Creating Your Customer Avatar

Creating your first customer avatar does take time and effort. As mentioned in Customer Avatars: What Are They?, you should base your avatar on data rather than guesswork, and make sure you have covered all your bases. The end result will be worth all the effort.  

We have also broken the process down into steps to make it a little easier to follow.

Follow these steps…

#1 Do your research first.

In order to determine who your ideal customer is, you need to conduct thorough market research. There is a possibility that they are already an existing customer who has purchased your products or services previously. When that occurs, use their information for reference and ask them additional questions for further insight in a survey. As another option, you can set up a poll, ask them to complete a questionnaire, or conduct  an interview.   

If your ideal customer hasn’t found their way to your organization yet, that’s okay too. A secondary research approach is your answer. A secondary research approach means examining third-party reports, Q&A sites, and social media conversations. For businesses that are just starting out and don’t have a lot of first-party data of their own, outside information is especially valuable.  

Get inside the mind of your ideal customer by putting your biases aside. Remember, the focus is on customer preferences, not your own.   

#2 Worksheet for creating an avatar.

After you have done your research, you can start building your  customer avatar. The next step is pretty straightforward, as you will see. Your avatar worksheet will require you to input the information you gathered (download one HERE). 

Having a name for your avatar gives your virtual character more depth, making them appear more real. To take it a step further, you could also upload a stock photo. Visualizing the ideal customer will be extremely helpful here.

Continue with the following sections:

Demographics

• How old are they?
• What’s their gender?
• What’s their marital status?
• How many children do they have? How old are their children?
• Where are they located?
• What’s their occupation?
• What’s their job title?
• How much do they make each year?
• What level of education have they completed?
• What’s a quote they would say? What’s a statement that reflects the way they speak?

Goals and Values

• What are their goals? What are they trying to accomplish?
• What are their values? What’s their “hill to die on”?

Sources of Information

• Where do they get most of their information? 
• What books, magazines, websites, and gurus do they trust?
• What conferences do they attend?

Challenges and Pain Points

• What challenges do they need to overcome?
• What pain points are they experiencing? 
• What problem(s) are they trying to solve right now?

Objections & Role in the Purchasing Process

• Why might they object to purchasing your offering?
• What’s their role in the purchasing process?
• Are they the direct buyer, or do they need approval from someone else?

Step 3: Repeat the Process as Needed to Build Additional Avatars.

There is a good chance you have more than one ideal customer. For each of those customers, you need to create an avatar. You can then customize your digital marketing efforts to each segment you are  targeting. A caveat here is to be sure you complete and sell to one avatar before going on to the next. 

Once you’ve done it before, it becomes a snap. 

Ideally, keep it to three or less at first. Keep in mind, you will end up casting your net too wide if you create too many avatars.   

The Bottom Line

Remember: To succeed in marketing and sales, you need to understand your customer avatar. Knowing your ideal customer allows you to attract more customers who are like them. Because of this, it should be included in all  marketing strategies.

Knowing…

Who your ideal customer is

What they want

Where they invest their time

How your product or service can stop their pain or resolve their problem… can make all the difference when it comes to focusing your marketing efforts and growing your business. 

So, download the free customer avatar template HERE and get to started! And remember, you can always reach out to Power Business Networking for help.