Gina O'DanielHow Using Persona’s Can Help You Get Noticed
As the saying goes, “when you are talking to everyone, you are talking to nobody”. The meaning of this is by talking to everybody in your marketing materials, your message is like listening to Charlie Brown’s Teacher making the “Wank, Wank, Wank” noise.
By focusing your marketing strategy and thinking about your Ideal Customer as one person, you can speak directly to them in your marketing and think of them when you are strategizing for next business move.
This does not mean that you are narrowing down your focus more than you have with focusing on your product or service offerings. Instead, creating a Persona gives an identity to the customer who is most likely to use your products or services.
Persona’s help you to humanize your marketing. It helps you to speak with one voice, attracting your ideal customer. By taking this step, it helps you get to more “Yes’s” and ultimately make more money.
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Notice The Patterns
You will notice there is a pattern for those customers who need your service, an even patterns of your ideal customers – the ones who make your heart go “pitter-patter” when you work with them.
Think about it…
- Are they male or female?
- What is their age? Are they younger or older?
- What type of work do they do?
- What are their core believes?
- What is their biggest fear, concern or pain point?
- What is their personal or professional goal?
- What type of personality do they have?
- What do they do when they are not working?
Once you have gathered this information, give them a Persona and create a Persona Card.
What is a Persona Card?
Persona Cards are quick and easy reminders of just who your ideal customer is. It is that visual reference that humanizes your ideal customer and makes them a real person that allows you to tailor your marketing to them.
Below are examples of some Persona Cards…
What Belongs On An Effective Persona Card?
Once you have identified your ideal customers’ patterns, it is time to put together your Ideal Customer Persona Card. An effective and powerful Persona should have the following information…
Name and Photo
Give your ideal customer a name and choose a photo that resembles what your ideal customer looks like.
Background Information (Bio)
Select the archetype information that shapes this fictional character. Meaning, what is their age, sex, location, income, education, job, family situation?
Quote
Create one statement that summarizes their challenges, values, and goals.
Goals
Identify what your customer wants to achieve from buying your product or service?
Frustrations
List the challenges, fears, or problems that your customer is or might be facing?
Personality
Identify type of personality they have. Are they an introvert or extrovert? Do they make their buying decisions with feelings or with facts? Are they organized or not so much? It is helpful to use a Myers-Briggs type of evaluation in this area.
Key Words
List three or four keywords that best describe your ideal customer?
Motivations
How does your buyer generally buy? Rank 4 of 5 buying motivators.
Brands
What are their favorite love, love, love “go to” brands?
Additional Items that can be added are:
– Values: Their beliefs, perceptions and attitudes
– Solutions: How you can solve their problem?
Now What?
Now that you have identified your Ideal Customer Persona and created their Persona Card, giving them a face, personality and identifiers, start using these when creating your online and offline marketing. Ask yourself, “Would this attract Sue?”, “Would this solution work for Jim?”, etc. If the answer is no, move towards solutions that would have your Ideal Customer Persona saying “Yes, I want that!”.
[…] you will want to know who they are, where they hang out, what they do for work. Give them a persona, complete with a […]