BUSINESS EDU The Audience of One: How to Find Your Ideal Customer – by Cathryn Castle Garcia, Co-Owner C2G2 Productions, The Azores Cathryn Castle Garcia is a writer, business strategist and co-owner of C2G2Productions.com, a multimedia production company. She lives on Faial Island in the Azores.
Don’t try to make everyone love you; they’ll end up hating you for it. I know it sounds harsh, but it’s true. Not everyone loves you (or me) or the work you do, but someone out there is here for all of it. This person is your audience of one.
your work successful. His argument is that by narrowing your focus – starting with one person and deeply under- standing them and their needs – you can create meaningful impact and lasting change. How to Identify Your Audience of One Grab a pen and write these questions in a journal or note- book: Who is the one person you wish to reach? Why? What do they look like? How old are they? What’s their fa- vorite food or color or music? Have fun with this. Get cre- ative and get as specific as possible. I promise it will help you gain clarity around your brand’s message and who wants to hear it, because to deliver a clear message, you must understand the worldview of the person you’re speak- ing to. And your message must be relevant to their situa- tion. The One Question
Yes, I do know your dive center has to have more than one customer to survive. But please stay with me as I ex- pand on the concept of the audience of one. Let’s pretend you’re writing a book, or a brochure. And let’s pretend only one copy will be printed – and only one person will ever be allowed to read it. Wait, I take that back; you’re the only one who can read it, but you get to pick one
person who sits next to you while you read aloud to them. You’re not alone, nervously standing on a brightly lit stage, squinting into a dark, empty auditorium trying to find the one. Instead, the two of you are seated together on a comfy
Now that you’ve iden- tified your audience of one – your ideal client – let’s imagine them asking you the following ques- tion, “How will your product or service change my life for the
couch. You’re relaxed. You are making eye contact, and you can simply read aloud without needing to shout to get your story heard. As you settle in and start reading, you notice that you’re not reading so much as you are sharing. Your story becomes a conversation between friends. Let your mind’s eye focus on that one person you’re in conversation with. Maybe they’re one actual person you know and love, or perhaps they’re a composite of many people, an avatar of your ideal client. Marketing experts use visualization exercises like this one to help clients identify or “niche down” to find their target audience. In his book, This is Marketing, Seth Godin em- phasizes the importance of speaking to a very specific au- dience rather than trying to appeal to everyone. He introduces the concept of the smallest viable audience, which is the minimum number of people you need to make
better?” This is the question every single person who enters your dive center wants answered. Whether they know it or not. This is your dive center’s singular reason for existing – to have a solid answer to this question, is essential. By knowing your target audience, you can deliver clear, consistent, focused messaging. You can let your ideal cus- tomer know exactly how you will change their life for the better. And you can tell them what they’ll need to do to enjoy the life-changing experience of what your business offers. Then, you can repeat this conversation again and again. When your message is relatable, it is repeatable. You will create connections that cause a ripple effect. Before long, your audience of one will become a crowd that’s waving and cheering for you and wanting more of that thing you do.
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