Every business, from accountants to attorneys, has its ideal customer. By identifying who that customer is, you can target your marketing message to reach them with the goal of increasing brand awareness and growing your sales or client base.
This is where buyer personas come in. Not only do they help you reach the right customers with greater precision, but you can use them to identify opportunities and make better business decisions. This article explains what a buyer persona is and how to create one that takes your company to the next level.
What is a Buyer Persona?
Buyer personas are semi-fictional representations of your perfect customer based on market research and customer insights. When you bring a customer segment to life like this, you understand exactly who you’re targeting and put yourself in the best position to create a successful strategy. Other benefits include:
- Developing a customer-centric culture that encourages brand loyalty
- Getting more qualified leads through your marketing efforts
- Delivering a better customer experience.
The elements of a buyer persona include:
- Demographic information such as age, gender, location, and income
- Professional information like job title and industry
- Personal information like interests and hobbies
- Goals and values
- Challenges, otherwise known as “pain points” that your products or services can help them overcome
- Their role in the purchase decision process
Creating Your Buyer Persona
Start by segmenting your customers into broad groups. For example, if you are an attorney, you could divide them into groups like “personal injury” or “workers’ comp.” For each segment, identify individuals you can collect information from, either through online surveys or direct interviews, and assemble a panel.
Next, design your survey or interview questions. Depending on your business type, you can ask about their product or service preferences and the things that drive them, such as values and goals. Once these questions are ready, you can send them out to your panel or schedule interviews.
After collecting responses, review them to identify correlations and trends and then create a buyer persona for each segment. Personas should be relatable as individuals, with enough details to assist in making business decisions that are aligned to their needs. You might also want to give them a name to help them come to life.
How to Use Your New Buyer Personas
The main purpose of your buyer persona is to inform your marketing strategy. As you develop ideas, ask yourself questions like the following:
- Do these ideas meet their needs or solve their challenges?
- Would they understand the terminology you use?
- Is the content around this idea relevant to them?
Let the answers guide your decisions and then track results. You may have to adjust these personas over time, but in general, they provide an invaluable sense of direction.
Conclusion
Every time you make a decision about your marketing strategy, keep your buyer personas in mind. Match their expectations and you’ll attract the real people they represent, along with the success that follows.
PS – If you’d like a framework for getting started, snag our Ideal Client Checklist and start building your buyer persona today!
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