This may be the missing piece to making more money and having fun in your business!

You often hear that clarity is king when it comes to growing and building your business; and I couldn’t agree more.

If you want to make more money and attract ideal customers, then you need to be clear on who they are.

If you’ve taken any marketing programs, then you would’ve come across the concept of Ideal Customer Avatar (ICA).

The work of getting ‘inside the skin’ of your ICA is one many business owners find difficult to do. However, getting to know them at this level allows you to really hone in on those you want to work with.

Customer clarity helps you attract those who need and value your products and services the most. They are also more fun to work with.

When you start to market your business without clarity, you often attract people who are not the best fit for your business. Business is hard enough without you working with the wrong people.

Another important part of knowing your ICA is that it helps you better market your business and communicate to them in a way they understand.

Get to know what issues and concerns your ideal customers have, and how your business solves them.

What need do they have, that you’re able to fill?

Understanding your customers is key to growing them, because you are then able to tailor your products and services to solve their needs.

A major mistake many business owners make is not using the same language their customers use to describe their concerns.

The ‘language’ is the words your customers use to describe their wants, needs, and desires? These are the same words you should be using in your marketing materials. Oftentimes as business owners, we tend to speak as if we’re speaking to our colleagues, and our customers may not get it.

You need to use the same words they use to describe the problems and solutions they’re looking for. This allows your ideal customers to understand the value of what you have to offer.

An example I gave at a recent workshop on this topic was a personal trainer who used the word “functional exercises” in her marketing material.

When I asked what that was, I was told, 'it’s exercises that maximize your time so your burn more calories in less time.'

I then said, use that in your copy!

Instead of saying ‘functional exercise’ (which the majority of her target customers will not know what that means), she should have said something like; “burn more calories in half the time’.

When getting clear on your ICA, you really need to dig deep and understand what is happening in their world. What are the biggest frustrations they’re looking for solutions to?

Overall, it’s important to answer the following questions:

• Who is my customer?
• What does my customer need?
• How can I serve them?

You also need to find out where your ideal customers are.

What websites do they frequently visit? What blogs do they read? What groups do they belong to on Facebook? When you have this information, you can then go where they are and offer valuable resources to them (I.e. guest blog, joining the FB group and contributing, etc.).

Build up your know, like, and trust factor and strengthen your relationship with them. It is through this connection that you’re able to form lasting relationships.

This relationship will lead them to know you’re the right choice for them. When you’re able to master this, you’ll be well on your way to making more money and having more fun in your business.