Create a Customer Avatar: The Key to Developing a Successful Product

SDS 011: Clarifying Customer Avatar

Hey! thank you for reading issue 011 of Startup Definition Sunday (SDS).

SDS is the newsletter for founders, bringing you clarity one actionable tip at a time.

SDS arrives every two weeks (you guessed it) on Sundays.

In every issue you can expect:

• 1 Definition of startup jargon

• 1 actionable tip you can implement right away

• 1 article on Africa tech that you should read

• 1 gift for founders

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Hi - It's always such a pleasure to share each issue with you! If you missed the last issue, you can check it out here.

Before we dive into today's issue, Marge and I started something we think could be useful for founders - bi-weekly office hours to practice your 5-minute pitch.

If you missed the most recent session, you can catch the recording here.

We are back in two weeks. Register to join us if you want to practice your 5-minute pitch or you have a challenge on your founder journey.

Welcome to this issue, where I want to talk about something that's often overlooked by pre-product or post-MVP founders: the customer avatar.

As an investor, I've had the opportunity to read hundreds of pitch decks, giving me unique insight into how founders differentiate themselves.

In this issue, I'll share actionable tips on how to create a customer avatar that helps you develop a product that meets the needs of your target audience.

What is the customer avatar?

Customer Avatar: detailed profile of your ideal customer that includes information on their characteristics, values, interests, and pain points.s.

Why is a customer avatar important?

By creating a customer avatar, founders can gain valuable insights into the specific needs and preferences of their target audience.

Whether you're a pre-product or post-MVP founder, creating a customer avatar can improve your product development and marketing efforts.

For pre-product founders, it can help identify the specific needs and pain points of your target audience.

For post-MVP founders, it can help you stand out in a crowded market by tailoring your marketing and product development plans to a specific group of people.

By resonating with your target audience, you can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The customer avatar ICU method

To unlock the benefits of customer avatars, founders use what I call the ICU method - Identify, Create and Use.

1. Identify: The first step is to gather as much data as possible to identify your target audience. You should aim to collect demographic information such as age, gender, income, and geographic location, as well as psychographic information such as values, interests, and pain points. You can gather this data through surveys, customer interviews, online research, and more. This newsletter issue will get you started.

2. Create: After you've gathered data, the next step is to create a detailed profile that represents your ideal customer. The profile should be specific and extensive, including both demographic and psychographic data. The value of the customer avatar is in how specific you can get, especially on the pain points, challenges, and problems your product or service can solve for your customers.

3. Use:  Once you've created your customer avatar, use it to guide your marketing and product development efforts. When creating marketing campaigns, focus on messaging and channels that resonate with your customer avatar. When developing new product features, consider how these features address the pain points and challenges of your ideal customer.

Remember, your customer avatar is not set in stone. It will evolve over time as you gather more data and feedback from your customers. Continuously update and refine your customer avatar to ensure it accurately represents your target customer. When done right, your customer avatar can help you create a product that truly meets the needs and preferences of your target audience.

If you have learned something valuable today, consider joining SDS so you don't miss future editions.

If you only read one thing this week, read this...

Rest of World's Martin Siele wrote a great piece on M-PESA fraud and its effects on users.

Here's why you should read it: As fintech continues to grow, the incidences of fraud will continue to skyrocket. M-PESA, easily one of the most successful fintechs, is no stranger to fraud. The perspectives in this article are vital for all founders who receive, make or process payments.

Founder's Corner

Let's get real for a second: raising a round in 2023 is beginning to sound like going outside in mid-2020 - everyone is advising you against it. Unfortunately, unlike missing weekly drinks with your friends, you can't just pause on the fundraising.

The team at Africa The Big Deal have been curating a database of investors that have done deals in Africa since 2019.

It costs a fraction what you will pay for Crunchbase or Pitchbook BUT the team has offered a 10% discount for subscribers of SDS. Grab it here (and tell a friend!) to help you target investors in your sweet spot.

Thank you for reading to the end of issue 011.

Until we meet again in two weeks, here's how we can stay in touch:

• 🐦 Find me on Twitter

• 💬 Hit me up on Linkedin

• 💌 Email (hit reply)

• 🚀 Sponsor SDS (Reply to this email)

Let's chat again in two weeks,

Jasiel

P.S I am revamping my newsletters referral program after some helpful feedback from readers. I need your help on this:

What makes you excited to refer a newsletter to your friends & family?