Know your clients intimately to attract them consistently

June 24, 2024

Renia Orr is founder of business coaching firm LDV Elite

When Hermès started out in 1837 by producing bespoke leather saddles and harnesses for a select group of affluent riders, they quickly realized that their customers wanted more.

Hermès listened and, by fulfilling its client’s needs, became a global fashion icon while staying true to its heritage. Just like Hermès, a business’s journey to consistently attracting elite clients starts with getting absolutely clear on who its ideal client avatar is and knowing the unique value it provides.

As the saying goes, “When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one,” and Hermès is not talking to everyone.

Client-focused communication
All branding and marketing decisions, from offers and website content to social media presence, will be based on who one’s ideal client is and how they choose to serve this consumer.

The bottom line is that your brand message is exceptional when your ideal client feels understood and heard by you.

The process of identifying your ideal client starts with you. Asking what business you are in and why, what your talents, abilities and unique brand story are, and, finally, how what you offer impacts your clients' lives allows you to get really clear about the unique value you bring to their lives.

Then focus on your ideal client. The key question we ask our clients is, “If I could work with anyone, who would that be?”

In the same way that you would not invite people who you do not like to your home, you can choose who you invite to your business.

Crafting client personas
Not everyone is your ideal client. You can choose people who resonate with your values and qualities, appreciate you and what you provide, can invest in what you offer and truly enjoy working with you.

Many business owners never take the time to reflect on these questions and end up attracting their clients by default.

To start crafting your ideal client persona, you need two kinds of data: first, demographics, who is your ideal client as a person?

This includes their gender, age, marital status, income level, region of residence, degree status and lifestyle, such as whether or not they have kids or are a business or individual.

The second area of insight is tied to psychographics. What are your ideal client’s goals?

What do they struggle with and what do they value? What stage of life are they in and what changes are happening in their lives right now?

This information will determine where you network, what events you attend, what platforms you need and where you advertise to be in proximity to your ideal client.

When we work on our client's brand DNA, we focus on six key questions. Here is an example of our own LDV Elite Client Avatar: luxury business owner, age 45-plus, married, homeowner, already successful, business is their passion, has more potential than they are currently manifesting, coachable, and spiritual.

We have gone through the same detail in answering these other questions, including what problems you help your clients solve, what pain these problems are causing your client, what your uniqueness is, what the payoffs of working with you are and what your unique message is.

When you know your clients intimately you attract them consistently.

Steps toward luxury sales
Completing your buyer persona is the first step in building a distinctive brand setting you apart from your competition.

We invite you to follow this example and create your own ideal client persona. This process is truly essential as luxury and quality mean different things to different people in different geographies.

What luxury means to someone in the oil industry in Oklahoma City is different from what it means to an investment banker in New York or an architect in Phoenix.

While narrowing your target market might seem counterintuitive, it actually increases your brand’s exposure to those who matter, clarifies your message and positions you as an expert to your target audience.

This elevated level of clarity will help you with creating new offers, website look, content, blogs and social media posts to determine how to elevate your brand image and communication to this new persona.

Collecting the same information on your current clients will help you understand them more and discover how you can serve them even better. You will also start to see your ideal clients recognize themselves as the ones you are speaking to in all your messaging.

Renia Orr is founder of business coaching firm LDV Elite. She can be reached at renia@ldvelite.com.

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Know your clients intimately to attract them consistently

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