Consumers today do not depend on a sales rep to provide them with information about the products they’re shopping for. In fact, an unsolicited postal or email, or cold call is more often than not, a turn off. Instead shoppers simply go online and do a quick Google search to look up product details and compare vendors and pricing, all on their own.
The challenge for today’s savvy marketer is to create helpful inbound marketing content that appeals to these prospects and shows up in their search results so that they click through to your website when they are looking for your product information. Therefore, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of the questions, issues and pains that motivate your ideal customer.
A Buyer Persona is a detailed picture of your ideal customer. Ultimately, this document is an essential part of your inbound marketing game plan, and answers the question, “who am I trying to reach?” Similar to a “target audience,” your buyer persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer. But a buyer persona goes farther by including information based on real data about customer demographics and online behavior, along with educated speculation about their personal histories, motivations, and concerns.
Your buyer persona document helps direct content creation, as well as sales follow-up by providing the information that your ideal customer is likely to want. It should include at least these four elements:
Demographics
A basic understanding of your buyer personas’ demographic will go a long way toward equipping your content team to create helpful resources that connect with each persona. Is your content intended for a 20 something new mom, or a 60 something new retiree?
Background
Tell a story about your persona. A detailed background helps make the persona more relatable as you are creating marketing and sales materials.
Core Functions
What is their responsibility? Each persona should include a synopsis of their functions and roles within their organization.
Common Questions
Understanding your personas’ questions is the first step towards being helpful through their research process. The answers to these questions will drive your content marketing strategy.
Having detailed buyer personas for each of your ideal customer types helps direct your inbound marketing strategy so that you create the right content for the right people.
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