You’re a woman with a start-up. You had a brilliant business idea, and now you’re getting all your ducks in a row so you can take it to your town…or the world.

Your product has been created. The logo is hot off the presses and you just hired your first employee.

Now what?

It’s time to take it to market, right?

Not so fast.

You’ve missed something—something that could be the most important thing your business will create.

It’s a customer avatar, and without it, you really don’t have a business.

Allow me to explain.

Your Customer Avatar: The Central Focus of your Business

What is a customer avatar?

It’s a caricature, a cartoon, a sketch…of the customer who needs your brand the most and with whom you wish to work more than anyone else.

Your avatar will represent the demographic of customers you wish to welcome into your brand. Click To Tweet

They are the people who will see the value in what you’re offering, and will therefore think your prices are fair. They are the people who will use your product or service to solve a nagging problem and then spread the word about how stellar your company is. They’re also the people who will become involved with your brand, and work to weave it into the fabric of their own communities and social/work groups.

This avatar will become the person you speak to when creating ad campaigns and online content.

It’s the person for whom you will tweak your services and create future products. He or she will come to be central to your business; because without them, you have no business.

Here’s how to create that avatar:

• Determine who will buy your product. This is not the end user of your product or service, but rather the person making the buying decisions.
• Name their pain or problem. This is the problem you will be solving.
• Nail down demographics. Pinpoint necessary avatar features like gender, age, relationship status, career, hobbies, temperament, geographical location, etc.
• Write their story. Where has he or she been? What struggles will lead them to your brand? What baggage and frustrations will they be carrying when they arrive? What joys are they searching for?
• Physical features and a name. This is strictly to keep you focussed, and to feel that you know him or her on a personal basis—because you’ll be speaking directly to them as you craft your brand communications.

You can create your avatar from magazine clippings, or you can draw a sketch.

You can even use an actual photo of your dream client. Include words that remind you about their thoughts and their problems.

Now make this avatar someone you encounter on a regular basis as you move about your business. Maybe she’ll be the background on your phone, or the screensaver on your computer. Perhaps you’ll plaster her around the office or hang a copy of her above your desk. No matter where you put her, work to make her presence real, so you’ll speak directly to her in every interaction and communication with your target market, without having to remind yourself to do it.

Once you have created your avatar, it’s time to deepen your relationship by getting to know him or her on a more profound level, so you can understand how they’re feeling, follow shifts in their mindset and even predict their next moves. Do that by Getting to Know your Customer Avatar.

If you’d like a step-by-step process on developing your avatar, then check out our course on Identifying Your Target Market, with full workbook, in the Fempire Academy. If you’re not a member yet, you can sign up here.

Tell us about your customer avatar in the comments below!