What is a Buyer Persona?

A buyer persona in marketing, is a character representation of your ideal audience or customer. A buyer persona includes details like basic demographics, behaviors, job title, motivations and more. This is based on research data, or a breakdown of your selling experience in this niche. The more detailed it is, the better.

What is the Importance of Creating a Buyer Persona?

Buyer personas help you understand your customers or future customers better.

When you list down everything you know about your customer, the buyer persona becomes a tool for you to design your marketing for them. In other words, you can personalize your marketing to reach and make it attractive for your audience.

For example, if your buyer persona is 14-18, you’ll know your messaging should sound young. You’ll know that popular trends are important for them. And, you know that they are active on social media platforms.

As a result, can use what you know to use hip language, tap on popular trend references, and maximize your social media marketing.

10 Questions to Ask to Create a Buyer Persona

If you have the customer, manpower and resources, you can conduct a survey on your current customers. The strongest buyer personas are backed by data. However, if you’ve been in the business for some time, or if you’re sure you know who your target customers are, you can also create a buyer persona yourself.

These are the questions you should ask:

1. Who are your customers? – This includes basic demographics their age, gender, income and education
2. Where are your customers? – What location are you targeting? Are you looking at multiple locations?
3. What do they do? – This is not just limited to job titles. You should also include their industry, company size, responsibilities and skills.
4. What are your customers’ distinct identifiers? – Re-create your customers personalities such as the way they speak and their unique traits.
5. What would they say? – Create or gather quotes, actual words that your customers would say about your business, or when choosing a product or service.
6. What is their day like? – Imagine what their life would be like. Think of what do they do all day, who they hang out with, and what type of decisions they make.
7. What is their problem (Pain Points)? – I don’t mean just any problem. I mean, what problem are they trying to solve with the help of your product or service. They are also known as pain points.
8. What is important for them (Needs)? – Identify what they value when choosing you over your competition. Is quality, price, location, support or something else?
9. What other products or brands do they buy? – Try to identify the brands, and other related products or services that might go well with your business.
10. Where do they research? Identify where they get information when they’re trying to decide a purchase. It could be online, on forums, on social media reviews, friends and more.

Sample Buy Personas

There is no one single correct way to create buyer personas. Here are several excellent examples I found online that can hopefully inspire you when you create yours. Please note that every sample has an image attached to it. You should do the same for yours. Look for a photo of someone who fits your buyer persona to help you figure out how to promote your business to them.

Check out these amazing buyer persona samples I found from Dribble.com