Small Business Marketing Guide
Knowing your ideal client is the foundation of an effective marketing strategy. When you understand who they are, where to find them, and what they value, you can focus your marketing efforts and attract more of the right customers.
Two Ways to Define Your Target Market
- Analyze Your Current Customers
If you’re already in business, look at who your customers are now and identify the ones who return often and refer others. You may be surprised to discover that your most profitable customers aren’t who you expected. - Conduct Market Research
If you don’t yet have customers, or you want to attract a new market, research is key. Learn more about primary and secondary research through Business Link.
Demographic and Psychographic Characteristics
When defining your ideal client, think about:
| Business-to-Business | Business-to-Consumer |
|---|---|
| Demographics | Demographics |
| Industry | Age |
| Company size (profits, employees, market share) | Income range |
| Geographic area | Geographic area |
| Corporate structure | Gender |
| Growth stage | Marital status |
| Education/profession | |
| Psychographics | Psychographics |
| Company culture | Personality type |
| Historical buying experience | Lifestyle |
| Management structure (is there a management team in place making decisions) | Historical buying experience |
| Knowledge level in a specific area | Knowledge level in a specific interest |
| Organized/Not organized | |
| Optimistic/Pessimistic |
Creating Your Ideal Client Profile
Your profile should combine demographics, psychographics, lifestyle, and behaviour to create a detailed picture of your ideal customer.
Helpful Tools:
- Environics Analytics PRIZM — enter a postal code to see the lifestyle segments in a neighbourhood.
- Statistics Canada Business Register — view the number of companies by size in your area of interest.
Questions to Define Your Ideal Client
- What are the demographic characteristics of my ideal client?
- What are the psychographic characteristics of my ideal client?
- Who in the organization or family unit is the best person to engage in a sales discussion?
- Where can I find these ideal clients — geographically or otherwise?
- (Optional) Give your ideal client a name to bring them to life.
Why This Matters
Defining your ideal client allows you to:
- Create more focused and effective marketing campaigns
- Tailor your products and services to meet their needs
- Build stronger, longer-lasting customer relationships
Need help identifying your ideal client?