Your ideal client avatar is lying to you

Your audience will not be ideal. Your audience will be people. Imperfect people, in some type and level of need, looking for a solution, but ready to go on the next train any time if the conditions seem better.

Unless you choose to niche down, your audience will probably consist of multiple audience segments.

An example might explain better. Let's say you own a clothing store.

If your ideal client depicts an age range of 25-55, you will discover shortly that in this wide interval the needs, purchase behaviors, and decision criteria differ a lot.

Based on social life and priorities alone, there might be three ranges:

• 25-30/35, where customers look more for a going-out style, a mix of casual social events, and a few business ones.
• 30/35-40/45, the preferences tend to lean towards more formal outfits, blending in formal events and business outfits.
• 40/45-55, a more serious glam, that should meet very clear client expectations/ requirements as this audience knows itself and what it likes.

If we are to look at family life, in the 30-45 range you might choose two subsegments:

1. Family-focused, looking to shop for themselves, but also for their spouse, children, and perhaps parents. They have little time so they LOVE efficiency, a good deal, and salespeople who get their needs. They have very little tolerance for silly questions or suggestions, complicated sales mechanisms, or long waiting times.
2. Career-focused, searching for business looks, they care for details, shop mainly for themselves (and maybe a present), are open to exploring and testing styles within the business or smart-casual search, higher tolerance to out-of-the-box suggestions, they LOVE the things that "make them pop".

Sure, some people might fit both segments, but the question is always: what drives them mostly?

I can cut and dissect the audience here until we end up with many little segments, but that is not the purpose.

What I want to show is that seeing the main segments helps you build #buyerpersona profiles, that are more accurate, dedicated, and personal.

It is extra work. You might not like it. But when you are done, you will be able to really see the people who choose your product or service. To speak their language, serve their needs, and write content that is relevant and touches important aspects of their lives.

Dropping the ideal client approach and building #audiencesegments as well as buyer personas for each segment is not just a #marketing useless complication.

It is about really looking at the market, understanding what it feels to be each of your segments by walking in their shoes through your shop/ website or business process, and then making it your business purpose to improve their "shoes" one way or another.

Expecting your clients to be ideal means expecting them to be there just for you.

So please expect them to be people, and do your best for your product or service to show up just for them.