“What is your process for identifying and targeting your ideal customer online? Can you share one effective method or tool that you use?” Here is what 15 thought leaders have to say.
- Understand Homeowners’ Tree Care Needs
- Analyze Customer Needs and Behaviors
- Use Data-Driven Success Pattern Analysis
- Analyze Data from Existing Customers
- Research and Personalize Customer Connections
- Create Focus Groups and Survey Customers
- Define Ideal Customer with Psychographics
- Analyze Data and Create Customer Personas
- Leverage Data for Targeting Ideal Customers
- Define Customer Persona and Segment Audience
- Build Detailed Customer Personas
- Leverage Data-Driven Customer Personas
- Create Buyer Personas for Targeted Marketing
- Analyze Website and Social Media Data
- Segment Customers for Personalized Marketing
Understand Homeowners’ Tree Care Needs
Identifying and targeting our ideal customer online starts with understanding the profile of homeowners who need reliable tree care services in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Years of experience in the industry have shown me that our ideal customers value professionalism, safety, and long-term care for their trees, often in neighborhoods where property maintenance is a high priority. To connect with this audience, I leverage a mix of localized online marketing tools and strategies, but one standout method has been using targeted social media ads paired with high-quality visuals. For example, we run ads that showcase before-and-after images of our work, like trimming overgrown oak trees or removing hazardous limbs after a storm. These images, along with customer testimonials, help build trust and highlight our expertise.
One specific tool we use is Google My Business, where our certification as arborists and years of TRAQ expertise are clearly emphasized. This tool allows us to appear in local searches for terms like “tree service near me” and provides an easy way for customers to read reviews, request quotes, and understand our value proposition. By regularly updating it with relevant posts and photos, we’ve seen a significant increase in inquiries from people looking for skilled professionals they can trust. My 20+ years in the field, starting from my first lessons with my father, have taught me that building trust is key, and this tool helps us do just that in the digital space.
Amaury Ponce, Business Owner, Ponce Tree Services
Analyze Customer Needs and Behaviors
As the CEO of Parachute, I’ve found that identifying and targeting ideal customers online starts with understanding their specific needs and behaviors. First, we define clear business objectives and create detailed buyer personas. These personas are based on real data, such as demographics, challenges, and buying habits. For instance, when we focused on reaching mid-sized law firms needing cybersecurity services, we discovered they value fast response times and compliance support. This insight shaped our messaging and ensured it addressed their most pressing concerns.
One effective method I’ve used is analyzing historical data through tools like HubSpot Service Hub. It consolidates customer interactions-emails, chat, and social media-so we can spot trends and pain points. For example, we noticed many clients needed simpler ways to manage secure file sharing. After reviewing customer feedback and analyzing engagement data, we adjusted our service offerings to include tailored solutions that solved these issues directly.
Testing is another critical step. We use A/B testing to refine messaging and visuals. For example, when promoting managed IT services, we tested two different email headlines. One focused on “24/7 phone support,” while the other highlighted “compliance training.” The compliance-focused version drove more clicks. This approach allowed us to connect with smaller audience segments more effectively and continually improve our strategies.
Elmo Taddeo, CEO, Parachute
Use Data-Driven Success Pattern Analysis
We use a data-driven “success pattern” analysis. By examining our highest-value clients, we identified common traits: typically local service businesses with 5+ employees, outdated websites, and annual revenue between $500K-2M.
Here’s how we apply this:
- Build lookalike audiences based on existing clients
- Target specific industries showing growth
- Track engagement metrics to refine targeting
This strategy transformed our lead quality. Last month, we used LinkedIn Sales Navigator to find businesses matching our criteria and saw a 40% increase in qualified leads. By focusing on companies that mirror our best clients, our close rate improved from 20% to 35%.
For instance, when we noticed successful home service companies made great clients, we created targeted content addressing their specific pain points. This focused approach doubled our conversion rate for this segment.
Harmanjit Singh, Founder and CEO, Origin Web Studios
Analyze Data from Existing Customers
Our process starts with analyzing data from existing customers. For our storage facilities in Texas, we look at who’s renting units and why-families moving, businesses needing inventory space, or individuals downsizing. This helps us build detailed customer profiles based on their needs, locations, and behaviors.
One effective tool we use is Google Analytics combined with targeted advertising platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads. Analytics helps us track website traffic and see which demographics are most engaged with our content. For example, we might notice that a significant portion of traffic comes from small business owners searching for affordable long-term storage. We use that insight to create tailored ad campaigns highlighting features like security and easy access for business users.
By combining data analysis with targeted ads, we’ve been able to focus our budget on reaching the right audience, leading to higher-quality leads and better ROI. It’s about finding where your customers are online and speaking directly to their specific needs.
April Young, Owner, Ultimate Properties
Research and Personalize Customer Connections
My process for finding and connecting with the right customers online is all about research and personalization. I focus on understanding who they are, what they need, and how I can bring value to them. It’s not just about finding names-it’s about connecting meaningfully.
