something more affordable like a simple headshot. You might also have a mom or a dad looking for a family photoshoot, or a bride looking for wedding photography. 

All of these customers are just as important as each other but you may need to treat them very differently in terms of marketing or acquisition, so it is important to understand their similarities and differences.

Where can I find them?

There are several places to look for your ideal customer but the three main places that we are going to take a look at are in person, online and referrals.

For meeting clients in person, one of the best places to start is with networking events.  This is a great way to not only meet your ideal clients, but also meet other business owners that you may wish to purchase products or services from, collaborate with, or simply to grow your support network. 

If you need more ideas, try co-working spaces or other collaborative environments where other like-minded business folks come together whilst working on their individual businesses.  These spaces are fantastic for growing your networking and meeting prospective new clients.

Another option is referrals. Ask your customers how they heard about you and whether they would be happy to recommend you to others or provide you with a review or testimonial.

Online social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter also offer a fantastic opportunity to put yourself in front of your potential customers, as does blogging, email marketing and a solid SEO strategy.

How do I build a relationship with them?

As a small business, engaging with your ideal client is a crucial step to increasing your customer base.

Social media is a great platform to interact with your potential customers. Use social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to build relationships with your target audience. When engaging on social media, be sure to post regularly and respond to messages promptly. Focus on creating content that resonates with your ideal customers and encourages them to take action. Ask questions and engage with their content, which can help you get to know them better.

However, the platforms you need to use will depend mostly on where your customer likes to hang out.  Depending on your earlier research into your ideal customer, you might choose just one or two social media platforms to concentrate your efforts on instead of spreading yourself too thinly.

If you are attending networking events, make sure you get involved.  It can be really overwhelming to put yourself out there in a room full of strangers, but I guarantee that everyone in the room knows exactly how you feel.  Networking, for me personally, has been the best way to, not only meet potential new clients, but also to make new friends and grow my network.

 

 

What do they want and need right now?

It's time to get down to business.

You're going to start by asking yourself some questions about your ideal customer, the person who will be buying from you, and why they would do so.

What is their pain point? What is the problem or need that they want solved? What does this person want out of life at this moment in time? How can you help them achieve their goals and dreams faster than anyone else on the market today?

Pain points, headaches, reasons to procrastinate, boredom; these are all great talking points, but they are also a primary reason for people to buy.  If you can help to alleviate a problem, save some time, make life easier etc, you are much more likely to make a sale.  So, ask yourself, what problem can you solve for your ideal customer?

How do I attract them?

Creating an effective marketing strategy is essential for any small business. To maximise your reach, you should consider a variety of channels such as networking, blogging, email, and social media.

When utilising social media, be sure to create content that is tailored to the needs and interests of your ideal customers. Consider creating content that appeals to different generations, genders, and cultures in order to reach a wide range of potential customers, but make sure to remain authentic and real.  Customers buy from people and ultimately, your customers will buy from you, so make sure you stay forefront in your business and in your marketing.

Additionally, track the performance of each platform to determine which is most effective for engaging your target audience. Keep in mind that social media and digital marketing can be an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to marketing and reaching potential customers, so don’t underestimate its potential!

Find networking everts and groups that make you feel comfortable.  Be yourself and enjoy yourself.  This is the best way to attract like-minded people.

How to create the customer journey

The customer journey is the path a customer takes from first contact with your brand to making a purchase. It's important to understand how people experience your company, so that you can identify any pain points and the opportunities for improvement.

Here's how to create a customer journey map:

●    Define the customer journey - Identify all the touch points between you and your ideal customers, for example, networking, social media posts, website visits, or email newsletters.

●    Create a customer journey map - For each touch point in the path, define what happens there (for example, information is gathered), and who it affects (for example potential customers). This will help you identify issues, such as confusion or frustration, at certain points in their experience with your brand.

●    Identify steps in your ideal customer's journey - You may want to break down each step into smaller pieces if necessary; this will allow you greater insight into their experience with your company and could even reveal new opportunities for future marketing campaigns!

Conclusion

There are many ways to find your ideal customer. The most important thing is that you know who they are and how you can reach them. You will then be able to create the customer journey for your business that will lead them from first contact all the way through conversion.