Audience Building

In B2B services, the people behind the businesses make all the difference. Whether you're launching a new venture or scaling an existing one, understanding who you're serving is the foundation of long-term growth.

Here’s how you can build a genuinely human-centered B2B business that attracts the right clients and creates meaningful relationships.

Know your business purpose 

Before diving into client acquisition, take a moment to think about your purpose. Selling becomes significantly easier when you understand:

• What brings you value
• What brings your clients value
• What generates sustainable profit

Remember, we're in business not just to "make another hundred dollars" but to create impact while supporting our livelihoods. A clear purpose acts as your north star when making decisions about who to work with and how to serve them.

B2B Client Types: Who to pursue (and who to avoid)

Understanding client types helps you focus your energy where it matters most. Here’s the three key categories of clients you'll encounter:

1. Growth-Getters

These clients push your boundaries in positive ways and often become your most profitable avenues. They will:

• Challenge you to innovate and expand
• Buy from you again and again
• Create opportunities for business collaborations and referrals
• Value results over micromanagement
• Can be charged premium rates while requiring targeted effort

These relationships feel energizing rather than draining, even when challenging.

2. Rocking Reliables

These clients form the backbone of your stable income. They:

• Purchase your standard offerings without complications
• Have clear expectations aligned with your services
• Require minimal hand-holding once onboarded
• Provide predictable, consistent revenue
• Focus on their path without demanding constant changes

Their straightforward approach makes them emotionally low-maintenance while covering the bills.

3. Energy Vampires (Avoid!)

These clients drain you of confidence, time and money. They:

• Demand extensive work beyond what they're willing to pay for
• Frequently disappear then reappear with urgent requests
• Leech your energy and enthusiasm for your work
• Often haggle over prices and deliverables
• Create friction throughout the client journey

You can quickly filter energy vampires out through price points, interviews and your onboarding process.

Practical ways to identify your Ideal audience

Now you know who you want, how do you find them? Marketers love their labels because it’s a way to find people through search, SEO, community groups and ad information. These split down into four areas;

1. Demographics

For B2B relationships, this includes:

• Company age and establishment
• Revenue/turnover thresholds
• Industry sector
• Geographic location
• Company size and structure

2. Psychographics

This covers interests and communication preferences:

• How they consume information
• Professional values and priorities
• Communication style preferences
• Industry-specific language they respond to

Remember that even when targeting companies, you're after individuals. The way you approach the sales manager will be different from the CEO.

3. Behavioral Patterns

Study your statistics to understand how clients engage with businesses like yours:

• Research and decision-making processes
• Purchase patterns and typical onboarding journeys
• Content consumption preferences (many B2B prospects research extensively before making contact)
• Engagement habits (many won't actively engage with content but are still observing)

4. Pain Points

Identifying the emotional and practical challenges your ideal clients face:

• Specific frustrations in their current processes
• How they feel before using your service
• How they'll feel after implementing your solution
• The practical impacts of these challenges on their business

Add your audience strategies

Pick an easy way to find your next client.

1. Map Against Current Successes

Analyze your existing client relationships:

• Identify the patterns across your most satisfying client partnerships
• Use social platforms to find connections to these ideal clients
• Leverage tools like Facebook's Audience Mapping for targeting similar profiles

2. Utilize Analytics and SEO

Let data guide your targeting:

• Analyze website traffic patterns through Google Analytics
• Identify which content attracts engaged visitors
• Understand search terms bringing qualified leads to your site

3. Leverage Word of Mouth

Harness the power of personal recommendations:

• Create referral systems that reward existing clients
• Build testimonial-gathering into your process
• Facilitate introductions to similar businesses

4. Create Strategic Competitions

“Bribe” your ideal prospects.

• Design competitions addressing specific pain points
• Encourage referrals by offering additional entries
• Ensure prizes align with your service journey

Starting from scratch: how to find your audience as a new business

You are never starting with a blank sheet - unless you happen to be a secret agent on the run who cannot leverage any of your past-life memories or skills. In which case; good luck. 

For normal people, you can do any of the following:

• Leveraging industry knowledge from previous experiences
• Directly asking potential clients about their challenges
• Conducting beta tests to identify ideal client characteristics
• Collecting testimonials to refine your understanding of who you serve best

Don’t be afraid to evolve

As your business grows, so will the people you serve. Don’t be afraid to experiment and branch out.

• Different service tiers can address various client segments
• Segmentation allows for more targeted communication
• Waitlists for premium services can indicate strong market position
• Your definition of ideal clients should be regularly reassessed

Ready? Here’s your next steps

1. Create your ideal client profile based on real people and businesses
2. Map your service offerings to address specific pain points
3. Draft messaging that speaks directly to emotional and practical challenges
4. Add gate-keeping to protect your energy from less-than-ideal clients
5. Regularly evaluate and refine your understanding of who you serve best

By centering your B2B business around genuine human connections and focusing on relationships that energize rather than deplete, you'll build a more sustainable, fulfilling business that creates meaningful impact.