Discover Your Perfect Audience

Field of Dreams was way wrong! Build it and they will come.

Sorry, so not true!

So let’s talk about your audience.

This is the big “WHO” in your business and without your audience your business is essentially a hobby/project that you enjoy solo.

When we start a business our focus is all on ourselves. We are focused on our passions, on our gifts and the product/service that we feel will serve/save/delight the world.

We think about the super cool service or product that we want to create. At some level we bought into the: “if we built it, they will come.” theory.

So many well-intention entrepreneurs build beautiful websites and products only to discover the only people visiting their site or reading their newsletter is their mom and maybe their best friend – occasionally.

We’ve ALL been guilty of this. My first few online businesses were launched (if you can even call that) to crickets and my product got zero sales. Ouch!

Outside of the hundred others mistakes I made, the main one was that I wasn’t clear on my audience (and then wasn’t actively speaking to them).

In the end it isn’t all about you
…or your awesome product
…or the amazing services you can provide

It’s about your audience. And in particular it’s about the one person you happen to be in front of right now.

I think many people forget that they’re selling to people. Even if you’re selling online or into a corporation (B2B) you are still selling to an individual who has his/her own life, hobbies, interests and things that keep her up at night.

Remember you can create the most amazing product or provide the most life-changing service but if you have no audience that sees the value AND will buy – then your business will never get off the ground.

Why defining is essential?

Your audience is not everyone. Even mega popular companies like Apple don’t pretend their audience is everyone. (even though it can be hard to believe when everywhere you look someone is using an Apple product).

With Apple it’s clear that they have marketed to a certain demographic that prefers a design aesthetic and believe that “being different” is super cool. Remember their Think Different campaign?

Don’t be scared of getting too specific? By doing so will actually open you up to so much more!

Ideal Client Profile

I know this isn’t the first time you’ve heard about creating an ideal customer profile or client “avatar”.

Most aspiring entrepreneurs often find that they resist this more than any other aspect of starting (or even building) their business. The notion of narrowing in and being very specific on the client/customer you serve brings up a lot of ‘stuff’!

We’ve created a worksheet that walks you through niche vs. ideal client and helps you get clearer on your very own ICP.

Understanding Your Audience

How do you go about understanding your audience more completely. We’re lucky that our audience is typically a click, email or phone call away.

Here is a checklist to explore.

Surveying Your Network/Audience

Surveying your network/audience is something you just don’t do in the beginning stages of your business.

It’s incredibly useful to survey your audience regularly. “How regularly?” you may ask. That really depends on what you feel comfortable with as well as how engaged your audience is.

The following page will help you when it comes to when, how and why to survey.

Additional Resources:

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