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Last Updated on January 20, 2024 by Work In My Pajamas
The first commandment of marketing remains, “Know thy customer.” And with good reason. In fact, Constant Contact used this concept to transform itself from a fledgling startup to a company that rakes in $285.4 million a year.
But how do you get into the head of your ideal customer? Through a persona analysis.
Maybe you’ve heard of the “buyer persona” before but just don’t know where to start? No worries! Read on for a simple, effective guide for creating a marketing persona to revolutionize the way you reach out to prospects and clients alike.
In This Post:
Why You Need Persona Development
Let’s say that you know your ideal customer is a caregiver. Does that really tell you enough about them to tailor your marketing message to them? Not even close.
Taking a prospect from a qualified lead to a loyal customer is a process. And it involves knowing your prospect inside and out.
You need to understand what keeps them up at night, and which problems they’re actively seeking solutions for. You also need a certain level of knowledge about their demographics and interests so that you can tailor your message to them.
This may sound like a lot of unnecessary information. But think again. Knowing what your ideal customer gravitates towards represents the secret sauce to capturing their attention online.
And believe us, there are many other companies vying for their attention. You can assume these companies are already using personas.
The Most Effective Personas
The best buyer personas include a combination of information gleaned from market research and your actual customer base. How do you get data from your customers? Through interviews, surveys, sign-up forms, and etc.
While large companies and corporations may have upwards of 20 marketing personas, don’t let these stats overwhelm you. Even starting small, with one or two buyer personas, proves a solid step in the right direction.
After all, sitting down to create buyer personas really forces you to get into your customer’s mind. And this is always a useful activity, no matter how detailed your final persona proves.
So, where should you start?
Gathering Information About Your Prospects and Customers for Persona Analysis
Begin by looking through your contacts database. Keep an eye open for discernible trends about how customers and leads have found your website and consumed your content. Learn more about how to sync contacts for your buyer’s persona.
If you have a sales team, start a conversation with them. Ask about their experiences with prospects and customers. Your sales team has access to invaluable information about leads and what may be holding them back from a sale.
Finally, interview prospects and customers. You’ll gain priceless insights that’ll set your company apart from the pack.
How to Create Buyer Personas
Whether you have your own tech startup or you’re selling items on Amazon FBA, you need to translate the information you compile about your customers into a workable document.
How do you create this document?
Start by looking for commonalities and patterns that you can use to create a persona. You’ll want to include information such as demographics, mannerisms, and descriptive buzzwords.
Organize this information into a fictional description that you can share with other members of your team. This persona should tell the story of your average customer, providing insight about their age, education, profession, interests, and etc.
Don’t be afraid of making a mistake. After all, as you learn more about your customers, you can always tweak this information to make it more relevant. Ask members of your sales team for feedback on the persona, too.
Even if your persona changes drastically over time, at least you’ll have a starting point to learn more about your customers and how to “speak” their language.
Increasing Revenues by Knowing Your Customers
Persona analysis lets you appeal to your customers as valued individuals. This approach builds trust, which proves essential when converting prospects to loyal customers.
Interested in more ways to set your business apart and ramp up sales? Or, perhaps you’re looking for ways to earn money from remote work or a side hustle? Check out this list of 40 ideas to make money from home.