First, I define who my ideal customer is. For me, that’s usually leaders in customer service or collections, especially in industries like utilities. Once I have that in mind, I use LinkedIn-it’s such a powerful tool for this. I’ll search for people based on their role, company size, and even where they’re located.
But it doesn’t stop there. I take the time to look at their profiles, posts, and what’s happening with their companies. It helps me craft messages that actually resonate. For example, if someone’s company recently announced a big push toward improving customer experience, I’ll mention that and share how our solutions align with their goals.
One tactic that works really well for me is using content to start conversations. I’ll share a post on LinkedIn about something I’m passionate about, like how empathy can transform customer service. When people engage with it-by liking or commenting-I use that as an opportunity to reach out. I’ll say something like, ‘Thanks for sharing your thoughts on my post! I’d love to hear more about how you’re approaching customer experience at your company.’
It’s simple, human, and it works because it’s genuine. People don’t want to feel like they’re just another name on a list-they want to feel like you see them. And that’s always my approach.
Adonis Khuzwayo, Outsourced Solutions Manager – EMEA, Nutun
Create Focus Groups and Survey Customers
As my customer base has grown over the years, I have made attempts to understand as much as possible about my best customers, especially repeat customers or ones who have interacted positively with my sales or customer service team.
We like to create focus groups consisting of repeat buyers, and we survey them to find answers to questions about what role they play in their company that puts them into a position to purchase our products, what types of products they are interested in buying regularly, and what process they use to source the products they’re looking for. We ask them about their online habits, including what search phrases they use to shop for what they want.
We take the data that we get from our best customers and compare it with information we get from Google Keyword Planner and from the Amazon PPC tools. Those two tools can be really helpful for matching phrases associated with your retail catalog with the types of searches being done on the most used search platforms.
Once I have enough information from existing customers to establish personas that represent them, I then steer my marketing efforts towards attracting those personas, including publishing content intended to solve the problems I know, based upon the responses from my best existing customers, they are dealing with.
Richard Robbins, Owner, Prosperopedia
Define Ideal Customer with Psychographics
Identifying and targeting the ideal customer is the very first step for all the marketing campaigns I handle. Over the years, I’ve honed a process that really helps us connect with the right audience for our clients.
Defining the ideal customer isn’t just about basic demographics like age or gender, though that’s important too. I dig deeper into psychographics: what are their interests, what challenges do they face, and what motivates them? For instance, when we worked with a sustainable fashion brand, we discovered that their ideal customers were eco-conscious millennials who not only cared about style but also about the environment. Knowing this helped us craft messages that truly resonated with them.
One method I swear by is using targeted advertising. Platforms like Facebook Ads Manager have been a game-changer for us. We set up custom audiences based on data from our clients’ existing customers, and then create lookalike audiences to find new potential customers who share similar traits. When we were launching a campaign for a local coffee shop, we targeted users who had shown interest in organic products and local businesses. This approach led to a significant boost in foot traffic!
My absolute favorite tool for audience targeting is Google Analytics. I love diving into the data to see which pages are popular, where users drop off, and what content keeps them engaged. This insight allows us to tweak our strategies in real-time and ensure we’re hitting the mark with our messaging.
Kate Dzhevaga, CMO, Head of Growth, SYMVOLT
Analyze Data and Create Customer Personas
Identifying and targeting our ideal customer online is all about knowing who’s ready to party-and tailoring our approach to ensure we’re top of mind when they are. We focus on families, schools, and organizations planning events in Texas, and we start by analyzing our data to see who’s booking, when, and why. From there, we create customer personas that guide our marketing efforts, helping us reach parents planning birthdays, PTA leaders organizing fundraisers, or corporate teams hosting big celebrations.
A game-changer for us has been leveraging Facebook’s detailed audience targeting tools. Since most of our customers are parents or event planners, we use interests like “family activities,” “event planning,” or “kids’ entertainment” to target ads to the right audience. We also retarget website visitors with ads showcasing the specific services or rentals they viewed-bounce houses, water slides, or carnival rides.
Joe Horan, Owner & CEO, Jumper Bee
Leverage Data for Targeting Ideal Customers
Finding and targeting our ideal customer online is all about using data. We start by looking at customer behavior across different areas-things like website visits, social media interactions, and data from our CRM. This helps us build detailed customer profiles and understand who’s most likely to benefit from our AI-powered sales tools.
One tool that really helps us in this process is LinkedIn Sales Navigator. It’s fantastic for pinpointing the right decision-makers at companies that match our target audience. We can filter by industry, company size, role, and even how engaged someone is with our content, which helps us focus our efforts on the most promising leads.
By combining LinkedIn Sales Navigator with the insights we gather through SalesForge.ai, we can send more personalized messages and reach prospects when they’re most likely to be interested. It’s all about being relevant and timely, which increases our chances of building relationships that lead to conversions.
