How to find more ‘ideal’ clients

Everyone in business wants to work with ‘ideal’ clients. These are the kind of people with whom you have a great relationship, who highly value what you do for them, consider what they pay you as an investment and are happy to recommend you. So how can you find more of these people?

This may well be easier than you think. If you haven’t yet done so, the first place to look is with your existing clients. Who do you regard as an ‘ideal’ client and what is it about them and the relationship you have that makes them ‘ideal’? Better still, why don’t you ask the clients themselves? It can be surprising to find out what people value about your service as it may be different to what you imagine. 

You will probably find patterns emerging which fall into two categories. The demographic factors and the softer personal qualities.

Let’s deal with the demographics first. These are the population characteristics of the group(s) you wish to aim your product or service at. There are many variables and to name a few you have age, location, ownership (e.g. home, car etc.), income, wealth, employment (e.g. professional, business owner, retired). The idea is to form a clear picture or profile.

The second aspect is the qualities and attributes of your ideal client. These are the issues related to the kind of person they are and the relationship you have with them. One of the benefits of identifying who it is you enjoy doing business with is that it helps you identify the relationships that you don’t enjoy or are not profitable.

Having made these distinctions it becomes far easier to identify where to find, and how to connect with these people. It also becomes possible to create marketing messages that appeal to them because you know who you’re speaking to.

In the marketing of professional services, referrals, introductions and recommendations are the best source of new clients. If you want other people to recommend you then they need to know who you want to meet. The more specific you are the easier it is for them to identify these people on your behalf.

By engineering your product or service to appeal to your target group (s) you become more attractive. In an increasingly commoditised world the more value you add the more loyalty you create. Large organisations may have greater resources and financial muscle but they so often lack the nimbleness and genuine personal touch that a small business can offer.

The idea is to uniquely position yourself and your business and effectively lock out competition. Over time this will positively impact your business in many ways. Higher profits, more referred business, more repeat business and more enjoyable relationships to name a few.