// brand bootcamp
WEEK 2
This week we are starting to find more clarity in your business; there are two exercises to complete this week.
Let’s start by getting super clear on the different terms we will be using going forward.
target market, niche & ideal client.
what do these terms mean to you and your business?
These terms are often confused, so let me help you out and explain them in the simplest way I can. Imagine the the circle opposite represents the customers or clients in your business. As we move further into the centre of the circles we get clearer and more specific on exactly who we should be working with, or selling to.
The aim of this work is to understand your customers and clients so intimately, that by the end you know exactly what motivates them to pick you or your business and can ensure that you double down on the parts of your business that will ensure they do!
target market/audience.
Your target market is much more broad than your niche, and ideal client. It’s people who might want your products or services. People your business may appeal to, and you could feasibly do business with. People in the market for what you sell.
For example if you are an interior designer your target audience could be people who are interested in renovating houses, people who have recently moved or are looking to improve their homes.
If you are a website designer it could be people who are looking for a new website. So simply, it’s a specific group of people most likely to respond positively to your promotions, products, and services.
niche.
A NICHE is defined as ‘denoting products, services, or interests that appeal to a small, specialised section of the population’. The key here is small and specialised. It’s a narrowed sub-section of the target market. It’s the area of the market, specifically, that your business is geared towards.
People often worry that by being ‘too niche’ they will lose clients, but this isn’t the case. You may lose the clients that are a bad fit for your business, and that’s OK.
You simply cannot be all things to all people, you will end up being nothing to nobody!
You will always attract people around this small specialised radius, and these people will fall into your ‘target market’.
So, if you sell interior design services for example, have you narrowed it down to a submarket within the larger market?
So not just interior design services, but interior design services for people who are renovating period residential family homes. And not just any old residential family homes, but residential family homes in the leafy suburbs and parents of young children. And not just that, but families who want a home that is functional (with plenty of clever storage solutions) that doesn’t compromise on style.
You may narrow it further by geography, if you only work fairly locally for example. Or you could narrow it down so it’s people with children who are under 10 years old for example. Or perhaps they are families that have recently moved out of London to get more space for their growing family..?
Do you see how by being really specific we start to narrow the market right down, and if these are the types of clients we want to work with then we can tailor our marketing, websites and all comms to them specifically.
It should feel like we are talking directly to them and our design services would be the only logical choice. It would feel like your business is perfect for them.
If I am a parent who has just bought an old house in Surrey that needs work, and I’m tearing my hair out because of a lack of storage but am really busy and I come across this Interior designer and love their style I’m going to feel that she/he is the the exact right fit for me.
ideal clients.
IDEAL CLIENTS is even more specific. These are the types of customers and clients that you love to work with, who love your work and are happy to spend on your products or services. They are the clients you want more of - your dream clients.
They don’t micro manage or undermine you, they trust you and love what you do. They are happy to buy from you. They are happy to recommend you.
You may have heard the terms ‘avatar’ or ‘muse’ or ‘customer archetypes’ they are all the same thing as your ideal client.
It’s likely that your business may have several types of ideal clients which need to be outlined.
Once you know who, specifically, you want to do business with - to the point where we give them a name and choose a photo to represent them - you can start talking to them directly through everything you do in your business, online and off.
This is powerful stuff.
Once you know who EXACTLY you want to work with, or sell to, you can ensure that everything aligns with appealing to this person (or people). You can tailor everything and always ask yourself the question ‘would Amelia like this?’ (assuming your ideal client is called Amelia) before you post anything to social media, design anything or create a new package or service.
The reason you may need several is because it’s likely you have different ideal clients for your different products or services. I usually create 3/4 per business to start with. Don’t worry we are going to cover this part together.
Homework
This week we are going to start by really defining your TARGET AUDIENCE/MARKET & NICHE.
Next week we will be concentrating on your ideal client and working through it together.
