What Is a Buyer Persona?
A buyer persona is a detailed profile of your target customer. It covers key traits, everything from demographic details to hobbies, interests, desires, and challenges, all presented as though the persona were a real person.
Buyer personas (or customer personas) are key for creating messages, content, and offers that make your brand stand out. They’re a must-have for businesses looking to attract, convert, and keep customers.
By creating customer personas, you get a clear picture of what drives your clients’ decisions every day — their motivations, fears, and personality traits. When you make a few different personas, you can tailor your content strategy to connect directly with various customer groups.
So, why are customer personas important? The goal of a buyer persona is to gain insight into how your most important customer profile thinks, acts, responds and behaves online. Additionally, a buyer persona can help you better understand your customer’s needs and desires as well as how your products or services can meet them.
The Difference Between a Buyer Persona and a User Persona
A buyer persona isn’t necessarily the user of the product, but it can be. For example, if you purchase a bicycle for yourself, you are both the buyer and the user. However, if you buy the bicycle for your child, you are the buyer, but your child is the user. This distinction is vital for effective marketing and product development.
3 key differences between a buyer and a user persona:
- While a buyer persona is the decision-maker responsible for purchasing the product, a user persona is the one who actually uses the product.
- A buyer persona is motivated by factors like cost, value, and overall impact on their organization, in contrast, a user persona is driven by how well the product meets their personal or professional needs.
- Buyer personas are essential for understanding the purchase journey and decision-making criteria, whereas user personas are crucial for mapping out the actual usage and experience with the product.
By understanding what decision-makers need and what end-users want, you can create better marketing campaigns, develop products that are easier to use, and keep your customers happy and loyal.
How Many Buyer Personas Should I Create for My Business?
Most businesses start with two buyer personas, but if you’re targeting multiple industries, you might want one for each, even if some customers across industries seem similar. The truth is that there’s no perfect number of buyer personas for a business—it really depends on what works best for you.
Remember, people are more likely to buy when something feels personally relevant. Also, if you’re into niche marketing—targeting a specific part of a market—it can be really powerful to have detailed personas for those niches.
What Is Niche Marketing?
Niche marketing is all about focusing on a specific subgroup within your broader target audience. You pinpoint this narrower audience by diving deep into research to understand their demographics, interests, desires, pain points, and social media habits.
Once you’ve identified your niche, the next step is figuring out how to customize your promotional strategy based on your ideal customer.
Identifying your buyer personas helps you create targeted content and tailor your ads to engage those most likely to buy your products or services.
For instance, if your persona is a modern, urban mom aged 30-40 who loves a healthy, balanced lifestyle, your ads should clearly appeal to this group. You can customize ads further on platforms like Facebook and Instagram by selecting specific demographics such as location, age, and interests.
Without a well-defined buyer persona, your ads might as well be random, which is inefficient and unlikely to yield good results. The key is to focus your marketing on those who are actual potential long-term customers. Personalized marketing isn’t just nice to have; it’s expected by your customers.
Although creating creating buyer personas requires thorough planning and data gathering (a mix of qualitative and quantitative data), don’t worry, you’ll be able to manage.
Building a buyer persona involves several key methods to gather the necessary data:
- Use surveys to do market research and collect demographic and preference data from your customers.
- Speak directly with customers, including both regular buyers and those who have stopped using your services, to gain deeper insights.
- Collect insights from your sales team about their interactions with customers.
- Regularly review customer feedback and support tickets for direct insights.
- Analyze follower demographics and engagement using social media tools.
What you need to understand is that in order to properly promote and sell more of your product, reach a larger audience, and grow your list of followers, you need to become very efficient in your marketing strategy and the way to do that is to learn how to create a buyer persona.
Here are a few simple steps to follow when creating your buyer persona:
Step 1: Prepare a List of Questions
Put together a list of relevant questions to ask about each buyer persona you create.
Don’t skip this part as you’ll be surprised to see how many relevant little details you can find out by asking even the most simple questions about your marketing personas.
TL;DR – Here is the information you need to create your customer persona:
- What is your customer’s age, gender, and location?
- What is your customer’s marital status and family structure?
- Where does your customer work, and what do they do there?
- What’s your customer’s job title and description?
- What level of education has your customer achieved?
- What’s your customer’s income like?
- Where do they like to hang out?
- Who influences your customer’s choices?
- What brands does your customer stick with?
- Why do they stick with certain brands?
- What does your customer’s household look like?
- What does your customer like to do for fun?
- Where does your customer work and what do they do there?
- What challenges does your customer face that you can help with?
- What worries your customer the most?
- What’s your customer aiming for?
- What inspires your customer?
- What are your customer’s primary needs and desires?
- Why might someone who fits your ideal customer profile not buy from you?
- Where does your customer spend time online and which social platforms do they prefer?
- Why does your customer shop online?
- Why might they prefer shopping in-store?
- How comfortable is your customer with technology?
- How does your customer like to interact with businesses?
- Which online or social media channels does your customer use and why?
- How often do they use each social platform or online channel?
- What type of content do they engage with the most on these platforms (e.g., videos, articles, images, infographics)?
- What time of day are they most active on these social platforms?
- Do they follow any influencers or brands? If so, which ones and why?
A. Demographics and Professional Information
To create a buyer persona, you need to start with the basics. These questions help you get a clear picture of who your customers are, their background, education, financial status, and what they do for a living.
- What is your customer’s age, gender, and location? (helps tailor marketing strategies and product offerings to match their demographics)
- What is your customer’s marital status and family structure? (provides insights into their lifestyle and spending habits.
- Where does your customer work, and what do they do there? (reveals their daily routine and lifestyle.
