Branding isn’t as simple as creating a logo, catchphrase, and a name. It also goes beyond having an active social media campaign or an engaging blog. For it to convert, it needs to align with the company’s values and its target market. For this reason, a brand strategy agency usually creates a buyer’s persona.
What Is a Buyer’s Persona?
A buyer’s persona is a fictional character that represents your ideal customer. You construct an archetype to help your marketing team target and sell to this ideal customer.
The buyer’s persona includes information such as:
- the type of business the customer runs
- How much money they make
- Their goals for the future
- How many children they have
- Where they live
- Their interest (hobbies, sports, etc.)
- Their motivation (to make money or for fame)
Not all businesses would require a buyer persona. But if you want to strengthen your branding and launch a cost-effective marketing campaign, you likely need one. It comes with the following benefits:
1. It Helps You Market to the Desired Customer
A buyer persona focuses your marketing and advertising by highlighting your ideal customer. You know their motivations, interests, and challenges. This way, you can market and advertise on these points.
In the process, a buyer persona helps you to gain valuable insight into what matters most to your customer. It allows you to create a well-rounded product and service by including the things that matter and omitting those that don’t.
2. A Buyer Persona Makes Content Creation Easier
Creating blog posts, social media posts, and advertisements is easier when targeted toward one customer. You know the things your ideal customer is interested in, and it makes writing content a lot faster.
Also, a buyer persona allows you to make different types of content for each customer because the point is that no two people are exactly alike. You can mix and match types of content and advertisements to make the most effective marketing campaign.
3. It Helps with Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Google works by giving users exactly what they’re searching for, so if you want to be found on Google, your website needs to include the terms that people are searching for. A buyer persona helps you create a list of keywords that you’re going to focus on that drive the right people to the business.
In the process, a buyer persona helps you know what types of things to highlight to convert more people. If you know what your ideal customer cares about, it will be easier for you to make them see the value in buying from you. This bodes well for your conversion rate.
4. You Can Highlight Your Differentiators
Your buyer’s persona helps you to understand where you stand out from your competitors. It also allows you to highlight your unique selling points that will be the most attractive to the customer.
A buyer persona helps you identify opportunities where your business can improve customer experience on both the front end and back end and beat your competition. You see your ideal customer’s motivation, making it easier for you to know what they value most in their interactions with your business.
How to Construct a Buyer’s Persona
A branding agency follows different guidelines on how to create its buyer’s persona. Often, they revolve around the following:
1. Identify Your Ideal Customers
This step is about focusing your attention on what you sell and who you sell it to:
- Who are my customers?
- What do they buy from me?
- Why do they buy it?
- What challenges are they facing?
- What motivates them to purchase my product/service?
You can also broaden your demographic. With a buyer persona, it’s not just about who your customers are. It’s also about who their friends are, family members, neighbors, etc. This step helps you gain insights into what other groups of people are looking for. Maybe some similar people are not actual customers, but you know they belong to the same group as your ideal customer.
2. Interview Your Employees
Your employees already know your customers, and they can speak about customer behavior that may be different from what management sees. That said, you should interview:
- Salespeople: They interact with customers daily and know their motivations.
- Marketers: They create the content and advertisements that drive business goals.
- Customer Service Representatives: They are the face of your business. Their feedback can tell you what frustrates customers.
3. Meet Your Customers in Person
It’s important to meet with actual customers in person because it will give you insights that data won’t capture or find on Internet articles. Ideal customers are typically people who have recently purchased something or are in the process of planning to buy. So look for meetups with groups who share common interests.
When meeting someone face-to-face, you can ask them more detailed questions about why they made their buying decision. You’ll also get a sense of how honest they are with you and use that information to understand their real needs.
4. Get in Their Mindset
Your customer persona should not be about how you see your ideal customers but how they see themselves. Ask yourself to get into their mindset:
- How does my product fit into their lifestyle?
- What are the top two or three things that matter most to them in their job?
- How does my product help them solve their top challenges?
Your business isn’t about you – it’s about your customers. When you want to understand their motivations and desire, creating a buyer’s persona is one of the effective steps you can take.
