When you’re a new service business, there’s the temptation to take on every client that pays. Even if you may not want to work with a client, you might say yes just to get revenue flowing. (We’ve all been there!)

But, if you’re an established business, there’s the fear of shifting who you serve. Maybe you’re bringing in a stable income with clients who were really exciting to work with back in the day… but now the work doesn’t quite light you up like it used to. Or, maybe your existing client base doesn’t align with your vision for the future.

Whatever the reason, that awkward twinge in your gut is your body telling you to think about client fit. Paying attention to client fit benefits your business, and starting now will bring you more peace and profit in the year to come.

Client fit builds an audience that’s absolutely right for you.

It feels scary to say no to bad-fit clients when you’re new. It’s even scarier to start building a new audience when you’re comfortable with the one you have. 

But, when you think about where your business could be a year or two from now, do you want your inbox to be full of inquiries from this type of client? If you don’t want that, but you keep saying yes to them anyway, you could end up growing an audience you never wanted in the first place.

You’ll save time by ensuring a clear and respectful relationship.

Even when a client needs what you have to offer, the client fit could fall short in other ways:

• Do they work in an industry that doesn’t fit you, or that you even find to be… boring?
• Does the client expect you to be available 24/7, or outside of business hours? 
• Are they asking for fast turnarounds or last-minute changes that you aren’t able to easily accommodate?
• Do they micromanage you when you’d rather be given creative freedom?
• Do they want to be totally hands-off when you prefer to build a more collaborative relationship?

When a client’s needs don’t align with your work style, you take on a bigger headache than you would for a client who fits you well… and you won’t even get paid more for your trouble! Sounds like a bum deal, doesn’t it?

Paying attention to client fit means that you’ll have a client who understands what you need from them and respects your boundaries. You get paid and get to work with someone delightful!

Client fit builds the potential for more ideal clients to come through with less effort from you.

If you’re building a referral-based business, it’s even more important to pay attention to client fit!  When your existing clients refer others to you, they’re most likely to refer you someone who’s just like them.

Think about it: if you just wrapped up working with the Client From Hell, would you want them to send you even more clients like them? Whether working with them was boring, frustrating, or just more than you bargained for, you know you don’t want to do it again.

On the flip side of that, if you just finished your work with an ideal client who was absolutely lovely to work with… do you want them to tell all of their like-minded friends and colleagues about you?

I think I can guess which option sounds better to you.

It doesn’t have to be hard to assess client fit, either.

Not sure whether you have the bandwidth to suss out whether a client fit is pitch-perfect? Even a brief conversation with the client can give you enough information to feel sure in your choice, or enough red flags that you know to pass them onto someone else. Spending that 15 minutes of time up-front could save you hours upon hours of time and frustration!

How can you shift your marketing or your consultation process to start making sure those dream clients come thru?

It’s important to make your brand distinctive, so it sticks in your clients mind. That means knowing your own values and staying in touch with your Why, instead of focusing too much on your competition. But, knowing who you are is only one piece of the puzzle: you also need to know who your customer is.

Know Who Your Brand is Talking To

There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all brand. It’s often said that, “you can’t please everyone,” and that’s especially true for branding. A brand that appeals to a hip, trendy 20-something isn’t likely to attract a 40-something shopper who’s more interested in quality than trends.

To build an effective brand, you need to know who you’re talking to. That means making choices about what kind of people you want to attract! Think about their age, their preferences, their habits, and you can start making choices about how your brand will engage with them and appeal to them.

Choosing your audience might seem scary, at first. You might feel as if you’re turning away other customers by choosing an ideal audience, but trust the process! Your brand will be much more powerful when you tailor your brand to a specific group, instead of trying to please everyone. If you try to attract too wide of an audience, you can easily end up with a weak, non-specific brand that doesn’t resonate well with anyone.

Are You the Same As Your Customer?

When you’re an independent business owner, it’s easy to think that building your brand is just a matter of choosing things that appeal to you. If that’s what you’ve been doing so far, STOP for a second, and ask yourself: “are my ideal customer and I actually alike?” 

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that their customers are just like them when, in reality, their customer is much different. You are not your customer, and even though you may both like your work, they may be drawn to it for different reasons.

When you’re building a refreshed brand, it’s important to find the balance between your own values, and what will appeal to your customer. You don’t need to pretend to be something you’re not (please, don’t do that!), but you DO need to make choices that appeal to your ideal customer.

“How Do I Start To Identify My Ideal Customer?”

This can be a question with a lot of layers, depending on where you are in your business. If you’re an established business looking at a refresh, you can learn a few things from your past customers and experience. If you’re a newer business, however, you’ll need to operate more on research and instinct.

As a starting point, here are a few questions that businesses at any level can start with:

• What are my ideal client’s demographics? Think about age, gender, family size, income, education, and so forth.
• What are their habits? How does their typical day go? How do they spend their free time?
• How does what my business offers fit into their life? What problem will it solve for them?
• What do they value most? What is important to them? Style? Practicality? Uniqueness? Being socially conscious? Choosing high-quality work? Etc.

Understanding your ideal customer’s mindset is huge for building a strong brand that helps you grow and succeed! Try putting yourself in their shoes and seeing how they think. Walk yourself through what their experience with your business might be like. You could learn a lot from it!