The Hidden Powerhouse: The Most Overlooked Yet Crucial Aspect Of Your Business

Speaker 1 Hello and welcome to the UCAN podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Dolly Jarvis, and this week we're going to be talking around the hidden powerhouse, the most overlooked yet crucial aspect of your business.

Speaker 1 But what is this powerhouse? What is this crucial aspect that gets overlooked so much? Well, here are some clues. Let me know when you figured out what it was.
Okay.

Speaker 1 I am the thing that underpins your business activities. I'm the exercise most people have already done and found pretty useless.
I'm often described as too vague and a bit of a guessing game.

Speaker 1 People regularly talk about me but rarely properly understand me. People often sigh or roll their eyes when I'm mentioned.
Who am I?

Speaker 1 I am of course describing here your ideal customer.

Speaker 1 Now before you decide to skip this episode, episode do yourself a favor and stick with me for just two minutes okay Yvette one of my new clients came to me recently on her onboarding session

Speaker 1 we were talking through and getting to understand her business that little bit more she couldn't get any interest in her service and I knew it was a targeting problem I knew the answer to which lay in a hundred percent was in her understanding of her ideal customer it could be the offer itself the messaging around the offer, where she was talking about what she does,

Speaker 1 all of which could be resolved by understanding her ideal customer better.

Speaker 1 But in the past, Yvette had been subjected to ideal customer exercises before but the problem is is that I say subjected because they can so easily be used as a bit of a paper exercise there's no context there's no value to it you feel like you're guessing you feel like you're just plucking ideas out of thin air no further research is done and it's all kind of just brushed over and you move on to the next thing.

Speaker 1 But Yvette had spent an awful lot of money on a number of different courses but the problem was that she wasn't getting anywhere with any of them and that really did lie in her ideal customer, her understanding of ideal customer and I knew straight away that I could help her.

Speaker 1 Yvette on the other hand wasn't so sure and when I got her to do the ideal client exercise she just sent me a copy of her previous work that she'd done on it and she really wasn't engaged or switched on at all to the ideal customer idea but once I started to ask her questions on our onboarding sessions, she began to understand she really didn't know her ideal customer at all.

Speaker 1 So, yeah, I'd be asking her, you know, what's brought them to that, and what's made them do this, and what's the background? And she's like, I've no idea, not really thought about that before.

Speaker 1 And time and time again, that same response was coming off. And so, I took sent her off to do some research.
Okay, lots of people say it's just a guess, okay.

Speaker 1 And in the beginning, like, it is a guess, uh, and so people are like, Well, what's the point? If I'm just guessing, then and then what's the point in doing this?

Speaker 1 But the thing is, is that from those initial guesses, you can actually mark on.

Speaker 1 I get a lot of clients to mark on at their answers with whether it's I color code them because I just love a bit of color coding, but you can color code your or mark on a key or whatever the various activities that the questions that came up, which you were not 100% sure about.

Speaker 1 You were guessing, you're doing sort of a best-guess scenario so that you can revisit them, you can fill them them in later you know that they're possibly weaker foundations on which to make decisions and so that can therefore support you it can help you to to understand and to start improving upon that original basis and how you approve upon it is to go away and to do some research what do people want who's saying what based on who you think your ideal customer is

Speaker 1 What are they saying? What are these people talking about? Are they your ideal customer? Are they aware that they need what you've got? Where are they at? What are are they talking around?

Speaker 1 What are they spending their money on? What are they spending their time on? About two years ago now, I worked with a lady called Natalie. She wasn't clear at all on her ideal customer.

Speaker 1 She'd actually been in business for nine years. She'd got multiple businesses.
It wasn't just one, she actually had three.

Speaker 1 All centered around the same sort of offer that she was delivering, but to different audiences for different motivations.

Speaker 1 And when we got clear, she realized that one of her businesses was very predictable and easy to serve.

Speaker 1 serve one of her ideal clients were really a dream they were they were great they were highly motivated there was a regular influx of them supported by initiatives done by third parties which weren't going to change anytime soon there was nothing fixed in she wasn't relying on anyone or anything like that and but it was a system that was well used The other two, on the other hand, from her other two businesses, were not ideal and they were hard work for the income that she was generating in return for the effort she was putting in.

Speaker 1 She was so much better off focusing in on that first business and the ideal customer that existed within that. In the end, she actually sold her other two businesses.

