How to Create Your Customer Avatar (And Why You Need To)

Customer avatars, also known as buyer personas, are a fundamental marketing tool for the biggest companies in the world. Recently, small retailers have realized their power for connecting with their customers. As the online marketplace becomes more and more saturated, it’s more important than ever for businesses to pinpoint their niche audience. 

What is a Customer Avatar?

A customer avatar is a detailed description of your ideal customer. This is a specific profile of one fictional person, rather than a list of demographics you would like to target. It’s important that it is an in-depth look into youridealcustomer, meaning one who will come back and patronize your business again and again. If you already have customers like that, you can base your avatar off of them. If not, then you definitely need a customer avatar for your marketing efforts ASAP. 

Why Do You Need a Customer Avatar? 

The customer avatar is the solution to an all-too-common marketing mistake: trying to appeal to the masses. It makes sense why business owners aim for universal appeal; after all, don’t you want to sell to as many people as possible? The issue with this logic is that it doesn’t take into account psychology. Your customers aren’t interested in buying what is good for just anyone; they want a product that feels as though it was specially designed for them. 

Keep this in mind: what is made for everyone is made for no one. Having a customer avatar ready means that you can speak directly to your ideal buyer, who will connect far more with your company than they would have if your copy appealed to everyone. 

Customer avatars can benefit your business in a variety of ways that you may not have expected, such as:

• Higher quality content marketing 
• Developing new products 
• Creating a better user experience for current customers 
• Optimizing your paid ads 

How to Create a Customer Avatar 

To help you create your customer avatar, we have put together this worksheet to give you a jumping off point. Fill out all of this information about your ideal customer with as much detail as possible. You might find it beneficial to start by giving them a name so they feel more real to you. Be specific so that they are fleshed out as much as possible. Make sure you are filling out this information from the perspective of your avatar, not you, and give yourself ample time to truly become them. 

Once you complete the worksheet, you will have a fully formed customer avatar. But you don’t have to stop there! Feel free to make other avatars to address other market segments you want to address.