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September 21, 2023
One of the hardest concepts in marketing is how to build a marketing persona (the ideal customer). In this article we are going to delve into the dynamic of exploring and learning about our customers. We will explore their daily lives, dreams, desires, strengths, and weaknesses. Together we will explore how to build a marketing persona for your brand to build on.
Creating a marketing persona is like painting a masterpiece. To make every stroke meaningful, you need to know your colors—or in our case, your audience.
Start by immersing yourself in customer data. This is your chance to play detective, gathering clues about your audience from various sources. Conduct surveys, interviews, and polls—reach out to your audience and pick their brains. Delve into your website analytics and social media metrics; they’re treasure troves of insights just waiting to be discovered!
Don’t forget the frontline soldiers in your mission—the sales team. They deal directly with your customers, so their feedback can be gold dust in understanding customer needs and motivations. Lastly, lean on the broader insights from industry reports and market research.
Now that you’ve gathered your raw materials, it’s time to start shaping them into a persona.
Begin with the broad strokes—your customer’s demographic information. These are the hard facts, the numbers that can be measured and defined:
Imagine this as creating the outline of your persona. The numbers guide your strategy, influencing the platforms you choose, the tone of your messaging, and the products you promote.
Next, it’s time to add depth and color to your marketing persona. This is where psychographics come into play. They provide insights into your customers’ mindset, going beyond the basic data to reveal their personalities:
Psychographics breathe life into your persona, transforming it from a two-dimensional sketch into a vibrant, complex character.
Now, let’s add some shadows to our persona—their pain points and challenges. This is the friction in their lives, the hurdles they’re trying to overcome. If you can understand their struggles, you can position your product or service as the solution they’ve been searching for. What really makes life inconvenient and keeps your persona from reaching its goals.
For example, if you’re a burgeoning fitness brand, your persona might grapple with a lack of time to exercise or struggle to maintain a consistent workout routine.
Once you’ve identified their problems, it’s time to highlight their goals and aspirations. This is the light at the end of their tunnel, their dream scenario.
Back to our fitness brand example, perhaps your persona’s ultimate goal is to achieve a healthier lifestyle or run their first marathon. Understanding these aspirations allows you to illustrate how your product or service can bring them closer to their dreams.
Your customer’s journey towards making a purchase decision is like a novel, with its own plot and narrative arc. Understanding this journey allows you to guide your persona towards a satisfying ending—a purchase.
The journey typically unfolds in three acts:
Knowing which stage of the journey your persona is in will help you deliver the right message at the right time, nurturing them towards that pivotal purchase decision.
Now, for the final touch, the cherry on top! Give your persona a name and maybe even a face. It might seem like a small detail, but it adds a layer of reality to your persona, making them more relatable. You’re no longer designing a campaign for a faceless crowd, but for “Fitness Fiona” or “Marathon Mark”. It personalizes your marketing strategies, adding that essential human touch.
And voila! You’ve created a comprehensive, vibrant marketing persona. Now, instead of a faceless crowd, you have a clearly defined character that represents your target audience.
But remember, the power of your persona lies in its use. Make sure your persona guides every aspect of your marketing strategy, from the design of your website and social media posts to the tone of your copy and the platforms you advertise on. Keep them front and center in every marketing decision you make.
Crafting marketing personas is not just a creative exercise—it’s a strategic move designed to bring your brand closer to your customers. By walking a mile in their shoes, you can design marketing strategies that speak directly to their needs, desires, and dreams. It’s a journey of discovery that leads to a more empathetic, effective, and engaging marketing strategy. So take the leap, embrace the process, and watch as your marketing efforts reach new heights!
As you continue this journey, remember to periodically review and update your personas. People evolve, and so should your personas. Keep your finger on the pulse of your audience’s changing needs and behaviors, and let your personas evolve alongside them.
Happy persona crafting, brilliant marketers! Now, go out there and make some marketing magic!
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