Jozel, an Entrepreneur from Shelby, NC, is trying to get a life coaching for women business off the ground. She has the training and experience she needs but says her biggest hurdle is knowing who her target audience is. She asked us this question: 

How can I figure out who my target audience is so I can market to them more effectively?

Hi, Jozel. Great question. You’re smart to look for that sweet spot in business where your expertise overlaps with helping people solve their problems.

It all comes down to alignment, and these steps will help you find your perfect-fit target audience:

Step 1: Spark More Conversations. 

There are likely people out there that you’re already helping, the people coming up to you saying, “Hey, that was super helpful that you helped me do x, y, z.” Pay attention to those situations and people. Is there a theme to the kind of problems you’re helping solve? The kinds of people?

Chances are, you’re already naturally gravitating towards a specific target audience, but answering the Who and What questions will get you even farther to nailing it down. 

Step 2: Define The Who with Customer Personas. 

Create customer personas to identify your target audience. This process doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but you want to answer questions about your ideal customers, such as their: 

• Age
• Occupation
• Level of education
• Location
• Income bracket
• Personality
• Deepest held values
• Interests and hobbies
• Top dreams and fears
• Main struggles or hurdles 

With this info in hand, you can create an ideal client sketch of specific women who would be seeking out your services. This will help you craft your business plan and later create marketing messages around that. 

Example: Brianna, age 20, is a Junior in college struggling to find purpose and direction in her life. She knows what she is good at and enjoys doing but can’t seem to lock on one specific path. She wants to create a life of meaning and purpose after college but needs to find out how. 

Step 3: Define the What by getting specific with your niche (but not too specific!). 

You’ve got an idea of your ideal client, so now find your coaching niche. Most life coaching breaks down into one or more of these areas. Maybe you want to coach college-aged women on their: 

• Relationships
• Career
• Business
• Health
• Parenting
• Time/Organization
• Happiness

Ask yourself which areas you’re most excited about that also align with your business goals/expertise. 

Example: I want to coach…

Women—> Women who are in college—>Women in college who want help choosing a meaningful career.

There’s your niche! 

Remember, though— your coaching business has to be broad enough for there to be a business model but not too narrow where it will be hard to find enough clients. Start wide to see if there are enough women for an audience, and then you can narrow down as you go through a process of elimination. 

Step 4: Test your target audience market. 

Now you’ve come up with your target audience, but will it hold weight out in the real world?

A great place to start testing is to ask those people you’re already helping if and what they’d be willing to pay for your services. 

You can also collect market info by doing competitor/peer research. What are others doing in your preferred coaching niche? Is there a market for it? How well is it resonating?

Listening tools such as forums, Linkedin, and Facebook groups, etc. are all great places to learn what problems women are trying to tackle and could be solved through coaching services. 

Once you define your target audience and determine a real need for your services, you’re positioned to speak directly to their needs, the key to success in marketing. 

Hope this helps!

Cheering you on, Supportedly

Turns out, Jozel is not alone. There are tons of entrepreneurs out there wondering the same thing. 

Here are the top sites they visited to get answers:

• Find Your Target Audience
• How to Determine Your Target Market
• How to Determine Your Target Audience Worksheet
• How to Find Your Target Audience

Jozel’s question on finding your target audience touches on the larger topic of marketing. To effectively market your coaching business, there are a handful of fundamentals you need to learn first. 

Here’s some that will help:

• Create a business summary to understand how your offerings align with your customer’s needs by answering the 12 Questions Every Successful Entrepreneur Asks. 
• Resonate with your target audience by making sure your message is Clear, Concise, Compelling, and Consistent. A great podcast on The 4 Cs of Brilliant Branding
• Get to know your customers inside and out before marketing to them. This Customer Discovery training will walk you through who to talk to, what to ask, and the next steps to take.
• This three-part Success in Business podcast episode coaches an entrepreneur who wants to help others through her art and writing with tips on how to define her target market.

Thanks, Jozel, for your great question and good luck growing your business!