Buyer Personas: Don't skip this step
Buyer Personas: Don’t skip this step
The process of marketing involves a lot of setup.
You need to research your market. That involves research to find out who are most likely to follow you and buy your products.
Otherwise, you risk wasting marketing money on the wrong people.
And that research is something you do constantly. As your business grows, you need to update your info on who follows you and why!
That’s Where the “Buyer Persona” Comes In.
A buyer persona is a profile.
It represents what your ideal customer looks like. It involves intensive market research and analyzing of customers.
So how do you create one?
We’ll explain that below. Additionally, we’ll look at…
- Why it’s vital for marketing.
- How large companies use them.
- Why small business owners need them.
- How to create a buyer persona.
So to get started…
Buyer Persona: It’s The Foundation of Your Marketing Efforts.
Marketing has changed drastically throughout the past two decades.
Before the internet, marketing was expensive. Its returns were slow, and we didn’t have the multitude of channels available today.
But with the internet, you can reach a variety of people. And you do so at a small fee!
However, that advantage of “exposure” comes with a drawback. And that would be lack of targeting.
That is, while your marketing reaches more people – it’s less likely to reach the “right people.”
Those would be individuals most likely to buy your product. And there are many factors that influence the likelihood of someone buying from you.
Example.
Let’s say you’re a business owner who runs a co-working space.
Co-working spaces are designed as low cost offices. They’re for people that need a place to study, work remotely, and to find those with similar productive interests.
And that’s an exclusive market. The average individual won’t visit a co-working space to socialize or spend fun time.
Those are facts that’ll go into your “final buyer persona.” And they’ll shape who you’ll target in your long-term marketing efforts!
Another Example.
Let’s say you’re a small business that sells babysitting services. Your services may include care for children between 1 and 10 years of age.
When marketing, you’ll probably target parents who “live alone” and who likely have careers.
Your buyer demographic is likely 25 years of age or older. Also, there’s a high chance that most of your customers are single.
Those are facts that will go into your buyer persona. And they’ll help you define who’s worth marketing to!
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Think of it This Way…
Your buyer persona is the “fact sheet” you reference to get an idea on whom to target. It establishes a strong foundation for your marketing.
A buyer persona is not simply a small list of facts.
You’ll usually have a multitude of information, such as age groups, buying habits, relationship status, pain points, geographic locations, etc.
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How Buyer Personas Improve Your Marketing Efforts.
Let’s start with the most obvious benefit – this being cost reduction.
You’ll spend less money per customer. You won’t have to squander money trying to grab the attention of those who might be disinterested.
Plus, you’re more likely to reach a state where demand for your products outweighs the supply.
What that means is, you’ll be spending less money trying to gain new customers – and more maintaining current customers.
And as we know, keeping a loyal customer is less expensive than attracting a new one!
Another Benefit – Improved Customer Service.
A buyer persona helps you understand the demographics of your average customer.
It also helps you understand buyer motivation and needs. After all, a detailed profile will often include reasons for purchase or interest in your products.
This gives you a better understanding of customer needs. And in case any issues arise with what you offer, you know how to respond in a way that satisfies your customers.
Third Benefit – Improved Marketing Scripts.
With a buyer persona, you know a lot about your customer. And that knowledge helps you present your products in a way that sells.
For example, maybe you find that your buyer persona often includes “budgeting” as a motivation.
In that case you then might decide to present your product as an inexpensive alternative to competition.
Or, you might find that your customers contract you as a result of location (where you’re closer than competitors).
In that case, your marketing can involve a description of where you are – your map position, and accurate address.
These are just basic examples. But, by consulting a buyer persona, you’ll better know how to “sell your product” – plus the needs it fulfills!
Fourth Benefit – Better Segmentation.
Depending on your business size, you’re usually creating more than one persona.
Each persona might have a different set of needs. And how you market to each persona (and the channels you need) can differ.
As an example, let’s say you’re a business owner that sells warehousing space. You might find yourself with two personas, those being…
- Everyday customers looking to store personal belongings.
- Businesses looking to store retail supply.
Each persona has a different marketing channel. For example, B2B sites are where you’ll find retailers needing space.
On the other hand, social media and “local SEO” are what’s more likely to get you the everyday customer.
And while both customers differ, they both make up a large portion of your target market. And you need to design different sales strategies to appeal to both!
