So what are buyer personas and how are they relevant to your business? Instead of focusing just on WHAT you are selling, it’s just as important to focus on WHO you are selling to. A great product may still struggle if you are trying to sell to the wrong person. This is where buyer personas will help a business identify its ideal customer. Getting to know the customer is the first step in hitting the sales goals.
Now that we know the WHY around buyer personas, next, we can look at the factors that will help to build an image of who the customer is. The following factors are all elements that can direct a business towards its potential customers.
- Age
- Location
- Gender
- Occupation
- Marital status
- Hobbies
- Kids/no kids
- Where do they hang out
- What other pages do they like
Customer goals are also key to meeting their needs and therefore being the right fit as a business. So what would your customer like to achieve? What goal does your product assist in? What are their values (climate change, vegan, quality or quantity, community, shop local etc)? Being able to identify these goals will place a business in a better position to answer the requirements of its customers.
Next, we can look at where these customers are. Where do they get their information? A business will need to locate this information in order to step in front of their potential customers and be seen.
Here are a few options:
- Books, magazines
- Podcasts
- Instagram influencers
- Facebook group recommendations
- Events
With all product or service purchases, there will be some pain points that may stop the customer from choosing a particular business. Knowledge of these stumbling blocks will better equip a business to address and solve some of these obstacles.
- Purchase price
- Is it accessible online
- Will it be delivered
- Will it save me time
- Can I return it
- Will I get support while purchasing and after sales
- Is the purchasing process easy to use
As we have seen here, having a product or service is not quite enough in delivering on sales goals. Who a business is selling to is key to the success of the whole process. Considering the points above and compiling an identity of the customer will guide a business into being in the right place and at the right time. Knowing a customer’s goals and values will heighten the chances of conversion in the sales process and build a customer base that is compatible with the business goals and objectives. And remember…..you may have different types of customers so aim to build on at least three buyer personas.
