Generating a well-researched customer profile significantly improves the performance of your marketing efforts. It does so by determining the best communication, the best products, and the best services, to attract and convert your ideal customer.

TIP: Saying no to customers who are a poor fit for your company will save you time, money, and aggravation.

A customer profile is a generalized description of your ideal customer, and represents the decision maker/s for the buying process. It includes demographic information – such as age range and gender, psychographics – such as customer interests and behavior, preferred media channels – such as Facebook, email, Youtube, and podcasts, socioeconomic information – such as income and occupation, and much more.

Pay close attention to how each customer segment is unique, not only in their physical description and types of products or services they purchase, but also in the core values and beliefs you share with them and keep them coming back to your business.

Limit your “ideal customer” to two or three detailed consumer personas.

Ideal Customer Demographic Information

Demographics is the collection and study of the population-based factors that influence the purchasing decisions of your ideal customers. The most common variables gathered in demographic research include age, gender, income level, ethnicity, employment, location, home ownership, and level of education.

  • Age. Identify the age range of your customers. Aim for at least a 10 year gap, but not more than 20 years. What generation does your ideal customer belong to?
  • Gender. Are you primarily targeting one gender over the other? If so, determine a percentage, such as 50% male and 50% female.
  • Ethnicity. Consider what ethnic groups your customers identify with. This is so as to not unintentionally offend anyone.

Given that the size of different demographic groups will change over time, as a result of economic, cultural, and political circumstances, it is important to closely monitor demographic trends.

Customer Profile Social economics

Social economics (or Socioeconomics) are the attributes related to household income, occupation, neighbourhood, etc., of the ideal customer within your operating region.

These factors influence how a particular group, or socioeconomic class, operate within society; including how they behave as consumers. Different socioeconomic classes often have varying priorities regarding how they spend their money.

While creating your customer’s socioeconomics profile, consider these elements :

  • Average Household Income. Consider the average income range of your customers. Also, do they need expendable income to be your customer? Or does your service fit into the “needs” category of most households? What budgets are you typically working with?
  • Education Level. What level of education, on average, does your customer have?
  • Occupation. Focus on the type of occupation your ideal customer has. Consider where they work, their level of seniority, and industry.
  • Hometown/Neighborhood. Where does your primary customer come from? What characterizes their neighborhood, town, or area?
  • Household Description. What is the family makeup of your average customer’s household?

The standard taxonomy for life stage groups is:

  • Family or No Family: People under the age of 45 who are not parents.
  • Family: People of any age with at least one child under age 16 still at home.
  • Third Age: People aged 45 through 64 with no children under age 16 still living at home
  • Retired: People over the age of 65 with no children under the age of 16 still living at home.

The majority of researchers agree that income, education, and occupation best represent social economic status.

Customer Profile Psychographics

Psychographics is the study of the personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles of consumers. Understanding this will determine how to communicate your message in a way your ideal customer will receive and respond to it.

  • Hobbies: What do your customers do for fun?
  • Interests – What are your customers most interested in? What gets them excited?
  • Favorite Entertainment Choices: What is their destination for news? What radio stations or music do they listen to? What Television/YouTube shows do they enjoy? What websites do they read and trust?
  • Anxieties: What are their biggest fear/anxieties, and how can your business resolve those?

Locate and list where consumers will find you. During this process, you must clearly identify:

  • What websites will this customer visit frequently?
  • What blogs do they read?
  • What are the search terms they are likely use?
  • What sort of content appeals to them the most?

Consumer personas ensure you understand your customers. They highlight their pain points, their motivations, and how they make purchasing decisions. For example, how does your customer typically feel toward the other available offerings in your industry? And, why might they be hesitant to try your product/service?

Collecting and analyzing this information will guide you as you create email and advertising campaigns, develop targeted marketing communications, and generate sales leads.

It is recommended that you verify the information you have collected about your ideal customer personas, by conducting interviews with real people. Existing, happy customers are a great place to begin.

This ideal customer profile template provides a list of questions, with instructions, that will help you to craft a detailed customer profile. You can print it as a PDF and fill in your answers, or download it as a Word document and complete it in your browser.

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