“I get why service-based businesses need to focus on a specific audience. But I have products stocked in Harrods and Fortnum & Mason. I don’t control who walks into the shop and buys my product. So does this whole ‘ideal client’ thing actually apply to me?”
This question came up during a recent live session, and I think it’s something a lot of product-based creative business owners wonder about. The answer might surprise you.
I think it matters even more for product-based businesses. Here’s why.
When your products sit alongside hundreds of other brands in competitive retail spaces, you need to stand out. And you don’t do that by trying to appeal to everyone. You do it by being crystal clear about who you’re for—by using language and imagery that speaks directly to a very specific type of person, making them feel “this brand gets me.”
That’s what makes someone choose your product over the one sitting right next to it on the shelf.
The Magazine Editor
I learned this the hard way in my floristry business. Early on, I was focussed on weddings and getting inquiries from all sorts of different brides. I started to notice a pattern. There was a very particular type of bride I absolutely loved working with… we got on brilliantly, I understood her brief instinctively, the whole process was smooth. And then there were brides I found trickier to work with. It just wasn’t a good fit.
But I didn’t know how to articulate this difference.
I remember meeting with a magazine editor who asked me “So who do you create flowers for?”
“Well, everybody,” I said. “Anybody who is getting married and wants flowers.”
I watched her face drop, her eyes glaze over. The meeting was cut short after that. She sort of went “Oh. Okay.” And I could see her thinking “that’s not going to work.”
I realised then how important it is that people can put you in a box. That they can understand who you’re for, what your values are, what your style is.
Values Over Demographics
So I spent time trying to work out who my exact bride was. I read all these business books about demographics… age, income, location. And I thought “that’s all rubbish.” Because those demographics applied to ALL of my brides, both the ones I loved working with and the ones I didn’t.
The key difference wasn’t about age or money. It was about values and what mattered to them.
The brides I loved working with wanted their wedding day to be about their family and friends. It was a celebration. They wanted to welcome people and do everything they could for everybody to have a great time.
The brides I didn’t get on with as well? Their wedding day was all about them. Which is fine—that’s their choice. But I wasn’t the right florist for that. And there were other florists who were phenomenal for those particular weddings. That just wasn’t me.
So I changed every single thing I did to speak to that very specific bride. All the wording on my website. All my marketing. Everything was about creating this incredible day, this celebration. I talked about creating beautiful flowers on tables that would draw people in, that would create amazing conversations. About how people have busy, stressful lives, and this is a day for them to leave everything behind and just have this incredible day where everybody comes together.
I was really, really specific with my language.
The result? My business completely took off. Every single inquiry I got from then on was that exact type of bride. The ones who wanted the day to be all about themselves read that language (on my website, in interviews, in editorial features) and they never contacted us. We ended up with just the most amazing clients. Because we were so clear about who we were for.
The Same Principle Now
I do exactly the same thing now with the creative entrepreneurs I work with. The language I use, how I close my emails, how I structure conversations… each one adds up to create very personable spaces with absolutely no ego, just support and focus on solutions and moving forward, with a willingness to work hard and an openness to explore new ideas.
The programmes I run have a very specific type of person in them. On paper, everyone looks completely different; someone with a new baby taking over her family business, founders with toddlers and young families, women in their later years managing elderly parents and grandchildren while gaining strategic clarity before handing businesses over to their children. A massive cross-section from Canada to Czech Republic to Australia.
But they all have a very similar personality. Very supportive. Open-minded. Similar values.
It’s really rare that I jump on a welcome call and think “oh no, this isn’t going to work.” Because the language I use filters people naturally.
Why This Matters Even More for Products
This matters even MORE when you’re in a saturated, highly competitive market.
When your product sits on a shelf next to twenty other similar products, what makes someone choose yours? It’s what that product says about them.
When I stocked products in Selfridges, the V&A, Matches Fashion (even when I had to rely on packaging and descriptions to do the work) I was still very focused on a very specific type of person. Some of my products were bestsellers in their categories. In fact, one of our designs was the bestselling product on the whole of Selfridges website.
You might not control who walks into Harrods or Fortnum & Mason. But when someone’s standing there looking at your product alongside twenty others, and they’ve seen your website, your Instagram, your language, and it’s spoken directly to them (if they’ve felt “this brand gets me”) that’s what makes them choose yours.
That’s what makes them go home and tell their friends about it. That’s what makes them come back and buy refills. That’s what makes them recommend it.
How to Figure This Out
Think about the clients or customers you’ve loved working with or who’ve loved your product. Not the demographics… the values, the personality, what mattered to them.
Think about the ones you didn’t enjoy or who just weren’t quite right. What was different?
It’s about how they see the world. What they value. What matters to them.
Then make everything you do speak to that first group. Your language. Your imagery. Your product descriptions. Your about page. Everything.
Be specific. Be clear. Stop trying to be for everyone.
Because when you’re for everyone, you’re really for no one.
If you have questions on this, you’re always welcome to email me at hello@philippacraddock.com or drop me a DM on Instagram.
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