How To Create A Customer Avatar (And Why You Need To)
When it comes to marketing the first and most important thing you need to do is understand your customer. However, most people don’t!
This isn’t just one of the best places to spend your time and energy, it’s one that most businesses neglect, which is why their marketing flops too. In this blog article we’re going to talk about why it’s important and then also give you a framework you can use to create a super-specific customer avatar.
Why a customer avatar is so important.
Deeply understanding your customer isn’t just good practice – it's the bedrock of marketing. If you skip it (or don’t do it well), everything that comes after it will suffer.
On the flip side, if you understand your customer better than your competitors do, you have a secret weapon that is incredibly powerful.
Your messaging will be sharper, your content more engaging, your ads more clickable, more leads… everything!
Many business owners think, ‘I know my customer!’ but they only scratch the surface. Maybe they know their age, gender and location but not any of the meaningful specifics that you can use for effective marketing.
What is a customer avatar?
A customer avatar is essentially a detailed profile of your ideal customer. The more specific you are the better. If you have a wide range of customers, it’s best to split them up into different avatars.
E.g if you’re a physiotherapist and you treat a mix of people from athletes to the elderly and everything in between, you should create an avatar for each segment as opposed to a one-size-fits-all solution.
(An 80 year old has very different needs than a 25 year old soccer player!)
How to create a customer avatar.
Creating a customer avatar isn't rocket science, but it does require some effort. Below are the most important questions you should be able to answer.
If you get stuck with any of these, think about your best existing customers that you want more of. Who are they? What are they like?
Another great option is to just speak to them! Pick their brain and get a deeper understanding of why they’re such an ideal fit, and explore their thought process as to why they choose you over competition.
Who Are They? (Demographics)
Start with the basics like age gender, location, income and so on.
If you’re targeting businesses you can be specific with things like business type, headcount, revenue, job title etc.
What Are They Like? (Psychographics)
Put yourselves in their shoes and get into their head. What are their interests, values and opinions?
What do they think about when it comes to the problem you solve? What’s their personality like? What’s their lifestyle? What do they do in their spare time?
What’s the best way to reach them? (Channels)
Where do they hang out? If you wanted to show them your business, how would you do it? Think both online (Facebook, LinkedIn, Tik Tok etc) and offline (flyers, print, local businesses).
You can also think about who they listen to like influencers, brands the buy from, books they read etc.
Another good question is who is already serving this audience? For example if you’re a physio and you treat a lot of people who go to the gym, there might be gyms full of potential customers that you might be able to team up with.
What are their pain points? (Current Situation)
What problems, issues or frustrations are they facing right now that you can solve?
Customers are more likely to resonate with you and perceive you as an expert if you show that you deeply understand their problem.
You want to explain it in their own words so think ‘wow that’s me'.
WHAT ARE THEIR GOALS? (DESIRED SITUATION)
What are their goals? What is is the desired situation they’re hoping for?
An easy way to look at this is simply the opposite of their pain points. E.g if they have back pain, the goal is to be free of back pain.
You can then get more specific and more powerful e.g ‘waking up every morning and not even thinking about back pain’.
By understanding their goals, you're better positioned to show how your product or service can be the vehicle to achieve them.
WHAT IS THE COST OF STAYING WHERE THEY ARE? (RAMIFICATIONS)
Put bluntly, what's at stake for them if they don't make a change?
Whether it's wasted time, money, or even emotional stress, highlight these costs.
Knowing this adds urgency and makes the need for a solution (your solution) that much more pressing.
WHAT'S STOPPING THEM FROM ACHIEVING THOSE GOALS? (ROADBLOCKS)
Why haven't they reached their goals yet? Identifying these roadblocks gives you a better understanding of the internal or external obstacles they're facing.
This allows you to resonate with them even more deeply. You can even say ‘maybe you’ve tried X, you’ve tried Y, you even tried Z’ which helps them feel understood but is also an opportunity to educate them.
From there, you can speak directly to how your product or service will be the most effective solution.
WHAT IS THE #1 BIGGEST AND MOST IMPACTFUL RESULT I CAN HELP THEM ACHIEVE?
In the goals section you’ve likely listed a few different things they want. What is the BIGGEST one? Narrowing down here will allow you to lead with the most powerful and compelling reason to work with you.
WHAT DO THEY WANT TO AVOID? (WORRIES)
Nobody likes buyers remorse. We’ve all experienced it, and it sucks!
What are the specific things your customers want to avoid? Do they have any preconceived notions or stereotypes about your profession?
E.g for a physio they might want to avoid a painful treatment, paying a lot of money for a a treatment that will only work short term etc.
Understanding and then addressing their anxieties (or even making a guarantee) can be incredibly powerful in your marketing.
WHY WOULDN’T THEY BUY AND HOW CAN YOU OVERCOME THAT? (OBJECTIONS)
Worries and objections definitely have similarities — although their worries are more personal and they may not express them, whereas objections are more practical and things they will tell you during the sales process.
Think about it the last few sales conversations you’ve had. What objections or questions did you get? How did you overcome them?
Thinking about them ahead of time will help you tackle objections before they even come up.
The Buying Journey From Stranger to Customer
Now that you’ve identified your customer, it’s time to hop into their shoes map out the specific journey they take — going from a stranger into a customer.
This part is usually easier, but just as important!
Simply list out each step. Be as specific as possible.
NOTE: Do it AS A CUSTOMER not as a business.
For example, if I were doing this for our marketing agency:
I need a marketing solution to help achieve my business goals.
I do some research about my options and what I need.
I look at some agency websites to see their story, specialists and results.
I find one that looks good and resonates with me and my business.
I send an enquiry to organise a time to chat.
I receive a call from their director who asks me about my business.
They provide their recommendations, package options and how much it costs.
I receive a proposal re-capping everything on the call.
I show the proposal to my team and we compare our options.
I contact them to say we’d like to work together and what the next steps are.
I receive an agreement to sign a calendar link for a kick-off meeting.
I receive a hamper at our office with a welcome note.
Updating your avatar.
Regularly come back and tweak your customer avatar as your business changes, or you are introducing new products.
Your customer avatar isn't a 'set and forget' kind of thing. It's a living, breathing profile that evolves over time. Keep it updated and watch how it transforms every aspect of your marketing.
Other Pieces You Need
Now that you’ve nailed your customer avatar, you’re ready to move on!
I created a free eBook called Before The Spend: 6 Critical Things You Must Have Before You Invest In Paid Marketing.
If you’re ready to tackle the next steps, download it for free here!
And if you’d like to work with me and my agency directly, click the button to contact our team. Either way, I hope this blog was useful. Thanks for reading!