What are Buyer Personas?

by our SEO Agency Optimize 360

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In the world of marketing, it is essential to know your target audience well so that you can adapt your actions and maximise results.

To achieve this, one of the methods used by professionals is the creation of buyer personaswhich help them to better understand the expectations, needs and behaviours of their potential customers.

In this article, we take a look at buyer personas through 10 key points.

 

1. What is a Buyer Persona?

A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of an ideal customer, created from real data and research on your existing and potential customers. It is amore than just a market segmentThese include demographic, psychological, social and behavioural factors.

2. What is the purpose of Buyer Personas?

The purpose of buyer personas is to give a face to your target and to better understand their needs, expectations and motivations. They are especially useful for guiding your marketing actions and decision-making, such as choosing the tone to adopt, determining effective sales arguments or prioritising a particular communication channel.

3. How do you create a Buyer Persona?

Creating a buyer persona involves several stages:

1. Collecting data Use the information you already have on your customers, conduct surveys, interview or observe.
2. Analysing and identifying trends Group similar information together and identify the main characteristics shared by your target group.
3. Creating the profile Give your persona a name, imagine its personal and professional history, its objectives, its sources of information...
4. Validate and adjust Test your buyer persona against reality by asking your teams and customers for their opinions, and adjust it if necessary.

4. How many Buyer Personas should be created?

There is no fixed rule for determining how many buyer personas a company needs. The answer depends on a number of factors, such as the diversity of your audienceThis will depend on the size of your company and the complexity of your product/service offering. In general, it is estimated that 3 to 5 personas are needed on average to cover your entire market.

5. What elements should be included in a Buyer Persona?

A buyer persona must be complete and detail different aspects:

• The demographic data (age, gender, family situation, etc.)
• La work situation (business sector, position, seniority, etc.)
• The objectives (achieving sales figures, finding customers, etc.) and challenges encountered (competition, logistical difficulties, etc.)
• The consumer habits (online purchases, frequency of purchases, etc.), the use ofInternet (preferred social networks, mobile behaviour, etc.)
• The sales arguments they are sensitive to, their choice criteria, the information that reassures them...

6. Storytelling in Buyer Personas

When creating your buyer personas, don't hesitate to include some storytelling to make them even more realistic. Give your persona a story, anecdotes about their professional or personal background, and details about their personality. The more "alive" your buyer persona is, the more effectively it will help you adapt your marketing strategy.

7. How can Buyer Personas be used in practice?

Once they've been created, your buyer personas shouldn't just sit in a drawer! They are there to guide you in your day-to-day marketing choices. Here are some possible areas of action:

1. Adapt your content to blogsocial networks, website based on the needs and expectations of your personas
2. Select the communication channels preferred by your personas (email, social networks, telephone, etc.)
3. Segment your subscriber list (newsletteremailing) based on persona profiles to personalise messages
4. Adjust your product/service offering based on feedback from your personas, identify potential new markets...

8. How do you share the Buyer Personas with your teams?

For your buyer personas to be effective and benefit your entire organisation, it is important that all the teams concerned (marketing, communications, sales, customer support, etc.) are aware of their existence and can consult them. A PowerPoint presentation, a PDF or a printed summary sheet can do the trick.

9. Are Buyer Personas fixed in time?

Buyer personas are living tools that need to evolve with your customers, but also with the economic, political and social climate. So remember to update them regularly in line with new information gathered in the field, for example when a new product is launched, or following the results of a satisfaction survey.

10. The limits of Buyer Personas

Finally, we should bear in mind that buyer personas are not miracle solutions and have a number of limitations:

• They are based on generalisations and therefore do not necessarily correspond to all the individuals making up your target.
• Taking into account external trends and one-off events is limited or non-existent.
• L'accuracy of information on which your personas are based depends on the quality of the data collected.

Despite these limitations, buyer personas remain an invaluable tool for better targeting and directing your marketing actions. Remember to use them regularly and adapt them to changes in your market and your customers.