- What’s your customer’s job title and description? (indicates their influence and work responsibilities)
- What level of education has your customer achieved? (helps tailor the complexity of your message and product)
- What’s your customer’s income like? (allows you to align your pricing and offers with their financial situation)
- Where do they like to hang out? (understanding their favorite spots, both online and offline, helps target them effectively)
B. Influences and Preferences
Next, let’s dive into what makes your customer tick. These questions help you understand who and what influences their decisions and the brands they love.
- Who influences your customer’s choices? (find out who and what guides their decisions, from influencers to brands and media)
- What brands does your customer stick with? (understand their brand loyalty and see how your brand can connect with them)
- Why do they stick with certain brands? (discover the values and service levels that attract them)
C. Lifestyle and Environment
Understanding your customer’s daily life and environment is crucial. These questions will help you learn about their household, hobbies, and work life.
- What does your customer’s household look like? (get to know who they live with and what their daily environment is like)
- What does your customer like to do for fun? (identify hobbies or interests to see how your products or services fit into their lifestyle)
- Where does your customer work and what do they do there? (this helps you understand their daily routine and lifestyle)
D. Challenges and Pain Points
Knowing your customer’s challenges helps you align your products and services with their needs. Additionally, their primary needs and desires are key to positioning your products as solutions. Addressing these issues can turn them into loyal customers.
- What challenges does your customer face that you can help with? (identify specific problems where your offerings can make a difference)
- What worries your customer the most? (knowing their fears can guide how you reassure them in your messaging)
- What’s your customer aiming for? (align your products with their personal or professional goals)
- What inspires your customer? (understand their aspirations to connect on a deeper level)
- What are your customer’s primary needs and desires? (know what keeps them up at night and help them achieve their goals)
- Why might someone who fits your ideal customer profile not buy from you? (identify and eliminate obstacles that prevent them from using your products or services)
F. Online Behavior
Understanding where your customer spends their time online and their shopping preferences is essential for effective digital marketing. These questions help identify the platforms and experiences they value most.
- Where does your customer spend time online and which social platforms do they prefer? (this helps you decide where to focus your online marketing efforts)
- Why does your customer shop online? (understand their preferences for convenience or why they value online shopping)
- Why might they prefer shopping in-store? (insights into their desired experiences can enhance how you serve them)
G. Interaction and Technology
Knowing how your customer interacts with businesses and their comfort with technology helps you optimize communication and engagement. These questions focus on their preferred interaction channels and digital engagement.
- How comfortable is your customer with technology? (this helps you understand how digitally engaged they are.
- How does your customer like to interact with businesses? (optimize customer interactions and support by using their favored channels like email, chat, calls, etc.)
H. Social Media/Online Use
Being aware of the social platforms and online mediums your customer uses helps you target your marketing efforts effectively. Knowing where they get their information and why they prefer certain platforms can refine your digital strategy.
- Which social platforms and online channels does your customer use and why? (know where they get their information, including favorite websites, books, news outlets, and social platforms)
- How often do they use each social platform or online channel? (allows you to align your posting schedule with their usage patterns, maximizing the chances that your content will be seen and engaged with)
- What type of content do they engage with the most on these platforms (e.g., videos, articles, images, infographics)? (understanding the types of content your audience prefers, helps you create more engaging and relevant content that resonates with them)
- What time of day are they most active on these social platforms? (knowing when your audience is most active allows you to schedule your content during peak activity times)
- Do they follow any influencers or brands? If so, which ones and why? (this information can help you collaborate with the right influencers and brands, enhancing your credibility and reach within your target market)
Step 2: Gather the Data You Need
Your buyer persona research approach will depend on whether you have existing customers or not.
How to Create Buyer Personas Without an Established Customer Base
To gather customer insights when you don’t have customers yet, check out your competitors’ social media and reviews for useful data. You can also browse Quora and Reddit to see what questions people are asking and what they need.
A. Analyze Your Competitors’ Social Media Platforms
Gather demographic and psychographic insights by reviewing the comments and engagement on your competitors’ social media pages. Look for information about the audience’s interests, needs, pain points, activities, education, and other demographic details.
B. Examine Competitor Reviews
Investigate Amazon product reviews, particularly the profiles of reviewers, to understand their interests, buying habits, and the problems they face. Focus on 1-star and 5-star reviews to learn what people love or hate about similar products or services.
C. Use Platforms like Quora and Reddit
Search for questions your potential customers might ask and review the responses. Analyze the tone of voice, attitude, and shared content to understand the audience’s needs and pain points. This information will help you develop your product or service to meet these needs.
How to Create Buyer Personas With an Established Customer Base
To gather customer insights from your existing customer base, chat with your customers, work with your sales and marketing teams, send out online surveys, and use social media analytics. These steps will help you get a better understanding of your customers and improve your strategies.
A. Interview Existing Customers
direct customer feedback
To get a better understanding of your buyer personas, try talking directly to your customers through interviews and focus groups. Use a set of questions during customer interviews—whether face-to-face, over the phone, or online—to learn about their needs and experiences.
Also, set up focus groups where small, diverse groups can discuss your products or services. A moderator will guide these chats to dig into their opinions and direct customer feedback.
Combining what you learn from both interviews and focus groups will help you spot trends, test new ideas, and fine-tune your buyer personas, making your marketing strategies more effective.
B. Collaborate with Your Sales and Marketing Team
Consult your sales and marketing colleagues to gain insights about the people who purchase your products or services.
C. Conduct an Online Survey
Utilize tools like Jotform Survey Maker, TypeForm, 123 Form Builder, AYTM, Crowd Signal, or SurveyMonkey to create and distribute online surveys.
D. Utilize Social Media Platform Analytics
Leverage the built-in analytics of platforms you already use like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest to gather relevant data.
