What is a Buyer Persona?

A buyer persona is a vibrant profile of your company’s ideal customer. This should capture the type of person with an incredible need for your product and a love for your company; who will remain a loyal client for years, and tell all of their friends about how remarkable you are. A buyer persona can help you identify the forms of messaging which will convert the right website visitors into leads, and leads into customers.

Great marketers rely on demographics and consumer insights to target their marketing. Major companies may leverage focus groups to determine consumer reactions to their marketing messages, and spend significant time and budget compiling demographic insights. A buyer persona profile is the great equalizer, because it allows companies of all sizes to improve their targeting. The following elements should make an appearance in your persona profile:

“We WILL be there with you every step of the way.” 

  • Pain Points. Why does your buyer persona need your solution in the first place? A pain point is exactly what it sounds like: a problem or need that’s causes a customer to search for branded products or services and spend money in order to solve it. Whether customers are driven to your company by a major life event or a need to prove a point to their peers, you should know how your company is used to solve problems.
  • Priorities. Do your customers tend to be budget shoppers, or do they worry about impressing their social circle? Do you sell to executive assistants with a need to please a particularly choosy boss? Priorities allow you to create marketing materials that cut to the chase.
  • Values. Are your ideal customers environmentally-conscious? Do they aspire to grow their company quickly? It’s critical to address values separately from priorities, because they affect how your company should define the bigger picture. Being able to clearly define how your company will help your consumers achieve their wants, whether that’s saving money on their monthly grocery budget or performing their job more efficiently, should guide your company’s presentation.
  • Identifying Factors. What makes your buyer persona different from any other 26 year-old public relations manager who aspires to own her own PR firm? It’s probably difficult to tell why some customers who fit your demographics profiles purchase, and others don’t, but one of the best ways to determine this factor is likely through interviews with your sales team. Inquire about the factors they used to distinguish hot leads, which could include anything from the questions asked during the research stage to a company’s organizational chart.

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