Buyer Persona. First off, what is a Buyer Persona and why do you need one?

“A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers. When creating your buyer persona(s), consider including customer demographics, behavior patterns, motivations, and goals.” – from Hubspot

In other terms, it’s a character which you represents who you are trying to market or attract. This person is someone that you need to get to know well, very very well. The more information about your Ideal Target Market the better your chances are attracting them to your business. It’s a good idea to give this persona a name, like John or Sarah.

Some ways that you can help build your buyer persona are as follows:-

1: Look through your contacts database to uncover trends about how certain leads or customers find and consume your content.

2: When creating forms to use on your website, use form fields that capture important persona information. For example, if all of your personas vary based on company size, ask each lead for information about company size on your forms.

3: Take into consideration your sales team’s feedback on the leads they’re interacting with most. What generalizations can they make about the different types of customers you serve best?

4: Interview customers and prospects, either in person or over the phone, to discover what they like about your product or service. Interviewing people who are your ideal customers to help find out more in-depth information is a great way to make sure your content is targeted towards the right audience. There are 4 main areas of questioning that you are wanting to get into. These are Role, Goals, Challenges, Watering holes, Personal Background, Goals, Company, Shopping Preferences, there are endless amounts of questions that can be put under these categories, but here are 20 popular questions to ask

Find information about their Role

1: What is your job role? Your title?

2: How is your job measured?

3: What does a typical day look like?

4: What skills are required to do your job?

5: What knowledge and tools do you use in your job?

6: Who do you report to? Who reports to you?

Find information about their Company

7: In which industry or industries does your company work?

8: What is the size of your company (revenue, employees)?

Find information about their Goals

9: What are you responsible for?

10: What does it mean to be successful in your role?

Find information about their Challenges

11: What are your biggest challenges?

Find information about their The Watering Hole

12: How do you learn about new information for your job?

13: What publications or blogs do you read?

14: What associations and social networks do you participate in? Personal Background.

Find information about their Personal Background

15: Describe your personal demographics (if appropriate, ask their age, whether they’re married, if they have children).

16: Describe your educational background. What level of education did you complete, which schools did you attend, and what did you study?

17: Describe your career path. How did you end up where you are today?

Find information about their Shopping Preferences

18: How do you prefer to interact with vendors (e.g. email, phone, in person)?

19: Do you use the internet to research vendors or products? If yes, how do you search for information?

20: Describe a recent purchase. Why did you consider a purchase, what was the evaluation process, and how did you decide to purchase that product or service?

These 20 simple questions can give you valuable information an help put together a fantastic Buyer Persona, which can help you to direct your digital marketing campaigns towards.

How many Buyer Personas can I have?

As many as you need, it’s  best practise to have 2-3 fictional representatives for your business, as not one product or service fits all. But concentrate on getting to know one target market for your product before moving onto the next one. They will be your best mate in no time!

Thanks for reading!