Targeted marketing is all about being clear about your audience and the benefit you bring them. The most effective way to do this is to create buyer personas.
Creating a buyer persona is a bit like creating an avatar of the person you want to work with.
OK right now, you’re probably thinking of those giant, blue aliens in that mind-blowing, visually stunning James Cameron movie from
I can’t wait for Avatar 2 by the way, it’s due to hit our screens in 2020!
Let me explain
A buyer persona is simply a ‘model’ of your ideal customer.
To create them you picture this person in your mind’s eye and then detail as much as you can about them.
You then embellish this with research from your existing customers.
You may create a number of them.
How to get started
A typical profile would include:
- Their name (example, Pippa Pastry - always name your personas so you can imagine them as real people)
- Their job title and business (example, Pastry Chef)
- Their age (example, 30 to 55)
- Their highest qualification (example, a Diploma in Patisserie)
- Their location (example, 200 miles from our HQ)
- The social media and websites they use (example, Facebook and Chamber of Commerce website)
- Their favourite media (example, Nigella on TV and BBC Good Food magazine).
Also, what is important to Pippa?
You can have a bit of fun with this and say where she likes to go on holiday (I think she’s a bit of a hippie beach girl at heart!), the car she drives, if she is single or married, how she likes to spend her leisure time, etc., etc.
Put together as many appropriate elements to create a real picture of this imaginary person.
Yeah, I know that’s a bit of a contradiction, but you know what I mean!
Business background
Detail background about Pippa’s business and how it all works.
Add enough information to give a good understanding on what the business does as well as what Pippa might have to carry out on a day-to-day basis.
What’s next?
We’re getting to know Pippa quite well now, aren’t we?
The next stage is to understand her headaches.
What are the main things Pippa worries about, what are her biggest commercial challenges?
Now solve her problems
What is the solution you bring Pippa that will get her saying, “Wow, that’s exactly what I want; I wish I’d come across you guys years ago!”
Spend time on this so that when you approach all your prospects you will really understand their challenges and bring them solutions.
That’s it, you are now well on your way to improving your digital marketing strategy, and on the first route to learning inbound!
