Have you ever seen a brand's messaging on Facebook and thought, "This was written for me." Or "They get me!" It's because the brand has taken time to get to know you and what you would like to engage with their content.
In the 1990s, the term "buyer personality" was invented and has been an integral part of many business strategies. You'd be shocked at how many people don't get this concept right.
This article will show you how to create buyer personas that bring you significant ROI in your sales and marketing efforts.
What's a Buyer Persona? Why is it Important?
A buyer persona is a sketch of the ideal customer for your company. Based on demographics such as age, gender, profession, gender, etc., companies create a fictional persona that represents their target audience. Companies do a deep dive into the needs and buying habits of their ideal buyers.
A buyer persona is essential for all business activities. This will help you achieve your customer retention and acquisition goals. A sales representative must be able to identify the client in order to communicate with them effectively. Your content creation team must also understand their target audience before creating content that is valuable for them.
Although it is impossible to get to know all your customers, you can create personas that accurately reflect your target audience. Let's find out how...
Step-by - Guide to Creating Buyer Personas
1. Conduct extensive Audience Research
It's best to research existing customers first, since they are your ideal customers. Ask them to complete a survey in which you ask for their personal information, such as why they are buying from you and what they are facing. You can also use one-on-one conversations to gain valuable insights from your CRM team.
Google Analytics can be used to look at your visitors and determine their age, gender, location, and more. It is possible to find out information about the person, such as their profession, company size and job title.
You can also use tools such as Buzzsumo, Hootsuite and SEMrush to check out the target audience of your competitors. To determine the target audience, you can also evaluate your competitors' marketing efforts.
2. Fill in the details of Buyer Persona
Once you have all the details, it is time to build customer personalities. To create accurate sketches, remember that your ideal customer is someone who will be able to purchase products from you.
Your buyer persona should include:
Age
Language
Gender
Localization
Profession
If you are a B2B business, the company size
Interests
Financial situation
Goals
Pain points
Roadblocks and challenges
These are just a few of the important tips. It is also beneficial to discover where your customers spend their online time so that you can reach them. You can find out which social media platforms they prefer or what communities they are active in.
You can create multiple buyer personas if you have enough information.
3. More details for your persona
This is the last step. It's about organizing all of the information that you have gathered. To get a better picture of your ideal customer, it's important to understand their psychology. You will need to identify the challenges, barriers, and inconveniences that your customers experience every day.
Imagine, for instance, that you are an app development company. What are the procurement challenges your customers face when they use the services you provide? What lack of knowledge or awareness does this customer have? Are they facing any financial roadblocks
What are their goals and objectives when outsourcing app development to a third-party vendor, more importantly?
Answering the questions above will help you answer the most important question: How can you help customers? This question should be answered clearly and precisely, so you can create a buyer persona.
Companies who have nailed their buyer personas (Examples).
1. Dollar Shave Club
Dollar Shave Club provides razors and grooming products on a monthly basis to its customers. It was an eCommerce startup that tried to make a mark in a market where Proctor & Gamble held 71% of the market. They identified two key pain points in their target customers through persona research.
Not having to travel to purchase razors
The high price
Dollar Shave Club took advantage of these insights and released a YouTube ad that went viral, generating 12,000 orders within 48 hours. They were able to establish a following by identifying their buyer personas and Unilever purchased their company in 2016 for $1 billion.
2. Starbucks
Ever wonder why Starbucks has such a loyal customer base? They know exactly who they want to market their premium coffee drinks. Here is their typical buyer persona:
High-income earners prefer to spend their spare cash on coffee drinks.
Urban dwellers who commute frequently and require coffee on the go.
Customers who are socially conscious will prefer Starbucks coffee that is sustainably produced.
Hypothetical Buyer Persona
Let's look at our previous example, which is a company that offers app development services. Their ideal customer is between the ages of 27 and 40, and has minimal to no knowledge about technology. Their ideal customer will be Michael, the ambitious entrepreneur.
He is now 30 years old
He lives in California, and has started a small business.
He is a workaholic and spends his time building his small business.
He has an Apple MacBook.
He lacks the resources and knowledge to build an in-house team for app development.
He is looking for quality apps development solutions at a lower price.
His customer base is growing quickly
This example provides a clear insight into your buyer. This is almost like knowing your ideal customer. It is crucial to have a clear idea of your target audience in order to be successful in business. You don't want your marketing and sales efforts to go waste on people who aren't interested.