How to gain clarity…
Start by taking a blank sheet of paper and write down everything you know about your target market. This may come easily - you may know your clients or customers pretty well. Or you may have to dig a little deeper, especially if you sell a product online and don’t have much interaction with your customers.
Who would be in the market for what you sell?
Who could you sell to?
Are there groups of people that you don’t currently work with or sell to that you would like to?
What do you know about them? Do you have addresses for previous customers, so can start to narrow down by location for example?
Who are the most obvious people? Who are the less obvious ones? What are they looking for when they decide to work with, or buy from you?
If you have existing clients, think about the ones that you work with where the work really light you up. Which clients or customers do you enjoy working with the most and feel are the best ‘fit’ for your business - the ones that you think ‘if only all of them could be like this’. What specifically is it about your favourite clients or customers that you enjoy? Why are they a good match for your business?
Are there more people out there like them? How would you describe them…(write it all down!)
Next we need to get much more specific, what else do you know about them? What details do you know? Is there something that currently ties your existing clients or customers together - a thread that runs through perhaps? Are they all looking for the same type of experience for example, do they all tend to find you in a specific way? Are they all a similar age or from a similar background or community?
If you don’t really have any customers yet, or they are really mixed (possibly because you have been getting your business going and therefore saying ‘yes’ to everything) think about who you would really like to work with in the future. Which types of people? Which clients have you loved working with so far?
If you sell a product - consider who you would be thrilled to see with your product in their hands? Which home? Who would be wearing it? Why would this thrill you? Do you have someone in mind when you are making, designing or creating your product?
Keep writing until you cannot think of any more to write!
Now look at your page/s and see if you can start to pull out the common ground with the customers or clients you have described. Are they all looking for something similar? Do they know what they need? Do you know what they need?
Can you it narrow down to the people or customers that would have you jumping out of bed every morning with a spring in your step?
If you are struggling to define your target market and niche don’t worry I can help you, but please do share everything you have written (or ideally typed up) with me before our next session, as it will help with the ideal client work hugely.
This or That exercise
Please download and print the ‘This or That’ sheet and cut along the horizontal lines, so you end up with two words side by side on each strip.
Next lay out all the strips on the floor and take a good look at them one by one, decide which is the best word out of the two and start to fold them in half, so the word that you feel fits best with your brand is facing up.
You will end up with a bunch of words facing you and half hidden. Next go through and ruthlessly cull until you end up with around 8 -10 words that you feel are really right for your brand.
Remember this in’t just about personal taste!
Competitors
This will take some research. We want to find out who else is offering something similar to you in the current market. This is a case of doing some google searches and asking questions of people you know. If they were looking for a business like yours what where would they look? How would they go about finding someone? What are they googling?
Once you have spent some time researching it’s time to make a list of the top 10 other businesses that you have found that are offering something similar. We need their website addresses, with a little bit of info of how you perceive them to be different / better/worse that your business.
Whilst you are doing this research, if you find any other websites that you really like (even if they are not in your field) please start another running list (make a note) of sites you like and why, we want to build up a picture of the styles that resonate with you and why. We will work on this more in the coming weeks.
Brand seasons words
Please download the attached pdf of brand words - we are going to start working with words first before any visuals. We need to get to the heart of your business and start choosing a brand season.
Please cross out the words that don’t feel right for your brand.
Remember this is not about your personal taste, but it’s about asking the question “do I want my business to be perceived as…(insert the word from the list)”
and “is that right for my brand?”
Once you have crossed out those that instinctively feel wrong, go back through the list again looking more closely at the remaining words and try to narrow these down further to around 10 - 20 words. Try to look at this from a fresh perspective, rather than what you have done before. Consider the vision you are formulating.
Once you know precisely who you want to be working with, you can build your business to align with that choice.
This is about getting super clear and super intentional, creating a business that plays to your strengths and allows you to say no to things that don’t align.
It allows you to elevate.
— Liz Carrington