you don't need more reach. you need the right person.
when i meet with most new clients, one of the first questions i always ask is: "who is your target demographic?"
and almost every time, i get some version of the same answer: "anyone who could use what i sell."
i get it. when you've built something you believe in, the instinct is to open the door as wide as possible. the idea of narrowing your focus feels like leaving money on the table.
but here's what i've seen over and over again working with small businesses: when you try to speak to everyone, you end up connecting with no one.
so before we talk strategy, before we talk ads or content or social media, i walk every client through one of my favorite exercises in marketing.
we build a persona.
what is a marketing persona?
a marketing persona is a detailed, semi-fictional profile of your ideal customer. not a vague demographic bucket, not "women ages 25 to 45" but a fully realized picture of a real type of person.
we're talking about things like:
• what they do for work and how that shapes their day
• what their biggest frustrations are, personally and professionally
• where they spend time online and what kind of content they actually stop for
• what they value when making a purchasing decision
• what's standing between them and saying yes to something like what you offer
some people name their personas. i've seen brands call theirs "busy parent brian" or "first-generation founder fatima." sounds a little different at first, but it works. once you have a name and a face on this person, every piece of content, every ad, every email you write starts to feel like a conversation instead of a broadcast.
a persona isn't a demographic. it's a person. and good marketing talks to people, not categories.
one of the most meaningful persona projects i've been part of was one i worked on in silence for over a year. the brand was D'USSE, the cognac brand behind Jay-Z. my role was to help figure out exactly who this brand was selling to. not just "cognac drinkers" but the specific person who would see a bottle of D'USSE and feel like it was made for them. that kind of clarity doesn't happen by accident. it comes from doing the work, asking the right questions, and building a picture of a real human being.
that persona, which we named Malcolm, became the foundation for how the brand showed up in the world. Malcolm wasn't made up. he was discovered through research, cultural insight, and a real understanding of who was already gravitating toward the product and why.
that's the work. and it applies whether you're launching a luxury cognac brand or running a local service business.
why your best new customers look like your best current ones
here's the shift that changes everything for most small business owners.
instead of asking "how do i reach more people," start asking "how do i find more people like my best customers?"
think about the customers you love working with. the ones who show up ready, who value what you do, who don't disappear after one interaction. now ask yourself what they have in common.
chances are, they share a lot. similar stage of life, similar frustrations, similar goals. they found you for similar reasons and they stayed for similar ones.
that's your persona.
and once you know who that person is, everything in your marketing gets easier. you know what to say, where to show up, and what kind of content actually resonates. you stop guessing and start speaking directly to the person most likely to become your next great customer.
the goal isn't to reach more people. it's to reach more of the right ones.
10 signs your mass marketing isn't working anymore
not sure if this applies to you? here are 10 signals worth paying attention to. these come from marketing and communications leaders across industries, and they're some of the most honest indicators that it's time to get more focused.
1. your conversion rates are low despite solid traffic. if people are finding you but not taking action, your message probably isn't speaking to anyone specifically enough.
2. your reach and engagement are dropping. when what you're putting out stops resonating, that's the audience telling you something isn't connecting.
3. your demos aren't converting to real opportunities. a high volume of leads that don't go anywhere is a sign you're attracting the wrong people, not just more people.
4. you don't have any real advocates or champions. brands that earn passionate fans usually start by deeply serving one specific group. if nobody's raving about you, you might be spread too thin.
5. you don't have enough time to research and plan each campaign. trying to be everywhere at once means nothing gets the attention it deserves.
6. your click rates and form submissions are low. lots of impressions, no action. that's a message problem, and message problems are usually audience problems.
7. your cost per lead keeps climbing. if you're spending more and getting less, something isn't aligned between who you're reaching and who actually needs what you offer.
8. you're not ranking on page one for any of your keywords. when you try to cover everything, you end up owning nothing. a more focused approach lets you actually break through.
9. your email open and click rates are trending down. try segmenting your list and see if it improves. if it does, that's your answer.
10. your marketing qualified leads have low closure rates. if the leads look good on paper but aren't closing, it's worth asking whether you're attracting the right person in the first place.
any of those sound familiar? most small businesses can point to at least a few. and the fix usually isn't more budget or more posts. it's more clarity about who you're actually trying to reach.
how we use personas at the abc firm
the persona exercise is one of the first things we work through with every new client, and it informs everything that comes after.
it shapes how we build your brand voice. it tells us which platforms are worth your time and which ones you can stop worrying about. it guides what we write for your website, your social media, your email campaigns. it even influences the design choices we make.
because when you know who you're talking to, you know what they need to feel, see, and hear before they're ready to take action.
that's not just good marketing theory. it's what actually moves the needle.
a simple way to start
if you want to try this before we ever connect, here's where to begin.
think about your best customer, the one you wish you could clone, and answer these questions:
• how old are they, and what does their day-to-day look like?
• what problem were they trying to solve when they found you?
• what almost stopped them from working with you?
• what do they say when they recommend you to someone else?
• where do they spend time online?
write it out. be specific. resist the urge to generalize.
what you'll end up with is the beginning of a persona and the beginning of a marketing strategy that actually makes sense for your business.
the bottom line
not knowing your persona isn't a small thing. it's the reason your ads feel scattered, your content feels generic, and your marketing spend keeps going out the door without much coming back.
the fix isn't more budget or more posts. it's more clarity.
and that clarity starts with understanding who you're really talking to.
want to build your persona?
this is one of the first exercises we work through with every new client at the abc firm. if you're ready to get clear on who your marketing should actually be talking to, let's have that conversation.
