Buyer Persona:
The Right Implementation Brings You 100% More Customers
Klaus Huber
16.03, 2021
As you may know, the target audience is crucial in the context of communication! However, that's not all you should know. Therefore, in the following article, everything about "Buyer Personas" will be explained to you, and why implementing a Buyer Persona is of enormous importance for your company - With our help, discover your ideal customer!
Definition of Buyer Persona
A Buyer Persona is a semi-fictional person representing a specific group of buyers. It helps in developing content strategies for marketing and sales. Unlike the target audience, a Buyer Persona gives the buyer a precise "face." This face is created by attributing certain characteristics, needs, interests, etc., to a Buyer Persona. Real customer data is collected and analyzed to create these personas.
The goal is to obtain a clear understanding of your customer, allowing your company to address their wishes and problems more effectively. The better you know your customers, the better you can sell your products or services.
The concept of a persona was initiated back in 1998 by Alan Cooper, a US-American expert in interaction design.
Target Audience vs. Buyer Personas
At this point, some may wonder: What is the difference between a traditional target audience and a Buyer Persona? This question is important because there is indeed a difference:
A target audience describes the "big picture." As the name suggests, it refers to a group. This group is a subset of the overall market and is derived from market segmentation. Potential customers can only be roughly narrowed down here. It is filtered based on socio-demographic or psychographic factors, such as age, gender, income, etc. For this reason, the concept of a persona was developed: Defining only a target audience is not enough to identify the ideal customer because it is too superficial.
Vorteile der Buyer Persona
Vorteil 1: Die Zielgruppe wird visualisiert
With the help of a Buyer Persona, you transform an abstract target audience into a real person. Your customers perceive this as positive because you address their goals and problems and provide them with solutions. Additionally, you achieve positive effects in Content Marketing and, consequently, in Inbound Marketing. By understanding your customers better, you can write more personally and learn how to gain the attention of your target customers.
Vorteil 2: Planung der Customer Journey
Another advantage is better planning of your Customer Journey. This is like a travel plan that outlines the key stages leading to a purchase. However, to execute it perfectly, you need a Buyer Persona, as it allows for a better understanding of the customer journey. After all, you must know the interests and behavior of your typical customer to plan the Customer Journey optimally.
Vorteil 3: Der Kunde steht immer im Mittelpunkt
In the fitness club industry, it often happens that customers become angry due to contract terms, fees, etc., and then express their frustration. This behavior of a customer is considered a worst-case scenario because what does an angry customer bring to a company? Correct - only losses and a bad reputation! This is also frequently observed in the mobile and banking sectors. You should naturally avoid this as much as possible. Show your customers trust and ensure that it is reciprocated.
A Buyer Persona helps answer questions such as:
- What does my customer like?
- What does my customer dislike?
You should always pay attention to these aspects to ensure customer satisfaction and benefit both sides.
Vorteil 4: Das strategische Denken wird gefördert
Strategic planning is of great importance, especially in marketing. Without long-term planning of the desired goals, you will not achieve success in the long run. The Content Marketing strategy is also influenced by the Buyer Persona as it helps you with strategic planning. Thus, you benefit from aligning with the Buyer Persona.
Vorteil 5: Geldersparnis
This advantage relates to the financial aspect: thanks to the Persona description, you save on elaborate A/B tests, which, of course, saves your wallet. With the help of the Buyer Persona, you can act more specifically in terms of marketing measures. By knowing which actions lead to success and which do not, you can avoid budget eaters in advance.
By being customer-oriented, you not only save money but are even able to generate more revenue by tailoring new products specifically to the customer.
Wie viele Personas braucht mein Unternehmen?
It is often mistakenly assumed that the goal is to create as many Buyer Personas as possible. However, it is completely sufficient to focus on 1-2 Personas initially.
You should focus on the essentials. Trying to do too much can quickly lead to overwhelm, and that should be avoided. Moreover, it will cost you a lot of time and money. Keep in mind that different Personas require different content to be produced, which can be challenging to manage.
Therefore, you should start with the Persona that requires the most attention or the one that generates the fastest or most sustainable revenue.
Wie erstelle ich eine Buyer Persona?
