Guide 2 of 10 · about 25 minutes

Know your customers

However much you’d like it to be, “everyone” isn’t your customer. The clearer you are about who you’re for, the easier everything else gets: what to say, where to say it and what to charge. This guide uses what you already know about the customers you love working with.

Start the checklist See my plan

How do I find my target customers?

Look at your best existing customers: the ones who pay on time, come back and recommend you. Write down who they are, the problem they came to you with, what worried them before they bought and where they looked for help. That’s who your marketing should talk to.

Your best customers

List your ten best customers of the last year.The ones who paid well, paid on time, were a pleasure to work with and told their friends.
Spot what they have in common.Area, age, type of business, budget, the problem they came to you with. That pattern is your ideal customer.
Talk to three of them.Ask why they chose you, what nearly stopped them and what they searched for. Write down their exact words.

Your ideal customer

Who they are, where they are, and what they need from you.

Their problems and questions

Write down the main problem you solve for them.People don’t buy a boiler service, they buy a warm house and peace of mind. Describe the result, not the task.
List the ten questions customers ask before they buy.Prices, timescales, “do you cover my area?”. These questions become your web pages, FAQs and posts.
Note what makes people hesitate.Price, trust, timing, fear of hassle. Your marketing should answer these before they’re asked.

Their main problem, and the questions they ask

Use their words, not industry jargon.

Where they look

Find out where they look for a business like yours.Google, Google Maps, ChatGPT, Facebook groups, LinkedIn, friends, local magazines. Ask, don’t guess.
Note how they decide.Do they compare three quotes? Read reviews? Ask a partner? Buy on the spot? Your marketing should fit their process.

Where they look and how they decide

For example: Google search on a phone, then reviews, then a call.

Next: Know your competition See my marketing plan

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