I was young and irritating once, although I didn’t think so at the time, obviously!

 

It was so long ago that the photos were all on film, and honestly, I don’t have that many. (Perhaps for the best?! 😆)

 

 

I digress!

 

I had just transferred to Newcastle College and joined my course halfway through.

 

Needless to say, I was trying to make friends, fit in, and connect with a class that had been bonding for a year already.

 

Very early on, dressed in my baggy oversized blue jeans and band top (probably Foo fighters), I was chatting to Fiona. She’d asked what music I listen to, and I mentioned one of the bands was called Metallica, and then I followed with something along the lines of “But you probably don’t know who they are.”

 

I cringe now, looking back. And I probably cringed there and then too!

As you’ve guessed, of course, she’d heard of Metallica. 🙈

 

The good news is that she forgave me for being a complete douche, and she was one of my closest friends during college. 😅

 

But the story is one that has helped in my business, which is why I’m sharing it with you.

 

I stood looking ‘cool’ in my bandana, dressed ready for a gig, and made a flash judgement about her music taste.

 

And when we are building our own ideal client avatar, we are naturally making judgements about what that person is like.

 

We can’t get around to some of this; we have to research and surmise.

But one key thing that we can do to address this knowledge gap is to actually talk to our ideal clients.

 

 

 

 

You can offer free consultation calls that you can design so that you, of course, help the attendee, but that is specifically designed to understand your ideal client's needs and challenges. It can feel like an awkward thing to do, but it is the fastest way to get to know your ideal client.

 

These are not about selling, it is simply a chance to have a more direct conversation with your ideal client.

 

 

 

You can get more active in online communities- Facebook groups are good for this one. If your ideal clients are there, then it is well worth your time to participate in conversation and ask the questions you need to when they come up naturally. If you’re running any kind of engagement campaign or social listening, then you’ll be doing this anyway, so use that time to add this task into it!

 

 

 

You can develop surveys or questionnaires to gather data from your ideal client base. They offer a convenient way to collect a wider range of responses, but they are a bigger ask for your ideal client, so keep that in mind. Social media polls are a really quick way to ask questions and get some responses, and are a lower ask, but remember, when it is public like that, your answers might come from followers that are not your actual ideal client.

 

 

 

Consider which of the three approaches you can add to help you get to know your ideal client better. How could you add that into your current market research that you do?