Speaker 1 There was value in them, they could definitely be scaled by the right people. But having sort of struck on her ideal client that worked for her, she was able to keep her business a lot simpler.

Speaker 1 Okay, she now works part-time, she's relocated, she's semi-retired, and she's thoroughly enjoying working with that easy-to-work with ideal client.

Speaker 1 We touched base the other week, and she said to me, You know what?

Speaker 1 It was that work that we did on the ideal client, even though I'd been in business for so long, which helped me to truly understand them and truly appreciate how I could serve them best and how I could serve them in a very time and effort-efficient way.

Speaker 1 And look at the other two and realize the impact and the value that they were providing me with in return for the amount of work involved.

Speaker 1 I am not exaggerating when I say this is the biggest area of improvement for your business.

Speaker 1 There are so many different indicators, so many different things that you can find out from your ideal client.

Speaker 1 For example, understanding who they are, what motivates them, what third-party interests they might have, what age they are, age range or stage in life they're at, their gender, etc.

Speaker 1 can help you understand what platforms they're likely to hang out on.

Speaker 1 Understanding that means that you can focus in your marketing on the places they are most likely to be found.

Speaker 1 Your messaging can come from the words that they are using to describe the challenges that they are currently experiencing.

Speaker 1 Your pricing can be determined by understanding the value that they put on the offer that you're providing and the solution that you're providing.

Speaker 1 That can come from the conversations that they're having on what priorities fit where for them.

Speaker 1 The way in which you deliver your service or your offer can again be determined and derived from the conversations that they're having and the ways that they say that they prefer to work based on their lifestyle, their age, their gender, their priorities.

Speaker 1 There is just so much information to be gleaned from your ideal client. It is such an amazing source of information and such a great resource.
So, what sort of questions should you be asking yourself?

Speaker 1 What sort of things should you be thinking about when it comes to your ideal client? Well, my full comprehensive list that I get clients who are on board to go through contains 23 questions.

Speaker 1 Now, that can be a little bit overwhelming without context and without the support that I tend to provide them with. But to give you an idea of some of the things you should be thinking about,

Speaker 1 obviously, one of the key factors to start with is their age, or what I refer to as a life stage. What I mean by life stage is where are they at in their life at the moment?

Speaker 1 Now, I have spoken to people who've been like, Well, you know what, my product is suitable really for anybody from the age of sort of 16 to 60.

Speaker 1 But when you start thinking about what that looks like in reality, a 16-year-old is just starting out in life, they're just starting to get independent, they're probably purchasing things, for example, out of a Saturday job or a casual job.

Speaker 1 Whereas somebody at the age of 60 is coming towards heading towards retirement.

Speaker 1 They have disposable income potentially because they've been there, they've done that, they've had children, the children have flown the nest, etc. etc.

Speaker 1 And they may be even thinking around grandchildren. And so

Speaker 1 they've got their different priorities, they've got different things that they're willing to spend their time and money on.

Speaker 1 And that's the thing is, it's not just about where does their money go, it's also about how are they prepared to invest their time.

Speaker 1 That is also a precious resource and one that people you know take into consideration when making a decision.

Speaker 1 Then you go on to gender, and you know, there's lots of opinions now with genders and gender neutral and everything else.

Speaker 1 But you know, stereotypically, what are their behaviors that you would normally classify based on gender? So, you know, are they

Speaker 1 somebody who buys from like women where we need lots of information, we need lots of facts, we need a breakdown of the information and what's going to be happening and when, or do we make decisions that those individuals make decisions more like guys where they want to know the outcome and the investment time and money-wise, and that's about it?

Speaker 1 The kind of detail isn't as significant to them.

Speaker 1 It's important to know that so that you can provide that information upfront front and you're not going to get objections over not knowing things and also the level of communication that they may want etc etc etc what are their top three motivations for using your product is another thing so what are their motivations understanding their motivations how do they make that buying decision okay so are they going to be searching the internet asking friends or colleagues because that's going to affect how you market yourself and where you put that information which meets their questions addressing their objections another area my questions focus on is complimentary brands because you need to be aware of what what stages this individual at in their awareness of first of all their need but also the solutions to their need for example somebody who has used a competitor is going to be more switched on to the outcome that you can provide but they're going to want to know how you compare to that competitor and obviously you know from your point of view you need to understand where that customer has been let down or where their, you know, their needs haven't been met so that you can make sure that you can meet those.

