Baseball season started a few weeks ago here in the States and being a big baseball fan I was excited about the upcoming season. Already there have been a few classics: Phil Humber threw only the 21st perfect game in MLB history for the White Sox against the Mariners, and the Red Sox blew a 9-0 lead in the 6th inning at home in Fenway against the Yankees.
Fenway Park's Press Box
The Red Sox ended up losing 15-9 as their bullpen melted down. Mark Teixeria and Nick Swisher each went yard in the 7th driving in 7 runs, and in the 8th, Swisher, Teixeria, and Russell Martin each doubled in a pair of runs. What a comeback for the Yanks (or epic collapse for the Red Sox) on the 100th Anniversary of Fenway Park no less. Wow!
If you happen to know a little about baseball, those highlights could mean something to you. If you are a big baseball fan, those highlights may even excite you enough to find the highlight videos from the Yankee-Red Sox game.
But, if you don’t follow baseball or sports in general, most of those highlights are meaningless to you. In fact, I’m almost surprised that you are still reading.
So how does this apply to your business?
Good question, stay with me for another minute here, and I’ll show you.
Look at the language in that paragraph. Phrases like “perfect game” and “went yard” are meaningful to baseball fans because of the context of baseball. If you do not know that “going yard” means hitting a home run, the description is not as clear or exciting. If you are a baseball fan, you also know that whoever wrote that at least knows the game a bit.
Further, a baseball fan would know that Fenway Park, one of the classic baseball stadiums in all of baseball, is located in Boston and the Red Sox / Yankee rivalry is rich with history. All of this context and background adds to the richness of the story, and the reader’s emotional experience.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to tap into your customer’s background and context too?
Your product or service is like those baseball highlights. To some people they have context and are exciting (or at least needed). Others could care less. So which group of people do you want to be talking to?
That is exactly why you need to define your ideal client in such detail. So you reach the ones that are excited by your offer. As smaller target, sure. But, these are the people that are most likely to buy from you. The buying process is triggered by emotions and backed up by logic. People that you connect with and are excited by your product or service are much more likely to be buyers. Isn’t that what you are looking for?
Once you have this group defined, you can consistently connect and reach them in ways that are meaningful to them. There is no faster way to build trust with someone (remember customers buy from people they know, like, and trust or KLT) than to speak their language and relate to them.
Now that you have the why behind having your Ideal Client defined is so critical to connecting with your clients, please share in the comments below how you connect with your clients. Which methods work best for your organization?
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