Mark is 33 years old. He launched his business six months ago, and now he is trying to understand how to drive more sales using inbound marketing. He figured out quickly that the way people research and purchase products have changed a lot over the past decade, and now he’s looking for the best marketing strategies to put his business in front of the right people. Every day, he puts aside at least 45 minutes to read and learn about online marketing.
Mark isn’t real.
He’s a persona: a portrayal of the ideal buyer.
Why does Mark exist in my mind?
No, it’s not because I’ve gone crazy, but because I wouldn’t be able to write this article without him.
Here’s the truth about business: if you want to be successful, you need to be able to send the right marketing message to the right people and at the right time. But when you’re trying to target the same group of people at once, the message gets diluted. You are trying to address too many different needs at once and missing the mark.
That’s why you need to create buyer personas.
What Is a Buyer Persona?
A buyer persona, also known as a customer persona, marketing persona, or avatar, is a generalized representation of your ideal consumer. It helps you visualize the ideal customer you’re trying to attract and relate to them as real humans, not just walking dollar signs. Building marketing personas is critical for content creation, product development, sales strategies, and virtually anything that relates to customer acquisition and retention.
Personas help us identify common characteristics and pain points that we can address with our content, making it more relevant. They guide your marketing efforts by ensuring you’re targeting the right people with the right message at the right time.
So if personas are vital to your marketing success, how do you create one? Glad you asked. Here are seven questions you can ask to help develop your buyer personas.
7 Questions to Ask When Creating Buyer Personas
1. Who is your buyer?
Collecting demographic data is a great place to begin sketching your persona. Write down a description of your buyer persona’s gender, age, education, location, and so on.
2. What is their job?
Describe their job title, company size, industry, and general responsibilities.
3. What does a day in their life look like?
Try to imagine how an average day in the life of your ideal customer looks. What problems are they dealing with, and what decisions do they have to make to solve them?
4. What are their main pain points and primary goals?
Describe the challenges they are trying to overcome and how your products/services could help them. In addition to the obvious things, consider the more subtle emotional needs—how are they feeling?
5. What do they value most when choosing a solution to their problems?
Determine the factors that have the most impact on their decision-making process—price, brand, support, etc. Understanding what’s most important to them can help shift the conversation away from price and more on the value you provide.
6. What are their primary sources of information?
Determine the sources your ideal customers use to get the information they are interested in. Which sources do they trust more—family, friends, coworkers, or industry experts? Do they go to Facebook? Industry journals and experts? Blogs?
7. What’s important to them when selecting a company?
Make a list of the things that might influence your prospects’ final decision. Do they care if the vendor is an industry expert? Is it important to them if the company is perceived as a technology leader?
How to Use ChatGPT as an AI Persona Generator
Creating detailed customer personas can be a time-consuming process, but leveraging AI marketing tools like ChatGPT can significantly speed things up. Here’s how you can use ChatGPT to assist in building buyer personas:
Brainstorm Persona Ideas
Start by providing ChatGPT with a brief description of your target audience. For example, “Describe a 35-year-old small business owner who is looking to expand his online presence.” AI can generate initial persona profiles that you can refine.
Generate Specific Details
Use ChatGPT to fill in the details by asking more targeted questions. For instance, “What pain points might a small business owner in the e-commerce sector face?” or “What are the likely daily challenges of a marketing manager in a mid-sized company?”
Create Multiple Personas
If you cater to different segments, ChatGPT can help create multiple buyer personas by varying the inputs. You could ask it to generate personas for different industries, roles, or company sizes.
Refine Your Personas
After ChatGPT generates a draft, you can fine-tune the personas by incorporating your industry knowledge and real customer data. This ensures the personas are both comprehensive and accurate.
Test and Iterate
Use the AI-generated personas to guide your marketing efforts, and adjust them based on real-world feedback and results. ChatGPT can also assist in updating personas as market conditions and customer behaviors evolve.
By integrating AI into your buyer persona development, you can create more detailed and dynamic personas, ensuring your marketing strategies remain effective and relevant.
Now What?
Once you’ve gone through this exercise and thought of all the possible questions about what makes your persona tick, it’s time to create a detailed description of your ideal buyer. To make things even easier, browse through some stock imagery and look for a picture that you believe is an accurate representation of your persona. This exercise will give you a clear image of your target audience and will make it easier to tailor your marketing efforts.
Depending on how many different types of customers you have, you may end up with multiple personas. Building buyer personas will help you understand the different segments of your audience, allowing you to craft more personalized and effective marketing campaigns. It’s also helpful to create personas for others who are involved in the buying process but aren’t the final decision-makers.
If you would like help with your personas, drop us a line. We’d be happy to help you think through your personas.
FAQs About Buyer Personas
What is a marketing persona?
A marketing persona, also known as a customer persona, buyer persona, or avatar, is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on real data and market research. It helps you understand your customers’ needs, preferences, and behaviors, enabling you to tailor your marketing efforts more effectively.
How many buyer personas should I have?
The number of buyer personas you should have depends on the diversity of your customer base. Typically, businesses have between 2 and 5 personas to represent their key customer segments. However, if your products cater to a wide range of audiences, you might need more. The goal is to ensure that each persona is distinct enough to warrant tailored marketing strategies.
How do you create a buyer persona?
To create a buyer persona, start by gathering data on your existing customers through surveys, interviews, and market research. Identify common demographic traits, pain points, goals, and buying behaviors. Use this information to craft a detailed profile that includes both qualitative and quantitative insights. Tools like ChatGPT can assist in generating and refining these personas.
Who should be involved in creating your buyer personas?
Creating buyer personas should be a collaborative effort that involves stakeholders from various departments, including marketing, sales, customer service, and product development. Each team brings unique insights into customer behaviors and needs, ensuring the personas are well-rounded and accurate.
What items are generally listed for a buyer persona?
Common items listed for a buyer persona include demographic information (age, gender, location), professional background (job title, industry, company size), pain points, goals, preferred communication channels, decision-making criteria, and sources of information. You may also include personal interests, values, and any other details that can help you connect with them on a deeper level.