Creating a Buyer Persona is not as easy as some may think. It requires effort and cannot be done quickly on the side. Above all, a Persona should not be simply invented but should be based on real people.
You can expect to spend about two hours on creating one Persona. If a Buyer Persona is created carelessly, it can have consequences, such as angry customers and subsequently lost capital. To avoid such damage, you will now be explained in a few steps how to create your ideal Persona.
Erstellung einer Buyer Persona im B2B-Marketing
1. Daten und Informationen sammeln
There are numerous ways to collect information for your Persona. Keep in mind that you need to describe your Buyer Persona as precisely as possible. This will ensure that your efforts yield the desired results.
When creating Personas in the B2B sector, focus is primarily on company-related data. Unlike in the B2C sector, the focus is not primarily on needs.
Initially, it is useful to collect data about existing loyal customers to gather ideas for new ones. Workshops with various departments such as Sales, Marketing, or Customer Service are well-suited for this purpose. This way, ideas from multiple perspectives come together to help you develop your Buyer Persona. The following aspects should be considered:
- The first step focuses on the demographic data of the Persona. This means defining age, gender, marital status, place of residence, and household income.
- Next comes a description of the profession and, above all, the attitude and goals towards the profession.
- The professional background also plays a role (education, position, etc.).
- What bothers the Persona in their professional everyday life, and what fears might arise from it?
- Are there any specific projects/challenges related to their job?
- What media does the Persona use?
- What are their interests and hobbies?
Once the data is collected and summarized clearly, choose a name and create a suitable portrait for the Persona to make it more realistic.
2. Interviews führen und aufbereiten
Since you are not sure whether the previously described Buyer Personas really match your ideal customers, conducting interviews is crucial in the second step. The best way to do this is by contacting potential or existing customers.
Such interviews or conversations can take place at industry events and trade fairs. There, you can learn a lot about your customers by initiating a casual conversation. Often, they will tell you about current problems without you even asking, which benefits you because these problems are precisely what is relevant to you. However, do not be too pushy, so the conversation partner doesn't feel like you're just trying to sell something.
For example, you can also arrange phone interviews or personal meetings with customers to ask questions. Good preparation is crucial here: Make sure you have a well-structured guideline to ensure you don't forget anything.
Another option would be anonymous surveys if personal conversations are not feasible - think of market research. However, you should be aware that surveys naturally require much more time and money. Therefore, consider in advance whether this option would be worthwhile.
Be sure to document your findings in writing and create a template on which the Buyer Persona(s) will be developed. Also, it is essential to keep your Buyer Personas present at all times to be able to remember them at any time.
3. Stetige Aktualisierung
Continuous development is also necessary for a Buyer Persona. For example, if there are social changes, they will naturally also influence your Buyer Personas. Therefore, it is essential to check them for up-to-dateness regularly. This applies to both the B2B and B2C sectors.
Example B2B Persona
Sonja
Sommer
Background
Goals & Desires
Hobbies and Interests
Demographic Data
Challenges & Concerns
Creating a Buyer Persona in B2C Marketing
1. Defining Persona Characteristics
It is important to know that B2C personas are primarily shaped by their needs and goals and, therefore, need to be treated differently than B2B personas.
At the beginning, it is crucial to gather data and define the persona characteristics. You have the freedom to choose which and how many characteristics you want to define, as ultimately, you decide what you consider relevant. However, avoid overdoing it, as the focus should be on the important aspects.
Below is a rough guideline to assist you in creating your persona:
Start by determining demographic data such as name, age, gender, location, etc. Next, select a suitable portrait image. Additionally, background information that reveals product-related interests and attitudes is essential. Also, consider the persona's desires – getting to know your customers is key to addressing their needs effectively.
Questions to answer include: How does the persona seek information about the product/offer? What media does the persona use for research? What knowledge does the persona possess? Understanding these aspects helps define the information level.
Lastly, aspects that impact the purchase decision are relevant. These may include factors like price, quality, and the reasons that have prevented the persona from making a purchase in the past.
2. Gathering Information and Conducting Interviews
As mentioned in the first step, interviews play a crucial role in the second stage. Therefore, it makes sense to organize a workshop involving colleagues and employees who can provide insights about real customers.
