If you’d like to increase sales, I have an exercise for you.

I want you to begin to define your avatar(s). You may have more than one, in fact, you probably will.

Wait – what’s an avatar?

You may also have heard them referred to as personas. Same thing. You are putting yourself in the minds of your customers. The more you’re able to think like them, the better able you’ll be to serve them in just the ways they need.

Let’s pretend you’re a business in an up-and-coming urban neighborhood. Imagine that your customers are thirty-somethings with young children who have moved into your area because the schools are excellent. Most are double-income families who earn anywhere between $40,000 and $60,000.What things keep them awake at night?

• The health and safety of their children
• Saving for college
• Daycare concerns
• Saving time as working parents
• How to cook healthy meals

See how much more you know about them? How much better you understand their needs? It will be so much easier to serve them — to find the hot buttons that make them buy — when you know their needs, wants, and worries.

When you begin to think of them as real people with real needs, you understand much better how to appeal to them.

Sometimes it’s helpful to use images to help you visualize your avatar.

Take some time this week to build your avatar(s). Go beyond my example and dig deep into who they are. Write it down and share it with your team if you have one. Structure your marketing around you avatar. Review them every few months to keep them fresh.

The better you know your customer, the more effective your marketing can be. Try it.