No matter what industry your business operates in, knowing your ideal customer is crucial. Without this information, you will surely sink before you can swim. A lot of young entrepreneurs make the mistake in thinking that if they market to everyone then they’ll have a better chance of building a successful business- but this is far from the truth.

I wish this was true, who wouldn't?

Figuring out who your ideal customer is isn't always clear cut and some people start off in the dark, but as time progresses they slot into the right space. But, not before spending a lot of money on advertising that they could have used in the right market from the very beginning.

You're here because you need to figure out how to actually reach the people who want what you have to sell, so keeping reading to find out how:

Think about and define your product from the view point of your ideal customer. Look at it like this; you want to break down who they are, why they need your product or service and how will it improve an area of their life? It's like when you pick up a pencil without a rubber on the end and you pan across the store and see one that has a rubber, you would instead choose the one with a rubber. That's simply because you need it, it will improve your life by having to use one product instead of two and you don't have to search for the rubber when you misplace it.

Jot down who your is customer is based on a few important things. Now, you are looking at the person who will buy your product now you know how it would improve their life. Would this person be male, female or both? Because in some cases, like red lipstick for instance you wouldn't want to include male in a Facebook Ad aha. Now you're going to look at their age, occupation, income if they have one and what their current situation is at this very moment. It's a little like putting yourself in their shoe, because unless you know your customer, how can you sell to them?

What aspect of your product or service will your customer benefit from the most? Right...here is when you look at how your product or service will, in reality, satisfy the needs of the customer you have just described. Then, you need to figure out why they will want your product or service to satisfy their needs instead of someone else's product.

Start thinking about where your customer is located. For instance, they may be in the UK, but if you narrow down further, it may be London and even further to a specific postcode or county. This may take a little time to figure out or you may already know exactly where your customers lives. Although they may live and work in a certain area, it's important to think about where they are the moment they purchase your product or service. Plus, a lot happens online now, so you may want to look into where they hang out online. Is it Facebook, Twitter or even Pinterest?

At what point would your ideal customer buy your product or service? You may only buy a new laptop the moment your old one stops working or you may be in with the trend and purchase as and when something new comes to market. This is important to know and it's another way to get into the mind of the perfect customer. What needs to happen for them to buy your product? Your ideal customer has a buying strategy and you need to figure out what it is – and you need to know what the golden nudge is that gets your customer to place an order.

Every business needs to understand their customer – without this understanding you will be marketing to people who may like how your product looks, but they are not the right age, in the right location nor do they need what you have to offer at that time if at all. You need to get into the mind of your ideal customer and figure out how they tick. Think about it like this; if you decided to run a Facebook Ad today, who would you target? Most startups don't spend a lot of time figuring out who their customer actually is, so they waste a lot of time and money marketing to the wrong people.

The moment you figure who you need to sell to, you will realise that being successful at what you do becomes much easier. You will begin to satisfy the needs of your customers and they will not only come back to you again and again, they will recommend you to the people they know who are also in need of what you have to sell.