Marketing works best when it speaks to a specific person with a specific problem. An ideal customer profile describes the customers who get the most value from your product and are most valuable to you.
What to Include
- Who they are: role, business type or life situation
- The problem they are trying to solve and how urgent it is
- How they solve it today
- Where they look for information and advice
- What triggers them to look for a solution
- What would make them hesitate
Use Evidence
Base the profile on interviews, customer data and sales conversations. If you have customers, look at those who stayed longest, use the product most and were easiest to sell to.
Narrow Is Good
A narrow focus can feel limiting, but it makes your message sharper and your channels cheaper. You can expand once you have traction.
Example
A hypothetical accounting tool initially targeted all small businesses. Narrowing to independent creative agencies with five to twenty staff let it write specific messages, choose relevant communities and partner with an agency association.
Exercise
Write a one-page ideal customer profile using the list above.