What we think our clients want and what they actually want can be vastly different. The only way to create offerings that are easy for them to say yes to and solve their problems is to find out for sure. And the easiest way to do that is to ask them! When you ask your audience what they need, it paints a clear picture of how you should position your business and your solutions in a way that appeals to them.
So how do you come to understand what your clients really want?
- Survey them – I did this recently and the results were outstanding! There are a few key ways to make sure your survey is successful. Make the survey offer simple and compelling. Keep the survey focused on just a few key questions. It should take less than five minutes for your participants to fill out the survey. Send out an invite to your email marketing list and promote the survey on your blog and through social media.
- Get out and meet with them – Using online and offline networking can help you get in tune with what your target market needs and wants. Be strategic with networking. Don’t participate in social media or attend local networking events just for the sake of it. Select groups, events and websites that will attract your ideal clients. Make it a point to interact with your ideal prospects on a regular basis and pay attention to their biggest problems and concerns.
- Speak to them – Public speaking is a great way to get in front of your ideal clients and learn about their needs. Focus on groups, organizations and associations that cater to your ideal client. Find out what they want by asking the education director and present a talk on a compelling topic. Collect feedback about your presentation at the end to get to know your ideal clients better.
By listening to your clients and spending more time around them, you can understand how your solutions will appeal to them. Don’t guess when it comes to growing your business! Use a survey, meet with clients in networking groups and present at a local group and you’ll be able to create offerings that will appeal to the people you want to work with.
Did you have a breakthrough moment when you realized who your idea client was and what they wanted help with? Share your story in a comment below!
YOUR ACTION PLAN FOR THIS WEEK:
- Create a 5 to 7 question survey to understand what your ideal clients need most. Use a tool like SurveyMonkey.com to create your survey and then promote it through your email list and social media.
- Find a local event and an online group that attracts your ideal client. Schedule time in the next month to attend the event and connect with the online group to understand your ideal clients better.
- Look for speaking opportunities. In the next month, connect with an education director of a group that attracts your ideal clients. Offer to speak on a topic that you have expertise in. Be sure to collect feedback at the end of your presentation.
This is my first time to your site. This is great guidance. The key ingredient I see is ‘talking’ to people. Love it. I will be back to visit!
Thanks for the note LuSundra! I’m so glad you and I “found” each other and I look forward to supporting you in achieving your goals. Please keep in touch and keep me posted on your progress. 🙂
May I ask a Question:
I am a videographer and have made a few videos of artists interviews & video portfolios.. that are wonderful marketing tools for artists to get their work seen & heard.
I feel ready to approach a new market with this idea.
Do you think a survey is a good way to make a first impression…
or is it better to send a cover letter introducing myself & the services I offer… explaining the benefits of using video in their business ???
Thank you….
I love your newsletter & advice…
Thanks so much for the comment Steven, and your question. I’m not quite sure what you’re asking though. Can you please clarify what you want to know? I’m happy to help. 🙂
Great post! It reminds me of a quote I read once that said, “Know the top 3 priorities of your best clients.”
That’s a great quote Meredith! I think that it’s good to take inventory of this on a regular basis so you stay completely informed as to what are your clients current needs.
Sydni – This is huge! We did a survey of our entire list in January and it is amazing what we found out – and what people were willing to share! As a result, we tweaked our offerings, added a couple news ones, rewrote a couple pages on our website, and more … and now we’re attracting exactly who we want to do business with naturally.
All you have to do is ask… and your audience will give you all the information you need!
Jennifer Bourn, Bourn Creative
Well, said Jenn! It’s so much better to ask than to guess. And a much easier way to grow your business and your profits! Congrats on upgrading your strategy based on what your audience had to say. I’m so proud of you for that. 🙂
Sydni,
Something I tell my clients is to make sure they completely understand what their own clients are saying is the problem. Don’t assume – ask lots of questions to make sure you get the entire message.
For example, someone may say they don’t have time to do a particular task. Through asking a few questions it might be determined that the issue isn’t really not enough time, but they need training on how to better do the task. It could be taking too much time because they don’t know the tips or tricks that you can teach them.
(Survey Monkey is a great tool to use!)
Have a grateful day,
Amy
Great advice Amy! Thanks for sharing that tip about NOT assuming. That’s very important to remember.
Great post Sydni and I agree! I use surveys ALL the time. Before I launched IAWBO I surveyed women in business online to uncover the top 5 challenges they share in common. This allowed me to create offerings that meet them EXACTLY where they are at – no guessing required. ~ Gina xo
Good for you Gina! I’ve only heard great things about IAWBO, so I’m sure your honoring the results of your pre-launch survey had a lot to do with that. 🙂
I love this post. I love that marketing is simple – and the more clear you are about who you serve and what they want – the easier marketing becomes. I recently surveyed my target market,but feel the survey needs to be refined. This is a good reminder to just keep asking and to figure out what people really need and want. I’ll also take these action steps this week.
Well said Andrea! You’re so right about the surveying making our marketing much more simple. I think that’s why so many folks struggle with marketing consistently, because they don’t know what to offer and how to offer it. Simply asking your target market makes your efforts so much more effective and profitable and technology has made it SUPER easy for us to do that. Thanks for the comment and please do let me know how you make out with implementing the action steps this week. 🙂
What a great article! It is so true that we need to listen first and respond second. And these tips also help us gain the language our clients use as well which helps immensely with connecting with them. Thanks for this knowledge!
You’re quite welcome Brenda! You’re right about learning the language of our clients. Using that in our marketing marketing materials makes for even more compelling offers that prospects can’t help but say Yes to.
It’s so funny that we need to be reminded to listen to our clients – but it’s so true! We get so into doing what we do, looking at things from our perspective, that we often don’t see what our clients really need from us.
It’s such a simple thing to do, and so effective. Thanks for the reminder, Sydni!
Thanks for the note Nika! I completely agree. This is especially true for us as service professionals. Our entire business is built around meeting the needs of the people we are meant to serve. And the only way we’ll know how to do that effectively is to listen to them and act accordingly.
Love this idea Sydni! A few years ago when I was in the process of completely transforming my business I did a survey through Constant Contact and LOVED all the information I got from it. It definitely helped me to focus my energy where my clients wanted it and not where I thought it should be.
I also love the fact that you advise people to focus their networking as well. When I first started my business, I went just about anywhere to network because I did not know any better. There were times I came home after a networking event and felt like I needed to shower! After a little while, I started to figure out where I was getting my ideal clients from and where I fit in the most. That is where I ended up focusing my energy and was much happier.
Thanks Kristi! You’re not alone. That’s the way most people approach networking when first starting out. It’s one of those “I don’t know what I don’t know” things. 🙂 I’m glad you have found more joy and better results from focusing your efforts.