Speaking of that…
Fifth Benefit – Makes it Easier for Your Sales Team.
As a business owner, you already have much to take care of. And you can’t be stuck dealing with the details of marketing.
This is where your sales team comes in. By giving them a buyer persona, you give them a reference point that helps them hit their quotas.
You save them time and unnecessary effort pitching to the wrong clients. And you make their job easier, thus improving your relationship with them!
And with that improved relationship, you’ll have a motivated sales team that’ll bring you higher conversion rates!
Next: How Do Large (and Small) Companies Create Buyer Personas?
The difference is in…
- The amount of detail.
- The number of profiles.
Large companies create more profiles than smaller ones. And the reason is, their range of activities differ.
They normally sell more products than smaller companies. Plus, they tend to operate in diverse locations (usually with different cultures and priorities).
As a result, they need a multitude of personas for each market. And sometimes, they create different personas per product!
What About Detail?
Obviously, larger companies can afford more detail in their profiles. However, their ability to capitalize on those details differs from one company to another.
Smaller companies have smaller markets. Also, they tend to have a small buyer personas count. Thus, they’re able to leverage minor details discovered in their final buyer personas.
As a Small Company – How Many Buyer Persona Profiles Do I Need?
You can have as little as 2, or as many as 20!
Really, the number is up to you. But as a rule, if you’re still a startup, try not to exceed 2 profiles.
After all, you probably don’t have that many sales as a startup. So you don’t have records to go back to, in order to define a accurate buyer persona.
Plus, you’re usually relying on research provided by stats, and marketing companies.
However, if you’re a small business that’s been active for at least a year (and already have a customer-base) – then you can expand that.
You can go up to 5 profiles. Though we wouldn’t recommend you exceed that, especially if you operate locally!
But if your business does operate online (with long distance shipping), then feel free to expand as much as you like.
Important Rule.
Don’t create buyer personas to the point of confusion.
Your buyer persona should help you hone in on the “most likely buyers.” They shouldn’t scatter your efforts thin.
Here’s How to Create a Buyer Persona…
Creating a buyer persona is as complex as you want it to be.
Below is a simple guide you can follow. If this is your first time, consider it a way of creating your starting profiles!
#1 – Research Basic Demographic Info.
Start by gathering quantifiable information on your buyers, which you’ll average out into a profile.
That information will include…
- Simplified Address (or, distance from your business if you sell offline services).
- Family status (single/married/divorced – number of children).
There are more quantifiable data pieces you can collect, but that’ll depend on the industry you operate in.
As an example, let’s say you run a weight loss clinic. Maybe you’ll want to calculate the average BMI of customers who visit you.
So additional info you’ll collect will include…
- Height
- Starting weight.
#2 – Collect Info Directly From Your Audience.
Doing this requires you to have a customer-base (it doesn’t have to be that large though).
What you’ll do is, you’ll ask your customers questions. You’ll use those to gather information on buyer motivation, specific complaints, etc.
Make sure they’re related to actual purchases. That is, you don’t want random followers to give you information.
You want people who bought your products before. And your goal is to get info on their reasons for purchase.
Now, getting the info for that is easy. You can either…
- Design a multiple choice poll/survey.
- Ask customers to write detailed reviews.
The first option is your best bet. While it doesn’t give you as much detail as the second, it’s more manageable to sift through.
With a set of multiple choice answers, it’s easier to find buyer patterns. And you can quickly tell the motivations that go into a buyer persona.
However, the second option works well too. It’s used most by small businesses that have very low customer counts.
#3 – Assess the Collected Info.
First, evaluate quantified info.
You’ll take that information and then average out. Then, you can create multiple profiles based on what you get.
We recommend starting with two profiles. For example you can create a profile for female buyers. Then, find average age groups and approximate address/relationship status.
After that, repeat the same process for males.
Second, evaluate information on buyer motivation.
If you did that through a poll, then averaging out the information should be easy. You’ll have a % representation of who answered what.
From there, you can tell why buyers want your product!
#4 – Create the Final Profiles.
You should have at least two profiles ready by the end of this process.
It can take you 1 -3 months to gather a good sample size of buyers before creating personas.
But once you do, you’ll have a solid foundation for your marketing!
Take a closer look at the Marketing Built For Success.
For assistance with website strategy or social media marketing, contact Tisha Littlejohn at 312 798 9332 or info@tljcreativemarketing.com.
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