There is a lot that goes into the branding of a business, no matter how big or small. Once you have all of the colors picked for the logo design, it’s time to get to work doing the research. This is the time to come up with your brand story and what content is going to work to tell that story.
However, before the story can be told and the content created, you have to know who the ideal customer is. This is important because the ideal customer is going to respond to the content that is produced with them in mind. If the content is created and the story doesn’t vibe with the people that would want your product or service, then the branding campaign won’t work.
Finding out who your ideal customer is essential for the branding to succeed. In this article, we will go over what you need to do to identify the ideal customer for your brand.
Create A Customer Persona
Some people call the customer persona an avatar but whatever you call it, it’s a distillation of who you think is going to be most interested in what your business is doing.
The idea is to think of what the product does, and what problem it solves. Then try to imagine who is most likely to have this problem and would need the product or service that you’re offering.
An example is a product that helps programmers debug their code more quickly than other apps on the market. Try to think of who these programmers are. For instance, it is likely a young male in his 20s or 30s that is new to the job and could use some help to make sure the code is done well and on time.
When you have an idea of who the person is then you can craft the message that is going to best resonate with somebody in their position.
Understand Your Product
Once you have a persona created for your ideal customer you should be able to take a step back and try to see your business through their eyes. Ask yourself what would make that person buy your service or product over the competition. This perspective is vital to get an understanding of if the product itself is ready for the masses or if it needs tweaking.
This is also an opportunity to understand if your branding messaging is going to work. This encompasses understanding what your business is all about and how easy it is for a customer to see it for what it is.
Do Some Testing
What you imagine the ideal customer to be and who it actually is can actually be very different. It takes testing different branding strategies and content to see what is working and what is not getting the response you expected.
The key is to have two or more versions of the same message and then gauge the response.
Featured image: Unsplash (Faizur Rehman).
