Related post: Strategies to Attract High-Value Clients
Companies with a portfolio of high-value customers have a competitive advantage over others in their industry. They got clients who understand and value what the company does best and are willing to pay a fair price for it. Similarly, they are clients of what the company is, not of what's not. They take your business to the next level, as they are constantly pushing you to improve your standards, knowledge, and skills. Moreover, they are eager to give you their feedback either on the services, and products of your company, so they can be improved, or on new opportunities and ways in which your company could add more value to them or other clients.
Related post: Finding The Right Customers For Your Business
Defining your ideal client profile
This is the first step to getting the kind of clients you want. The ideal client profile depends on several parameters intrinsic to each company, such as its culture, values, strategy, and industry, among others. However, experience has taught me that there are certain key features that define a great client. Therefore, in my case, I focus on finding customers with whom I can build a relationship of mutual trust, which not only appreciate the value, but also have clear expectations of my work, and who are committed to fulfilling our agreement. Once you know who your ideal client is and you know their biggest problems, challenges, and needs, you also know what types of solutions they will be looking for.
1. Understand who you want to serve and how you want to do it
In order to do so, answer the following 2 questions:
- What problems can you solve through your products and services? Who has these problems?
- What changes or results you can help create? Who wants these results?
2. Take another look at your current clients
Start by making ranking the clients with whom you have enjoyed working with. Then, try to determine why you enjoyed working with them, and what they got in common. They are perhaps in the same industry? Do they have similar personalities? Do you provide them with the same services or products? The duration of the contracts are alike? Etc. While doing this analysis is easier for companies that are already operating, new businesses can use their individual and professional experience, to understand what kind of people/companies they enjoy working with. In the end, you will get a better idea of what products/services you enjoyed the most delivering and to whom.
3. Get specific
It's time to make your ideal client profile more real, and concrete, by defining it through its Demographic, Psychographic, Behavior, and Location. As Blossom Braemer points out by having a specific client profile, the prospective client feels as if he or she is a “perfect fit” for your business. In addition, you will allow everyone throughout the organization to visualize and understand the profile of the clients you are after. As you will not only define quantifiable variables such as age, income, and gender, among others, but also their personality, values, attitudes, interests, location, and lifestyles. This is reflected in effective communication strategy.
4. Use personas
A company may have more than one ideal profile, depending on each of its different services or products. Each profile can be represented by a persona. A persona gathers certain behavior patterns, goals, skills, attitudes, and environment, of a hypothesized group of users. So that our company to have a more realistic picture of each persona, we can add to their description fictional personal data or a picture.
5. Differentiate between ideal and good to have
Evaluate your customers according to your ideal profile, but be aware that not all will fit 100% of the desired profile. You need to distinguish what characteristics are essential in order to be a high-value client for your organization, and, which are a plus.
Related post: How to Attract Customers
Related post: How to Attract Customers
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