Stop everything and read on — I want to help you create your ideal customer profile today.

This simple task — thinking deeply about your perfect customer — can transform your business: I promise.

First though, I’ve got to tell you an uncomfortable truth. You might want to sit down for this one.

If you don’t answer the question, “Who is my ideal customer?” early on, you risk spending months or years chasing after a target market that won’t grow your business.

Don’t ask me how I know this. 😳

When you have only a fuzzy idea of who your ideal customer is, your marketing will be … fuzzy. Fuzzy marketing is forgettable. It’s boring. It doesn’t make a dent.

Spend some time getting to know your ideal customer with the five-step process and the ideal customer profile examples you’ll find here.

Soon, you’ll feel you understand them as well as you know your best friend. And you’ll find that:

• It’s easy to know what to say and how to say it
• Your ideal customer sees your marketing and says, “It’s like you’re speaking directly to me”
• You’re inspired to create the exact solutions your ideal customer needs — and will pay for
• Your perfect customer sees your offer and says, “This solution was tailor-made for me”

Sales and marketing feel more like serving and helping — you don’t need to convince your ideal customer because they’re already convinced.

Today, you’re going to stop what you’re doing and take a few minutes to do this important work. Because when you really understand who your ideal customer is, everything is easier.

Sound good? 

Grab your free ideal customer profile worksheet

This article spells out a step-by-step approach to building your ideal customer avatar.

Create your ideal customer profile for free when you grab the worksheet below. You can follow along in this article and create a profile that will inspire your content, your email marketing, and the offers you create.

Register below, grab the download, and fill it out as you read:

Are you wondering, “Who is my ideal customer?”

Here’s the step-by-step approach you can use to create an ideal customer profile:

1. Step 1: Eliminate the negative. Pinpoint traits you want to avoid.
2. Step 2: Accentuate the positive. Describe the characteristics you want to keep.
3. Step 3: Describe your ideal customer externally. What do you know about the demographic groups they belong to.
4. Step 4: Describe your ideal customer internally. What do you know about how they live?
5. Step 5: Create your final ideal customer profile. Describe an imaginary person who meets the criteria you’ve outlined. Include ideal customer profile examples that help you remember who this person is.

Step 1: Eliminate the negative

I’ve taught hundreds of people how to pinpoint their perfect customer over my years of working with online business builders.

For some reason, there’s a lot of resistance around describing an “ideal” customer.

I believe the resistance comes from a scarcity mindset that says, “If I focus on a small group of people, I won’t earn as much.”

The truth is, finding your ideal customer is as much about eliminating the customers you don’t want to serve as it is about finding the ones you do.

Sometimes it’s easier to start with a “backward” approach to describing your target market. Start by thinking about who you don’t want to serve first.

We’ve all had problematic clients or customers. ?

It’s time to tap into your nightmare stories and search for the nuggets of wisdom they contain. You’ll get something like the opposite of ideal customer examples, but they’ll help you avoid problem customers in the future.

Example: How Rebecca eliminated the negative in her customers

Rebecca is a social media consultant who has a high-paying client for her social media ads business.

But this client is demanding. They expect instant answers, and worse — instant results. They seem to think she can perform miracles and they’re disappointed when she doesn’t.

Rebecca realizes that even though the client pays well, she isn’t doing her best work as she deals with their unrealistic demands. She’s losing sleep over this client and her acid reflux is acting up.

She decides to describe this client’s unrealistic demands so she can avoid this scenario with future clients. Under Step 1, she writes:

• Expects instant answers to questions
• Won’t invest in testing ad concepts: Wants results right away
• Doesn’t respect my time or efforts

Think about the people you’ve worked with in the past. Describe the ones who you found difficult to work with.

• What made them difficult?
• What about serving them felt uncomfortable?
• What made them frustrating?

No one will see this — feel free to let it all out.

Of course, we can’t stop there. It’s not enough to talk about what you don’t want.

Let’s move on to describing exactly what you’re looking for.

Step 2: Accentuate the positive

Now that we’ve relived our professional horror stories (sorry about that!), I want you to think about what the opposite of these experiences would be.

If you could re-write history, how would those horror stories have played out?

When we visualize the positive traits we’re looking for, we get closer to understanding what your ideal customer would be like.

Think about things like:

• Their mindset: Why does your solution matter to them?
• Their attitude: How much do they value what you bring to the table?
• Their awareness level: A truly “ideal” customer needs what you offer, knows that they need it, and can afford to pay for your solution. All three matter.

Example: How Rebecca accentuates the positive in her customers

Rebecca decides that she wants to keep the “high-paying” aspect of her problem client. After all, they clearly need her services, they know they need them, and they can afford to pay for them.

But she wants to work with clients who have a different mindset and attitude. She’s looking for clients who truly need what she does and value her expertise. She invests a few minutes in putting her thoughts into words.

“Mindset: My ideal client is growing a line of business with social media ads. They urgently need help in this area. They are patient and realistic: They know it takes time to see results.”

