Identifying your target audience is one of the fundamental steps of business development. But, do you really know your customers? Can you identify their specific needs or interests? Do you know the typical background of your ideal customer? If you feel you are struggling to truly understand the ideal customer you are trying to attract you may be missing something.
Unlike traditional means of marketing, inbound marketing is customer-centric, focusing on the wants and needs of your potential clientele. This involves the creation of content that is curated specifically for your audience. If you’re looking to build a brand with products and services you are certain your customers will love, you need to have a solid understanding of who your customer is. Building a detailed buyer persona will help you determine where to focus your time, allowing for better alignment across your organization.
What is a Buyer Persona?
According to HubSpot, a buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer that is based on market research and real data about your existing customers. In other words, this is a profile of your perfect customer.
With the help of a buyer persona, you can better understand your customer and their specific needs, behaviors, and concerns. Personas give everyone in your company the opportunity to understand and internalize the ideal customer you are trying to attract.
Buyer personas can also help identify an appropriate brand voice, keeping your content relevant to the customer you’re trying to attract. These are both important elements to consider when developing or improving upon your content strategy.
What Should I Include in My Buyer Persona?
When creating your buyer persona, it is important to consider including things like customer demographics, behavior patterns, motivations, and goals. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and really think about who they are. Here are some questions to consider.
- How old are they?
- What is their gender?
- Are they married?
- Where do they live?
- What do they do?
- What are some of their goals?
- What are some of their challenges?
- What motivates them to take action?
- Where do they search for answers?
- What websites do they visit?
- What social channels do they use?
The more detailed you are, the more structure and insight you will have when building your brand. Just remember, a good persona is one that identifies all the ways that make your customers tick.
Researching Your Personas
Making assumptions about your customers isn’t enough. It takes time and research to really figure out who your audience is. It is essential to examine common patterns in your audience. Try using these methods to research your personas.
- Use lead generation forms to obtain valuable information about your customer base. Include form fields like, “What best describes you?” or “What best describes your industry?”
- Interview or survey your customers. Figure out what they like or don’t like about your product or service. Ask them about the questions they were having or problems that needed to be solved that lead them to your product.
- Examine your website’s data to discover trends about how people are finding and consuming your content.
Having a solid buyer persona is essential in driving content creation, product development, sales, and so much more. Before developing a marketing strategy, establish your buyer persona so you can segment your audience and begin creating more effective marketing campaigns. Using a persona, you can really hone into who your audience is and what they are looking for in your brand, while simultaneously increasing engagement.
Need help crafting your persona? Download our free template below!
