Create a Buyer Persona: A Guide
Identifying your target audience can seem a little overwhelming. Some business owners state that they want to market to everyone, using the logic that if they cast a wide net, they will have a higher return on investment (ROI). Unfortunately, this tactic, although seemingly “full-proof”, can do more harm than good. Business owners see better results and more accurate numbers when they narrow their focus on a specific target audience who are interested in or need the company’s products/services. One way to help you understand who you are trying to reach is by creating a marketing persona or avatar. As a freelance marketing manager, I will help walk you through the steps to create an easy guideline to help you outline your ideal customer!
Step One: Get Into the Head of Your Ideal Customer
Understanding who you are marketing to is an essential part of completing this step. Based on your products and services, you should know who your target audience should be. Now’s not the time to be broad; the purpose of a persona is to be very specific, and to get into the mindset of your ideal customers. Where do they work? Do they have a family? What is their annual income? What do they like to do to reduce stress? What type of personality are they? These are the type of questions you should be asking yourself about your ideal customer.
Step Two: Create an Outline
An outline is just a tool to help you get a better overview of your avatar and keep it for future reference when employing marketing strategies or making changes to your products or services. You can grab a piece of paper and a pencil and hand-write it, or you can create an online word document; either way, ensure that you write it down to have a written understanding of who are targeting and to share it with others on your team. The outline is simple. You can create a bulleted list of statements answering the questions about your avatar.
Step Three: Use Data From Existing Clients
To get an even more accurate description of your avatar, use existing data from frequent consumers. What are your current audience demographics and geographics? This information is typically readily available from the consumer themselves when they have made a purchase or filled out a survey.
Step Four: Fill in Your Outline
It’s time to create your persona and fill out your outline! Now that you have gotten inside the head of your ideal consumer, drafted some questions and built an outline, and collected any relevant data, it is time to write it all down. I have provided an example of a persona I created for this article to help you visually understand the final product.
Example Persona:
Daniel Hanton
Daniel is 35 years old.
He works as a financial advisor at a local firm.
He has obtained his bachelor’s degree and MBA.
He is married to his college girlfriend and has two boys, five and eight.
He lives in the upper-middle class, with a modest home of four bedrooms, three and a half baths, and a small pool in the back.
He drives a 2023 Ford Bronco that gives him the space he needs to seat his family.
He hosts local college interns at his job to teach them the responsibilities and day-to-day tasks as a financial advisor.
Daniel likes to golf with his buddies on Saturdays and Sundays he invites his friends and family to grill out by the pool and watch sports.
His office is decorated with sports memorabilia, and he has photos of his family on his desk.
He spends a lot of time watching the stock market.
He is a clean freak who has a place for everything in his office and room at home.
Step Five: Create 2-3 Personas For Your Business
It is important to create a few personas for your top two or three ideal customers, as they will differ from each other in demographics and interests. Doing this will ensure that you understand not just one type of customer you may have; but others as well.
Buyer personas are extremely important when you are trying to understand or help others on your team understand who your product or service is for. These outlines will serve you further than just helping you get a better idea of your audience; they will also help you craft more targeted marketing campaigns that will appeal to people who resemble your avatars. Try this technique and watch it work for you!
About Me
Madelyn Social is devoted to helping local small businesses grow within their community through the use of social media and digital marketing.
Madelyn Social LLC
Based in Florida
Madelyn.Social@Gmail.com
https://www.MadelynSocial.com
