Effectively reaching potential buyers through targeted content generation is the cornerstone of inbound marketing. This is most efficient when the buyer is clearly understood, and a buyer persona is designed to define exactly who your content is targeting. Buyer personas not only make sure that you’re putting out the right content at the right time, but they also ensure that everyone on your team, from marketing to sales, is speaking the language of your customer.
What is a Buyer Persona?
A buyer persona is a hypothetical representation of your customer. Characteristics like gender, age, education and income are all items in a buyer persona, but a good persona goes under the surface to define exactly what drives a customer’s purchase. It’s best to look at past customers and interested parties when creating your company’s buyer persona template, but surveys or competitor data can also be used to outline your targeted customer profile.
Buyer Persona Template – The Basics
Your buyer persona template should start with your targeted customer’s bio. Who are they, and what is their background? Give them a name, an education history and a profession. Consider their responsibilities, priorities, strengths and weaknesses. Add a profile picture to give your buyer life. This will help your team visualize their customer so they can better target their language and answer customer questions more quickly and efficiently.
Define The Buyer’s Role
Next, delve into their role as a customer. What makes them initiate business? What do they expect from you as a company, and what are their likely barriers to making a decision or proceeding with a purchase? Knowing how your buyer operates in the business world allows you to anticipate their questions and alleviate their concerns, which helps establish you as an expert in the industry.
Understand The Decision Making Process
Understand your buyer’s decision-making process. When they weigh their options and compare you to your competitor, which criteria will sway them most? Which features are most important to your buyer, and what will turn them from a lead into a customer? When you understand the factors that drive your buyer to choose your business, you can sell those aspects of your company in your targeted content.
Map The Buyer Journey
Also consider your buyer’s journey. Are they the sole decision maker, or is there a partner or team to consult? What kind of a timeline are they expecting, and how do they expect to be addressed? Which resources have they consulted, and which do they trust? Knowing your buyer’s expectations during the decision process helps your team target their approach.
In conclusion
A good buyer persona template allows you to create a representation of your customer that encompasses everything from their basic statistics to their future aspirations. Knowing your customer allows you to better create content for inbound marketing, and also puts your entire team on the same page, speaking to the same buyer. This specialized approach quickly turns leads into customers as you target your marketing to your buyer.
