The buyer personae

Creating a buyer persona can be a great way to visualise the segments of your marketing strategy, and to better tailor your content to zero in on their needs. 

A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on research and data about their characteristics, behaviours, motivations, and goals. Buyer personas are used to you’re your brand  better understand and connect with their target audience by providing a detailed and personalised picture of who they are, what they need, and how they make purchasing decisions.

It helps with your marketing, as it is far easier to write, design, film and produce marketing materials that have a person in mind, rather than try to target for a nebulous group of people based on static data.

So how can you create a buyer persona? Well, it involves researching and gathering information about the target audience, such as demographic data, online behaviour, interests, pain points, and goals. This information is then used to create a fictional character that represents the ideal customer, including their name, age, occupation, lifestyle, and purchasing habits. The buyer persona is typically accompanied by a detailed description that includes information such as their goals, challenges, motivations, and objections to purchasing. 

Here are two examples for a furniture company. One represents a professional customer while the other represents a family customer.

Professional customer

Based on this buyer persona, the furniture business could develop targeted marketing messages and products that appeal to Rachel’s preferences and needs. For example, they could focus on offering furniture that is both stylish and functional, and provide free assembly and delivery services for customers who live in multi-story buildings. They could also showcase eco-friendly and sustainable materials in their furniture to appeal to Rachel’s interests.

Family customer

Based on this buyer persona, the furniture business could develop targeted marketing messages and products that appeal to Mark and Sarah’s preferences and needs. For example, they could offer furniture that is durable, easy to clean, and kid-friendly, such as stain-resistant fabrics and scratch-resistant surfaces. They could also provide product demos and samples in-store to help the couple make informed decisions. Additionally, they could offer furniture that is versatile and can serve multiple purposes, such as a sofa bed or a storage ottoman, to appeal to Mark and Sarah’s practicality and convenience.

Having a persona in mind can also help when determining audience value, which we will look at next.