Great marketers rely on demographics and consumer insights to target their marketing and a buyer persona allows companies of all sizes to improve their targeting.
In this article, we will explain how to develop a buyer persona for your business and show you strong examples you can use to create the perfect buyer persona.
What Is a Buyer Persona?
A buyer persona is a vibrant profile of your company’s ideal customer. Your buyer persona should identify the type of the person with an incredible need for your product who will remain a loyal client for years, and tell all of their friends about how remarkable you are.
Here are some questions to help you develop the perfect buyer persona for your business:
- Demographics or Firmographics – What are the basic facts about your ideal customer, including age, gender, and geographic location?
- Pain Points – Why does your buyer persona need your solution in the first place?
- Priorities – What causes certain buyers to invest in products like yours?
- Values – How will your company help your consumers achieve their wants?
- Research Habits – How does your ideal customer find you online?
- Identifying Factors – What factors influence buying decision?
- Psychographic Characteristics – How does your product fit into the larger identity of your buyer persona?
How To Develop Buyer Personas
The first step to creating a buyer persona is to hold interviews with your existing customer base. This approach works very well if you own an established company. For startups and smaller companies, you just need to be a little more creative. Try these steps:
Talk to Both Happy and Unhappy Customers
To create your buyer persona you should talk to both happy and unhappy customers. Engaging with customers who’ve had a negative or mediocre experience with your product or service can salvage damaged relationships, but it can also help you gain a better understanding of how your product is perceived from the outside.
Interviewing customers of all satisfaction levels will help you pinpoint your buyer persona more effectively.
Combine Metrics with Insights
It’s critical to focus on acquiring the insights that are difficult to track through web analytics. It’s important to use your time with customers to gain a bigger picture of attitudes, values, and habits. Use these insights, in conjunction with metrics and contributions from your sales and customer service team, to develop a document which details every aspect of how your ideal customer will find and select your company.
Offer Incentives For Your Research
Offer a clear incentive for customers to participate in your research, which can range from a discount to a small, useful gift. Try to keep each session short and explain the reason for the sessions.
Buyer Persona Example Questions
Here are 10 simple buyer persona questions to help you create a brilliant buyer persona for your business:
- How do you research products and services? Do you trust online reviews?
- Do you use social media? What is your favorite network?
- How much time do you spend online? Do you use smartphones and tablets?
- What are your job title and career goals?
- What skills, knowledge, and tools are required to succeed at your job?
- Name some of the biggest challenges you face in life or work?
- What blogs, news sources, or media do you consume on a regular basis?
- What is your educational background?
- Which brands and product do you love?
- Do you prefer to communicate via email, phone, or in-person?
Developing a Buyer Persona For Your Business
Decisions made without customer insights aren’t always sound, and a buyer persona based on personal opinion simply won’t advance your marketing game. Buyer persona profiles can be something of a silver bullet for companies of all sizes and in virtually any industry because the insights allow you to gain a sufficiently deep understanding of your customers to answer their questions and address their needs from the moment they find your website.