Many wedding, catering, and events businesses work endlessly to create content they hope will connect with potential clients. You spend hours obsessing over how to convey the fantastic things you do for their customers, why complete strangers should work with you, and how to start the buyer’s journey. The problem is, your customers don’t want to know about what you can do for everyone else. They want to see what you can do for them.
Your message doesn’t need to resonate with the masses; it needs to connect with individuals. But how do you craft material that motivates your ideal customers to do business with you?
For starters, you can’t start marketing to your ideal client until you know who they are.
Do you understand their likes and interests? Do you know what kind of writing style they enjoy? Do you know what social media platforms they use and how often they are on those platforms? Most importantly, do you know how to create a message that moves and inspires them?
If you can’t answer these questions, you should start getting to know your ideal client. It may seem like a difficult task, but diving in can be a simple process.
Create an Ideal Client Avatar (ICA)
The ICA’s power is its ability to help you build a marketing plan that works by making your message more personal. It helps you learn more about what your dream clients think and feel. It also allows you to humanize your clients and to make more focused promotions. With tools like the Ideal Client Avatar, you can create a fictional yet realistic image of your target audience.
An example of an ICA is “Susie,” a 29-year-old that expresses as a female who is a part-time wedding blogger and school teacher. She wants her wedding to look like the masterpieces she features on her blog but is afraid that she won’t find someone who can capture that particular brand of magic. She loves food, photography, and writing and is a social butterfly.
“Susie” doesn’t exist, but customers just like her may be in your target audience.
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Coming from the perspective of someone who will find your business irresistible will allow you to stop, reflect on your marketing efforts, and ensure your business is doing everything it can to help potential clients. You can shift your promotions from what you do to what you can do to help your customers. Once you create your avatar, you can use your ICA as a guide to ensure your message resonates and books more business.
When creating your ICA, look to include your clients’ background, demographics, hobbies, interests, goals, challenges, fears, and common objections. Make sure the profile is based on fact, not fiction. Use information gathered from census data, customer reviews, surveys, and research to create solid ICAs.
Target your writing
Do your clients like quirky writing, or do they prefer more elegant words? Your ICA tells you what style and tone to use in your promotional materials. Each audience requires a different writing approach. The way you speak to party animal soonlyweds would be different than food-lovers who want to have a good time tasting new foods and could care less about their dance moves. Other factors that determine your tone include age and gender.
Hone in on search terms
Your ICA can guide you to choose the best keywords to attract more people who are likely to schedule a consultation call. Shift your focus from industry-specific keywords to phrases that your customers would type in the Google search bar. Knowing the words that your ideal client might use online is an excellent way to get ahead of the competition and better understand what kind of solutions your clients need.
Understand pain points
Knowing what problems your clients are having is essential. This knowledge allows you to market your products and services to their needs and find solutions that will make their lives easier. Empathize with your customers and put yourself in their shoes. When your customers feel as if you understand them, they will gravitate toward you and your offerings. Use storytelling to make your message more precise and compelling.
Learn more about your customers’ interests
Your customer’s interests should play a part in your marketing efforts. Use your ICA to write blog posts, social media captions, podcasts, and other materials that grab their attention. Continue to build relationships by keeping them engaged, and your conversion rates will increase. Don’t forget to lean into their challenges and how you can help. Pique their attention with examples, advice, and behind-the-scenes best practices.
The message you portray in your marketing material matters, and it can turn your business into a successful operation. Your plan doesn’t have to be super complicated. All you need is knowledge of who your ideal client is and how you can best solve their problem. Once you discover that, you can create a message that converts them to loyal customers who enjoy doing business with you.