V. Frank Sondors, Founder, Salesforge AI
Define Customer Persona and Segment Audience
Identifying and targeting my ideal customer online starts with defining a clear customer persona based on demographics, interests, pain points, and behaviors. This involves gathering data from various sources, including website analytics, social media insights, and customer feedback, to create a detailed profile of who my ideal customer is and what they need. I then segment my audience into different groups based on factors like purchase intent, stage in the buyer journey, and engagement levels.
I use social media audience insights, particularly from platforms like Instagram and Facebook, where I can get detailed information on my followers, such as age, location, interests, and behaviors. These insights help refine my content and messaging to speak directly to my target audience. I also use tools like Facebook Ads Manager to create highly targeted ad campaigns that leverage these insights. This tool allows me to build custom audiences based on interests, occupations, locations, behaviors, and even competitors’ audiences, ensuring my marketing efforts reach the right people at the right time.
Kristin Marquet, Founder & Creative Director, Marquet Media
Build Detailed Customer Personas
Identifying the ideal customer and targeting them online will require a scientific approach combining research, analysis, and the use of good tools. Begin with building a detailed customer persona that includes demographic details, interests, behaviours, and pain points. This can help one visualize who his ideal customer is and what he needs.
One of the most effective tools for this exercise is HubSpot’s Make My Persona, which is free and helps you step by step in building a buyer persona to perfection. It allows you to determine the persona under various conditions and integrate your CRM with HubSpot. This way, you’ll be able to know precisely what your audience wants and accordingly modify your marketing strategy.
Using social media platforms for the execution of market research may also give some insight into where your ideal customers are active and what may catch their interest. One combination of persona development and market research helps ensure the marketing efforts are focused on reaching the right audience.
Sheraz Ali, Founder & CEO, HARO Links Builder
Leverage Data-Driven Customer Personas
My process for identifying and targeting ideal customers online begins with creating detailed customer personas based on demographic, behavioral, and psychographic data. I analyze website analytics, social media insights, and purchase patterns to understand audience preferences and pain points. An effective method I use is leveraging audience segmentation within ad platforms like Google Ads or Facebook Ads. This allows precise targeting based on behaviors, interests, and online activity, ensuring my campaigns reach the most relevant audience. Combining these insights with consistent monitoring and refinement helps me align messaging with customer needs, driving better engagement and conversions.
Brenton Thomas, Founder, Twibi
Create Buyer Personas for Targeted Marketing
One effective method I use to identify and target my ideal customer online is by leveraging data-driven customer personas. By analyzing existing customer data, such as demographics, purchasing behavior, and online engagement, I create highly targeted profiles that allow me to pinpoint the right audience. This process ensures that marketing efforts are focused on prospects who are most likely to benefit from and invest in our software development solutions, driving higher engagement and conversion rates.
In addition, I utilize advanced tools like Google Analytics and LinkedIn Ads to refine and track customer acquisition efforts. These tools allow me to analyze web traffic, monitor campaign performance, and adjust targeting in real-time. By combining data-driven insights with automated marketing tools, I can continuously optimize my strategies and connect with the right audience, leading to more meaningful business growth and stronger customer relationships.
Shehar Yar, CEO, Software House
Analyze Website and Social Media Data
To identify and target my ideal customer online, I start by analyzing demographic and psychographic data, such as age, location, interests, and purchasing behavior. I use tools like Google Analytics and Facebook Insights to gather insights about website visitors and social media engagement. One effective method I rely on is creating detailed buyer personas, which help in tailoring marketing messages and content to resonate with the specific needs and pain points of my target audience. This approach ensures my campaigns reach the right people and drive better conversions.
Shreya Jha, Social Media Expert, Appy Pie
Segment Customers for Personalized Marketing
This is one of the first things I do when I want to find our best online customer. On our site, people stay on certain pages, look for things, and buy things. It helps me understand how they use it. Saturday and Sunday are days when some people like to look around more. I can teach people something or tell them about deals at those times. I also use tools to find out what people are saying about our business and how we can help them more.
One big way I talk to each customer one-on-one is by putting information into groups and making it more personal. I don’t email everyone. Since we’ve already talked to these people, I put them into clear groups. Someone who usually buys health products hasn’t tried our newest medicine yet. I’ll give them a coupon to do that. They get success stories, reviews of our products, and behind-the-scenes looks at how we make them. Besides that, I make sure they can use the notes.
As part of our plan to reach the right people, we worked with people who make a difference. There’s more to what I want than just a lot of fans. I want people whose fans are interested in what we have to offer. An advocate I worked with was small but very busy. She cared deeply about all kinds of health. Their fans could quickly get in touch with our products. Because they were honest, they had faith in them. With their help, we sold more things and got our name out there.
Jean Christophe Gabler, Publisher & Founder, YOGI TIMES
