The WHO and WHAT of Your Business

Many business owners want to believe that they can help anybody. The truth is they can’t, you can’t, I can’t. In order to be successful in your business you have to be very clear about your WHO and your WHAT. Simply put, your WHO is the people you are helping, your WHAT is the problem you help them solve. Your clarity on the WHO WHAT is absolutely essential to the well being of your business. When you know your WHO WHAT:

q       Your marketing is focused on the right crowd of receptive people who need your services,

q       You can talk about what you do with ease and clarity,

q       You sound interesting and intriguing when you tell people what you do,

q       You feel good about what you provide,

q       You are attractive to new customers,

q       You make much more money.

The WHO is a slice of the general audience out there with specific demographic and psychographics characteristics. Demographic characteristics are things like age, gender, income, profession, net worth, health status, marital status, anything that you can observe about a person and use it to identify them. Psychographic characteristics, on the other hand, are their beliefs or feelings that are not directly observable, but that characterize them as people, for example: are spiritual, like children, like nature, like reading self-help books. The reason you want to identify both their demo- and psychographics is that that will give you a fuller picture of your perfect client and connect you with their energy better when you are marketing to them.

For example, I identify my perfect clients as: Adults 25 to 55 years old, business owners or people ready to start a business (demographics), want to make a difference in the world and in their lives (psychographic).

The WHAT is the problem they recognize that they have and are willing to solve it. It’s very important to understand the problem from their own point of view. To help you identify it, here is a list of seven basic needs people have and want to satisfy:

1. Money (make more money, have more money, financial stability, get out of debt…)
2. Peace of Mind (happier, more enjoyable life, fulfillment, living with purpose…)
3. Health/Wellness (being healthier, more fit, losing weight, having more energy…)
4. Career/Business (starting a business, changing jobs…)
5. Love (finding a partner, having better relationship with a partner, improving relationships with family and friends…)
6. Time (having more time, more balance, more freedom, less stress…)

Decide on the most important need your services satisfy. This need represents your WHAT.

I encourage you to start thinking about your business in terms of your WHO and WHAT. Start taking notice of what kind of clients you attract, what client characteristics make them desirable for your business, what is their perception of the problem they come to you with. Your business will thank you.