Having an ultra-specific customer avatar lets your business become more efficient, aware of what your market craves, and gives you the ability to solve problems and generate revenue.  

But what is a customer avatar, exactly? 

Also known as an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), a customer avatar is simply a detailed description of your perfect potential customer. 

It’s a simple way to distill crucial information about your target audience using information like: 

• Demographics
• Primary goals, dreams, and desires
• Information sourcing
• Difficulties & challenges
• Purchasing habits

Knowing all of these things allows you to have your finger on the pulse of your potential buyers – and in turn – lets you set your marketing crosshairs firmly in sight, providing improved customer engagement, a competitive advantage, and customer loyalty. 

Would you find any of those things useful? 

Read on to generate all of those through your own customer avatar, and remember…

Specificity sells. 

If you’re marketing to everyone, you’re marketing to no one. 

Here are seven (7) ways to generate your ideal customer avatar and start becoming intentional about securing more business.

Market Research

You can’t beat the basics. Don’t know exactly what your customers are interested in? Ask! 

Utilizing simple tools like surveys, interviews, and focus groups gives you a comprehensive look into the pain points and desires of your target audience. These can be sent out via your email list, in-store, direct mail (a bit less common these days) or across your social media platforms. Whatever method you choose, be sure to ask pertinent questions that gather information like:

• Demographics
• Needs
• Pain points
• Preferences

Having this information is an invaluable asset when crafting your customer avatar. 

Analyzing Customer Data

If you happen to have your invaluable customer data gathered, it’s time to make it work for you. 

Analyze customer transactions, behaviors, interactions, feedback, and engagement metrics to identify trends in customer behavior that lead to action items for your business. 

With your information in hand, you’ll be able to make adjustments based on real-world, verifiable data – not what you *think* may be the truth about your customers.

Buyer Personas

Armed with market research and the subsequent data, you can begin to develop a humanized buyer persona that’ll develop into a fully-fledged avatar. You can do this by reviewing the information you’ve gathered and asking a few simple questions: 

• What are the common shared characteristics?
• What are they interested in?
• What problem and pain are they looking to solve? 

This is a great time to use your experience in conjunction with what your data saying. Getting started with this process will go a long way in helping you lay the foundation for what will become an ultra-specific customer avatar. 

Utilizing Social Media

This is a fantastic way to put your proverbial ear to the ground and get a bead on what things your customers are talking about.

Take the time to visit the social media platforms, forums, sites, and online communities relevant to your industry. Listen to the conversations, opinions, and feedback from your target audience, and pay close attention to their questions and concerns. 

• What are their biggest pain points?
• What type of language are they using?
• What questions and phrases come up?

Bonus Tip: This is also a great way to find words and phrases to include in your own content that’ll resonate and feel familiar to your target audience.

Surveys & Feedback

Let’s go into more detail regarding surveys and feedback. 

When utilizing these, design them in a way that gathers information that leads to actionable steps on your end. Data is only as useful as the insights you take from it, so be sure to include questions that provide answers you need. 

If you’re having trouble getting these completed, offering a small incentive like a discount, free guide, or other valuable lead magnet can be helpful. 

By getting these answered, you’ll have a more refined understanding of your target audience’s motivations and expectations. 

Market Segmentations

Zero in and get specific. 

Divide your target market into distinct segments based on the criteria of your choosing (demographics, behaviors, etc.) and give yourself the best chance at creating a crystal clear customer avatar.

Why? 

You won’t be hamstrung by broad, generic marketing content that doesn’t apply to your audience (and never really converts anyone).

Your new avatar will have specific problems, pains, and desires that you’ll be fully aware of and ready to address with clarity and specificity. 

Continuous Improvement

Customer preferences and market dynamics are constantly changing, so it’s critical to regularly review and update your customer avatar. 

Keep up on changes in consumer behavior, market trends, and industry developments. Use this information to adjust your customer avatar accordingly to maintain relevance, loyalty, and alignment with your target audience. 

Wrap Up 

Having an ultra-specific customer avatar is an invaluable asset to your business.

It allows you to understand what your market craves, remain relevant, and always be able to solve problems and generate revenue. 

Give these 7 ways a try and see if you don’t begin to understand your target audience in a new way, and because of it, start to see more fruit from your content marketing and outreach efforts.