Who Are You Being Called to Serve?
This is perhaps the most important question you will have to answer as you decide on your new business.
Some will say you simply need someone to buy from you. I believe you need someone to first serve. If you approach any endeavor with a servant’s heart, you will then have a much better chance that they will buy from you.
The reality is that we don’t necessarily connect with everyone we meet. But we do tend to connect more with those most like ourselves.
Additionally, the product or service you provide may dictate some of the variables listed below.
Who Is Your Ideal Customer?
There are several aspects to consider as you decide who is your ideal customer:
- Age – Studies have shown we connect most with those who are within 10 years of our age. So if you are 35 years old, your ideal customer will most likely be between the ages of 25 and 45. Of course, your product or service may be more applicable to those older or those younger.
- Family Structure – If you are married with children, you will most likely connect with other people who are have children. This can include married and couples and divorced people. However, this is a category that can be more driven by your product or service. For example, if you are providing “how-to” information on dog training, the family structure of the dog owner will little matter.
- Income Level – This, too, may be more product or service specific. Not only in the sense of who can afford your particular offering, but also in terms of just who might be in the market for what you provide.
- Education Level – Perhaps you can argue this category may matter for some products or services, but I find it of little importance.
- Address – This, of course, will matter greatly for a local service provider. It can also matter if you are trying to attract a more (or less) affluent clientele by targeting particular zip codes.
Find a Starving Crowd of People
Where does your ideal customer “hang out”? To answer this question, you need to first determine what is their preferred Social Media platform?
Why? Because social media is the new marketplace for most consumers. consider this from smartbrief.com:
Why social media and e-commerce is powerful
Embedding e-commerce within social media is powerful in that it allows customers to discover brands through social content, and find products they normally wouldn’t search for on an e-commerce platform.
This “discovery through social content” process is important for smaller, niche brands that are up and coming but may not have as many advertising dollars to spend on an e-commerce platform. The customer journey may be longer, but there is also more time for a brand to create a unique shopping experience and for the customer to get to know the brand, creating loyalty for the long run.
Most people will utilize more than one social media platform; however, they will generally have a favorite. In addition, your offering may favor one over another.
Here is a list and some characteristics of the most popular choices. (Statistics from influencermarketinghub.com):
- Facebook – My kids say this is where the old people hang out! And they are probably right. Facebook is currently the largest social media site in the world. With 2.7 billion monthly active users as of 2020, it’s safe to say that nearly every social media user is on Facebook. So it’s an excellent platform for brands to market their products to a huge audience.Users can share text posts, links, images, and videos with their Facebook friends. Brands can also promote their products using paid ads on Facebook.
- YouTube – YouTube is the largest video-sharing social media site in the world. YouTube lets it’s 2 billion monthly active users upload videos on the platform, view videos from other users, and interact with them. YouTube users spend an average of 40 minutes watching videos on the platform.
- Instagram – Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social networking platforms, currently with 1.16 billion monthly active users. While it is mostly app-based, users can also access their feed through the website version. Instagram is a highly visual platform, where users share videos and images. It is very popular among the younger generations. According to Statista, 32% of users are aged between 18 and 24; 33% are aged between 25 and 34; 16% are aged between 35 and 44; 9% are aged between 45 and 54; and 3% are aged between 55 and 64.
- Pinterest -Pinterest is a virtual scrapbooking social media site and is therefore, highly visual. It’s 416 million monthly active users have created over 4 billion themed boards and added more than 200 billion images and products (pins) to the board. Brands can even create Shoppable Pins through which users can directly make purchases.
- Twitter – Twitter is a platform that lets it’s 353 million monthly active users stay on top of trending topics and engage in relevant conversations. While it doesn’t have as many users as other top social media sites, it does have a highly engaged user base. Twitter users send out at least 500 million tweets per day on average.
Figure Out What They Need
Fulfilling others comes down to answering two simple questions: “What to they want?” and “What do they fear?”
- First, understand their Hopes and Dreams. This is their burning desire. You must figure out the One Key Benefit they want.
- Second, understand their Struggles and Doubts. This is their urgent pain. You must figure out the One Key Fear they have.
- Remember, the fear of loss is perhaps the greatest motivator in the world. Focus more on solving their urgent pain.
Next, answer this questions: “What have they tried in the past to solve their problem?”
- Understand their thought process and how they have already tried to solve their problem.
How can you answer these questions? By listening to them on social media! By joining Facebook groups dedicated to related topics. In all cases, make sure you are genuinely interacting and adding value to the conversations.
Finally, answer this question: What do you know that they don’t know?
- What service or product can you offer that will provide a better outcome?
Provide the Result They Are After
Through this process, your goal is to establish a list of like minded people. Done properly, this will provide you customers who will continually purchase products and services from you. Done exceptionally, these people will become Raving Fans who will be your best source of new customers as well.
Once you understand their fears and desires, you simply have to provide solutions to satisfy their wants.
Remember to…
- Focus on the One Key Fear they have and the One Key Benefit they seek.
- Determine the money making solution to solve their top problem.
- Make sure your solution has a “Message to Market Match” (Don’t sell a hamburger to a starving vegetarian. Sell a hamburger to a someone who is hungry AND who likes hamburgers!)
- Connect your list with products and services they are already looking for.
The solution to their problem can be in the form of an e-product (such as a “how-to” guide, an instructional video or mp3 recording, a checklist, etc.) It can also be a physical product (such as a cleaning product, nutritional supplements, electronic device, etc.)
In the case of an e-product, this can be something you personally create and provide to them. But it can also be something others have created and you provided it to them as an affiliate.
In the case of a physical product, this can be something you provide as a direct distributor of the manufacturer. But you can also act as a middleman, connecting buyers and sellers through platforms such as Amazon.