Real customer quotes help make your persona as realistic as possible, although they are not strictly necessary.
It is best to interview both new and existing customers who can provide specific insights about their experiences. The choice of interview method is up to you; whether it's a face-to-face conversation or a telephone interview, proper planning is essential for a successful interview.
Conducting market research is also a viable option to obtain the desired customer information. The level of investment required depends on your preferences, but it's worth noting that investing in customers and their satisfaction always pays off. Satisfied customers ultimately bring the expected profits.
Lastly, analyze and summarize the interviews or surveys to have a clear overview of your findings.
3. Identifying Target Customers
It's important to note that a buyer persona should be based on target customers and not just existing customers.
Before conducting a workshop, consider performing a customer value analysis to identify customers you do not wish to target. This aspect should be clarified beforehand. However, the focus on revenue should not be overly emphasized, as a target customer can also be someone who, as an individual, may not generate direct revenue but contributes to attention and revenue through their influence.
Example B2C Persona
Ben
Müller
Background
Identifiers
Goals & Desires
Demographic Data
Challenges & Objections
Creating Perfect Content Using Buyer Persona
Now that you know that targeting the broad audience is no longer enough in marketing, here's an explanation of how to create perfect content marketing using the buyer persona.
To create highly relevant content, you must make it as useful as possible for your potential customers. This way, they will read your content regularly and consider purchasing your products or services. Whether it's blog articles, e-books, or social media, the more targeted your content is, the more success you will achieve.
It's not just about the number of subscribers; what matters is how many people actually engage with your content. What good are many followers if none of them buy your products?
A buyer persona provides you with important information, such as:
- The preferred media type your persona uses most (blogs, videos, podcasts, etc.)
- The topics that most interest your persona
- How much time your persona spends consuming content (long or short-form content)
- The channels your persona mostly uses to consume content
- The preferred language style of your persona
- The design that most appeals to your persona
Mistakes to Avoid
Especially when starting the process of creating a buyer persona, typical mistakes can quickly occur. It is advisable to familiarize yourself with these in advance to avoid them as best as possible. Otherwise, you may risk even alienating potential customers.
Inadequate Research and Data Collection
As explained in the fifth chapter, a company needs to gather several data points to create a buyer persona. Due to the associated effort and work, the mistake is often made to approach the task too one-sidedly. It is essential to involve multiple channels to collect meaningful data. Additionally, do not forget direct interaction with buyers. It is crucial not to rely only on a small sample; instead, gather insights from a sufficient number of people. Otherwise, your data won't be statistically significant and, therefore, not usable.
Your Persona is Unknown to All Departments
In the process of creating a buyer persona, it should not happen that some departments are overlooked. It is not enough for only you to know your persona, and all marketing efforts are built around it. Ensure that the persona is known in all relevant departments. The entire team must be informed about updates because, otherwise, the previously defined target audience will persist.
Overcomplicating Buyer Personas with Unnecessary Details
When it comes to creatively shaping the persona, it's best to focus on the essentials. Giving your persona a name and a suitable image is sufficient. It might be tempting to let your creativity run wild during the design process. However, doing so will only waste valuable time and divert attention from the collected information. A purely illustrative profile won't bring you much benefit and may even negatively impact your efforts – don't miss out on your real prospects!
Conclusion
Whether in B2B or B2C marketing, correctly creating personas is essential for successful marketing activities. Although it involves a certain amount of effort, it always pays off. Buyer personas make marketing and sales significantly more efficient and help you achieve your business goals while operating more cost-effectively.
The concept of a buyer persona is fundamentally simple, but it doesn't mean it should be hastily created. A superficially developed persona can do more harm than good. It is crucial to collaborate with all colleagues who have customer contact and gather their insights. Discover the problems and challenges your customers face and determine the best way to communicate and interact with them. Be the first to offer suitable solutions and understand their wishes and goals: Positive responses will follow!
After creating the persona, focus on its company-wide implementation. All colleagues and management must share the same understanding of the target customer to achieve the desired business success. Make sure your key personas are prominently displayed in the office, either as posters or stand-ups, for everyone to see. In case of any misunderstandings, you can quickly address them since everyone in the office has easy access to the information.
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