In marketing we often talk about defining our ideal customer. When I work on this exercise with my customers, it is common for the conversation to focus on who CAN be our customer versus what an IDEAL customer looks like. Be careful if this happens to you. Focusing on who can be a customer tends to lead to a very broad, very vague description. This in turn leads to a very broad, very vague, (read expensive and ineffective) marketing strategy.
If you are struggling with coming up with a laser focused description of your ideal customer, try starting out by listing the characteristics of customers you DO NOT want to work with. Drill down into the reasons why you don't like to work with those types of folks. Now, ask yourself how you will identify these folks. What behaviours do they exibit that you can see that will tell you whether they are an ideal client or not.
So, if you are stuck trying to create a clear picture of your ideal customer, start by identifying who you don't want to work with.