Speaker 1 They may be more suspicious, for example, over the claims that you can make, over the support you can provide.

Speaker 1 But then, you know, the flip side to that is somebody who is new to the industry, you're going to have to sell them the outcome and

Speaker 1 why you are the best person to deliver that outcome. And that is where it is really important to be able to understand.

Speaker 1 where that starting point is and what information that person is going to need and therefore what sort of marketing and messaging you're going to be using.

Speaker 1 There's no point selling against a competitor and talking around how different you are to other people available on the market if they weren't aware of the market or the solution before stumbling across your social media, for example.

Speaker 1 Their likes and dislikes and interests are all key things where, you know, you can bond over.

Speaker 1 You could be anti-something that actually, you know, is is really important to you and you will be able to find sort of solidarity with other individuals who have the same outlook.

Speaker 1 As far as their interests are concerned, that can help you understand whereabouts you might be able to look for joint ventures, etc.

Speaker 1 And so, there is so much opportunity for you to then understand how you may be able to market and market more creatively.

Speaker 1 I remember working with a tree surgeon company a good few years ago now, and they actually used to sponsor a local run.

Speaker 1 The reason they did that was because they knew that people who took part in that run tended to be people who owned gardens in a particular area,

Speaker 1 particular location and so they sponsored the bags for these events and they would actually sell out it was the beginning of the summer summer period and they would then be booked up for basically the rest of the year um on different jobs that had come from that sponsorship so it's understanding you know how do you relate why would you relate a tree surgeon to a run but actually that is exactly how that works in that situation by understanding their ideal client your understanding of your ideal client is always an evolving thing if you find that you are becoming increasingly frustrated with a lack of motivation for example or demand has changed for your offer and you don't understand why then go back and revisit the ideal client i tend to get clients to revisit their ideal client to update them on a quarterly basis it is amazing how things can change for example you can go from you know what i want to work with teachers i had a client recently who like yeah I work with teachers and then actually when we started looking into it it was actually a certain segment of teachers who'd had a particular experience who had had enough who were motivated and who were highly motivated and therefore you go back to your ideal client and they tweak that ideal client so they're now looking for those highly motivated motivated individuals who'd had that experience and it's only normally through time and through working with these individuals that you can get clear on who you want to work with.

Speaker 1 Recently I had a client who they were very very clear I want to work with these individuals. I want to work with mums who need to change up their lives, who've had enough.

Speaker 1 And then actually, she got some beta testers. She started working with these individuals.
She understood how busy they were and how actually low down their priorities they themselves were.

Speaker 1 And then she realised that actually I don't want to be working with these individuals. I want to catch them before this happens.

Speaker 1 Get them when they're single and they have that focus on themselves and they have the time and they have the finances available. to do the work that is needed to get them in a good place.

Speaker 1 So when actually they do get to the point of having relationships and settling down and having children, they are in a position where they already have those skills and they're already able to make those changes for themselves.

Speaker 1 So, sometimes it is a you know, it's a tweaking, it's an adjustment, but you don't know that until you get out there and start talking to your ideal client.

Speaker 1 For those of you with more established businesses, looking and reviewing, even when you're looking at different product offerings, working with your ideal client to make sure that the offers you're putting together are relevant to those individuals.

Speaker 1 Or if you are seeking a different market, understanding how that's going to affect your business as a brand and looking at how you can navigate that to make sure that your socials and your messaging still work for for different options So that's it for me this week guys.

Speaker 1 I hope you have enjoyed talking and me talking around ideal customer.

Speaker 1 I hope it has got you thinking about things differently and if you have been one of those people who in the past has been subjected to paper exercises where it hasn't really meant anything I really do hope that it's kind of brought it to life and provided more context on what you you can do and how you can be using your ideal client in your business to help it grow the amount of businesses that I found which have stagnated they're not at the sort of five figure months that they're looking for and it has been down to just being a little bit too hit and miss with their ideal client honing in on that getting very very clear and talking to those individuals can make so much difference so that's it for me guys this week have a great rest of your week please do subscribe and also do leave us a review and it all helps and it'll be greatly received if you do want to get involved more and you do have more questions on ideal client or you'd like my support with your business then please do get in touch at sarah at ucan.online or alternatively join the facebook group which is a great place to start that's you can women in business so that's it for me guys have a great rest of your week bye for now