Have you ever had a company email you with an offer that’s completely off your interest radar?
It’s a waste of time for both you and the company, and it can cause frustration that can damage the company’s reputation – or earn them a permanent place in the spam folder.
This happens because that company hasn’t properly determined their target (or buyer) persona.
A target persona is a fictional client that has all of the traits of your ideal customer. Demographics, income levels, social status, relevant hobbies, and other characteristics need to be determined and measured using any data available.
Fortunately, the internet can provide you with much of this information, but it all starts with you…
Who do you WANT to work with?
You wouldn’t focus your marketing, sales, and business efforts on sports nutrition if your passion lies in fertility nutrition.
Developing your target persona starts with deciding what services you can and will offer to clients. Ask yourself:
“What type of change do I want to help people make, and am I qualified to help them make this change?”
Take a careful inventory of the services you’re qualified to offer. Make sure you have all the tools necessary to provide your clients with the proper guidance (the right certifications for starters).
Then, consider who you want to help. Doing something that you’re passionate about will give your work purpose and motivate you to spend more time growing your business.
Target those who will benefit the most from what you have to offer, and who you believe will have the time and financial resources to secure your services.
Is there a market for your services?
Once you have a rough idea of who you can and will help, it’s time to see if there’s a market for what you’re offering. This will also help you decide whether to search for clients locally, remotely, or a combination of both.
Research similar offerings aimed at the type of client you want to focus on to get a better idea of what’s available and where there might be lucrative gaps.
If there aren’t many people in your target audience who can/will purchase your services, then you may need to tweak your offerings and your target persona to compensate.
Remember, you are running a business. Helping people may be your top priority, but you can’t do this if you aren’t financially stable!
Building your target persona…
Once you’ve developed a general idea of who you’d like to help, it’s time to really dive into the details!
Your target persona will have a name, a face, and a life that will provide you with insight into how your nutrition business will need to interact with them. Creating this persona is an ongoing process – don’t be afraid to make changes as you learn and grow as a professional.
1. Pull information from current customers or interested parties. Not everyone will have this data pool readily available. However, it’s always a good idea to take an inventory of what you do know before you devote time to finding out what you don’t.
2. Consider the common traits that all of your ideal clients will have in common. Will you serve men or women, or both? Will you need to focus on a specific age range? What about a financial demographic? List these traits and use them to begin outlining the life of your target persona.
3. Consider the pain points of your target persona. A pain point is the problem that you’re going to help your target persona solve. You should look at the life of this fictional individual and pinpoint the areas that are most affected by this problem. What keeps them up at night? And how can you help them with it?
4. Research the hobbies and interests of your target persona. Knowing what your ideal client is interested in, where they spend their time, and what they spend their money on allows you to connect with them and market to their interests.
5. Give your target persona a name and a face. Having someone that you can look at and get to know will drastically improve your marketing and business efforts. You’ll be able to reach your target persona on a personal level and this will lead to a more successful conversion rate.
6. Research, research, research! The above steps are only a place to start. It’s essential that you continue to research, get to know, and adjust your target persona as you grow your nutrition business. Nothing is set in stone, and you’re going to learn much more about the people you can help as you go.
You can claim your free target persona worksheet at the end of this article to really jump in with both feet!
Ready to explore your nutrition business options?
At The Health Sciences Academy, we’ve brought nutrition science and business knowledge together to create one of the most advanced programs in the world.
The Nutrition Business Explorer Program™ has everything you need to start, grow, and succeed in your nutrition business! Click here to learn more today…
