[INFOGRAPHIC] How to Create a Buyer Persona for Your Business
In the words of successful American astronomer and Astrophysicist, Carl Sagan:
every one of us, in the cosmic perspective, is precious, and in a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another.
Although poetically put, the quote gives marketers and business professionals nothing but a terrible headache. Why? Because it prevents us from taking one universal list of qualities a buyer persona possesses and incorporating it into our great business plans.
[su_box title=”Beware the Trap” class=”trap small right”]On one hand, we struggle with making our approach personal. On the other, complete customization and personalization is improssible, at least for now. That is where personas come in – offering us a way to segment our target market just enough to truly understand the needs and wants of our different audiences. [/su_box]
Let’s start by defining a buyer persona as a fictional representation of your target market. As such, it embodies the traits of all people you are looking to reach out to and helps you better understand their needs. So, instead of creating a product and taking a leap of faith, take the following steps:
Determine the age, gender and financial state of your target audience. Afterwards, find out what are their aspirations, preferences and personality types, likes, dislikes and hobbies.
What do they do in their free time? Can you offer them something they will enjoy when taking a break from monstrous Monday? Or can you help them achieve their aspirations by overcoming some of their greatest obstacles and challenges? Can you offer them something they didn’t even know they needed, but simply cannot live without?
Look for them both online and offline – two coexisting worlds, where one cannot survive without the other.
Now a cliché: timing is everything, so ensure you are in the right place at the right time. There’s a reason why clichés become clichés – they are the hammers and screwdrivers in the toolbox of communication. Think about it – is there a point in communicating your message when there’s nobody listening? Certainly not.
Finally, put it all on paper and use charts, diagrams, mind maps, whatever it takes to create the product that will improve your customers’ quality of life.
Oh, and one less step to take: check out the infographic illustrating the entire process so perfectly. 😉