“Attitude: My ideal client sees me as an expert. They value my experience. They respect my views. They appreciate my efforts.”

Over to you …

What would you say about the mindset, attitude, and awareness level of your ideal customer?

Step 3: Describe your ideal customer externally

The marketing jargon version of what we’ll cover in this step is “demographics,” but we don’t need to use that word. Instead …

We’re simply going to describe external — perhaps superficial — aspects of the population groups your perfect customer belongs to.

We can’t paint population groups with a broad brush. Stereotypes are meaningless. But in case your offer specifically serves some aspect we’ll list below, it’s important to list it. Examples follow.

Example: How Robert defines his perfect customers externally

Years ago, Robert saw a study that stated that men’s mortality rate jumps directly after retirement. Since then, he’s built a business around serving this group.

He creates content that helps men who are close to retirement age anticipate the changes ahead. He helps them navigate the transition between full-time employment and full-time retirement.

His main product is an online course and companion journal that work together to empower men to stay physically and mentally healthy and vibrant during this stage of their lives.

Here’s how Robert defines his customers externally:

• 55-70 years old: They’re approaching or experiencing the early retirement period
• Male
• College-educated: They have shown interest in learning and education
• Internet-savvy: They’re comfortable in the online environment where Robert’s information is available

How about your ideal customer? What’s their:

• Age range
• Gender
• Education level
• Geographic area

What other external descriptors are important? Make a note of anything that matters.

Grab the free ideal customer profile worksheet

This article spells out a step-by-step approach to building your ideal customer avatar.

Get my free ideal customer profile template so you can follow along and create an inspiring ideal customer profile. Register below, grab the download, and fill it out as you read:

Step 4: Describe your ideal customer internally

Now we’re getting to the juicy part — we’re looking at what motivates your ideal customer. We’re thinking about their daily lives. We’re dreaming about how they spend their time.

We’re getting inside your ideal customer’s head.

We’re considering them from the inside out. Here’s how it went when Heidi did this exercise:

Example: How Heidi describes her perfect customers internally

Heidi is the author of a blog about parenting toddlers. That’s a very specific group — but Heidi wants to understand more about their day-to-day lives so she can better serve them.

Heidi answers the questions below:

• What media do they consume? They’re avid readers of online information and belong to several Facebook parenting groups.
• How do they spend their free time? They don’t have a lot of free time — parenting children at this age is an all-consuming task.
• What do they aspire to become? They would like to feel confident about how they’re raising their children. They want to be supportive, patient, loving parents.
• Why do they need your solution? No one prepared them for how tough the toddler years are! As their child’s personality emerges, they want to do right by the person they’re growing into. They’re looking for expert guidance delivered in a way that’s easy to consume, even if they’re on the go.

When you understand more about the day-to-day challenges your customers experience, you can create solutions that truly meet their needs.

It’s your turn. Answer these questions to understand what’s going on inside the lives of your ideal customers:

• What media do they consume?
• How do they spend their free time?
• What do they aspire to become?
• Why do they need your solution?

Feel like you’re stepping into the shoes of your ideal customer yet?

Step 5: Create your ideal customer profile

Let’s take everything you’ve learned and create a description of your ideal customer using your own words.

To make your ideal customer avatar even more vivid in your imagination, give this person a name. Bonus points if you find a photo that looks like the person you’re imagining.

Here’s how to put together your final ideal customer profile:

Example: Your ideal customer profile template

Start with Step 3 information (external descriptors).

[NAME] is a [X]-year old [GENDER]. [NAME] has attended [EDUCATION LEVEL].

Add Step 4 information (internal descriptors).

[NAME] is an avid fan of [MEDIA] and enjoys spending time on [HOBBY]. They would love to someday [WHO THEY ASPIRE TO BECOME]. They have [SPECIFIC CHALLENGE THAT NEEDS YOUR SOLUTION].

Finally, add Step 2 information.

[NAME]’s mindset is that [WHY YOUR SOLUTION MATTERS]. They value my offer because it helps them [HOW THEY BENEFIT FROM YOUR OFFER].

They need what I offer, they know they need it, and they can afford to pay for my solution.

How to use your ideal customer profile

Let’s make the most of this exercise by using what you’ve learned in everything your business does.

• When you’re writing website copy and customer emails, pretend this person is sitting across from you. Write to them — and them only.
• When you’re creating content for your website or social platforms, create information that addresses their needs directly.
• When you’re developing products or services, think about your ideal customers’ lifestyles, their current challenges, and who they aspire to become.

Keep this profile top-of-mind in everything you do. Your sales and marketing will feel more like serving and helping.

You’ll create marketing that makes your customer the hero of their own story. And your perfect customer will recognize themselves in everything you put out into the world!

This work is easy when you use my ideal customer profile template

This article spells out a step-by-step approach to building your ideal customer avatar.

Get my free ideal customer profile worksheet so you can follow along and create an inspiring ideal customer profile. Register below, grab the download, and fill it out: