Buyer Personas: Why You Need Them

In Branding, Marketing Strategy by Teddy Jewell

Have you ever gone grocery shopping without the list of specific ingredients and items you needed? The trip probably took twice as long as you expected, and you walked out having spent money on things you didn’t even need. In everything you do, whether it’s in your personal life or business, a plan always helps. 

A plan is where your strategy comes into play. When making a strategy, you need to know your end goal. What are you aiming for? A company that doesn’t know its target market will connect with people who appear to be potential customers but actually have no intention of purchasing what the company is selling. Don’t waste your resources expecting results and only seeing small returns. When you know your buyer personas, and why you need them, you’ll know who you’re looking for and what you need to do to bring in that ROI.

Clearly Defined Goals

If your business doesn’t have buyer personas, your advertising and branding efforts are like tossing darts in the dark. The target is a lot harder to hit. To get the best results for your product, you need to ask yourself questions like:

  1. Who could use this product the most?
  2. What are they looking to spend?
  3. How can they get it (Digital shoppers or Brick and Mortar)?
  4. What do they look for in the other companies they purchase from?
  5. What problem(s) are they trying to solve?
Know Your Audience 

Your buyer persona should represent someone who matches your answers to nearly all of these questions. You’re not narrowing down your audience; you’re refining your scope. With a clearly defined target, even if it’s not a bullseye, you’ll still be able to score some points with the customers that match most of your answers. Don’t just guess at these questions. Find real people who have already interacted with your company and do some research to uncover commonalities. Hubspot has an incredible free tool, the Make My Persona generator, that can help ease the process too. 

Company Alignment

Personas like Trendy Tania, Savings Steve, and Novelty Nancy all help your company understand who its services are reaching and how you can better assist your audience. It gives your business a common point of reference. If there’s confusion, anyone within your company can look toward these descriptions and make sure their plan aligns with the target audience. A strategy is pointless if you don’t know where you’re going or why you’re going in that direction. These fictional representations of your real customers are the main focus of everything you do. They give your business a sense of direction, so you can better plan for the future.

Business Strategy

As soon as you establish the goal, your business can start building an effective advertising strategy in response to everything these personas want or need. Not only will you satisfy prospective customers, but you’ll also attract more like-minded individuals and grow your audience. With a business strategy working in tandem with buyer personas, you’ll have control over how you grow your business, and you’ll start achieving more of that return you’ve been expecting.

Find more about the key components to building your marketing plan here!

Are you struggling to create buyer personas or business strategies that work for your company? Reach out to us! Our team of creative professionals is happy to help you grow your business. In need of some creative tips or inspiration? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, The Creative.