What is an Ideal Customer Profile?
What is an ideal customer profile? It’s simply an overview of your perfect customer that you use to guide your business strategy.
If that definition sparks more questions than it answers, don’t worry. The ideal customer persona is a deceptively simple concept; this post will answer all of your questions about ideal customer profiles.
In this blog, you’ll learn:
The many different names for the ideal customer persona.
A detailed description of what an ideal customer persona really is.
Why an ideal customer persona is essential for every business.
How to create an ideal buyer persona.
Different Terms for an Ideal Customer Profile
You may hear the phrase “ideal customer,” “customer avatar,” “buyer persona,” “buyer profile,” and any variation of the above. They all refer to functionally the same thing: an overview of your perfect customer.
Some people will try to say that a specific term has a specific meaning with unique implications; in my experience, that is more wishful thinking than actual fact. Use whichever term springs to your mind, and feel confident doing so.
For example, HubSpot used to use the phrase “ideal buyer persona,” but now makes a distinction between buyer persona and ideal customer profile, in that the buyer persona is a person and the ICP is a company. Longtime HubSpot users typically will use their phrase, “ideal buyer persona.” Marie Forleo devotees probably call it an “ideal customer avatar.”
I typically use the phrase “ideal customer profile,” just because it feels natural.
No matter what phrase you use, keep in mind that this concept has evolved over time.
In the past, an ideal customer profile or avatar might have been a single page of demographic information. Today, it’s more likely to be a multi-slide deck with lots of data and speculation. When you talk to colleagues, employees, and consultants, take some time to discuss the elements that are included in your business’s ideal buyer persona just so that everyone’s on the same page. What’s actually in your ideal buyer persona is more important than what you call it, anyway.
Now to the really good part: what is an ideal customer profile?
What is an Ideal Customer Profile?
Again, the ideal customer profile is a description of your perfect customer. Said differently, the ideal customer is the fictional person for whom your product or service is the perfect fit.
There are a few things to note here:
The ideal customer is a fictional person. It can and should be based on real people and data, but it is a composite.
The ideal customer is the person who is best served by your unique offering. There are likely going to be people who are similar to the ideal persona, and who will get value out of what you provide. Don’t create a different persona for them; trust that, if they are similar enough to the ideal customer persona, your business strategy will address them, too.
Relatedly, your ideal customer persona should be specific enough that it excludes some people. This is good - welcome it. No matter how perfect your product or service, it can’t serve everyone. The old adage about being authentic is as true for yourself as it is for your business: try to please everyone and you please no one.
The ideal buyer persona should include information about your ideal customer’s thoughts, hopes, fears, and dreams. It should include demographic data, as well as information about their public, personal, and professional life. It needs to answer questions about what this person eats, reads, and does in their free time.
Does your ideal customer have kids, or pets? Do they live in the suburbs with their partner, or are they free spirits who call a vintage Airstream trailer their home?
You’ll know your ideal customer persona is finished when the fictional person it describes is real to you, when you can step inside their shoes and walk around in them.
To create your ideal buyer persona, you will need to do research. You will need to make some assumptions. But most importantly, you will need to interview real people who are similar to your ideal customer.
Your ideal customer profile will form the foundation of your business strategy, and especially your marketing. Learn more in this beginner’s guide to marketing.
Many founders and business owners have designed their companies to solve a problem they personally experienced. You are allowed to be your own ideal customer. That said, it’s still important to do some research and interview other people. This will help you gain new insights and test your assumptions.
If creating an ideal customer profile seems like too much work for too little reward, the next section is for you.
Why an Ideal Customer Persona is Essential for Every Business
If you don’t know who you’re serving, how can you actually serve them? You can’t. That’s why an ideal customer avatar is essential for every business.
If you’re a team-of-one, you may think you can get by without a buyer persona. You designed this business and built the product, after all!
Here’s why you’re wrong: if you haven’t gone through the exercise of creating an ideal customer persona, you haven’t engaged deeply enough with your target market. Instead, you’re creating your business on a sense of loosely held beliefs, conjectures, and opinions. You’re building your business on an insubstantial foundation that is as malleable as thought itself.
Actually creating an ideal customer avatar forces you to test, verify, and interrogate the thoughts you have about your business. You will come away with more clarity, more direction, and even a more intuitive approach to your business.
Ignore your customers and they’ll return the favor.
[Read Also: Digital Marketing Basics for Startups]
How to Create an Ideal Customer Profile
This topic deserves an entire post of its own, and we are working on one. (Stay tuned!) For now, here is a quick overview of how to create an ideal customer persona:
Identify current customers that are happy with your company and/or successful users of your solution. If you don't yet have current customers, that's okay. Think about a real person who could use your product.
Ask to interview your customers or potential customers. Lots of companies balk at this step.
During the interview, ask questions about their buying process, why they chose you, your competitors, and what they like about the product, in addition to asking about what they do in their free time.
Conduct research about the job satisfaction, income data, and other demographics, so that you can consider whether your ideal customer fits in or stands out from the norm.
Compile the trends and insights from those interviews and your market research into an ideal customer profile!
So there you have it!
Now you know what an ideal customer profile is, why they matter, and how to make one.
If you’re interested, a DIY ideal customer profile template is included in our marketing template kit; purchase the kit here!
If you’re not comfortable with the prospect of creating your own ideal customer persona - whether it’s because you’re nervous about doing the interviews or you’d just like to know that it’s done right - The Lane Collective can help.
Let us create your ideal customer profile for you! Schedule your free intro call today.