Are you targeting the right audience for your products?
As a business owner, your goal is to develop strategies that attract buyers and boost sales.
So, here's my question...
Do you target all the people in the market?
Or do you target a specific group of audience?
Remember, running a marketing campaign to attract random people is useless. It's such a waste of resources. And it does not bring desired outcomes.
Thus, having a 'buyer persona' is important. It tells you the features of your ideal buyers. Also, it reminds you to remember the needs of your customers in mind. Especially when designing a product.
But...before we look into the ways to design the perfect buyer journey, let's discuss in detail...
What Is A Buyer Persona?
A buyer persona is also called a consumer persona. It is a description of a person who represents your ideal buyers.
Buyer persona includes the following details:
- Name
- Demographic details
- Interests
- Age
- Gender
- Behavioral traits
- Pain points
Creating a buyer persona is crucial to a successful marketing campaign. As soon as you have your buyer persona, it will be easier for you to design messages that will work well with your potential buyers.
Moreover, buyer personas help you understand your buyer journey stages. It makes it easy for you to optimize your sales funnel to increase sales.
Now, let’s talk about different types of personas and how to create one for your business.
Types of Buyer’s Persona
Have a look at the six types of personas you can use for targeting your ideal buyers:
1. The Value Hunter
Value hunters are buyers who want to get the most out of their money. They will not give away their money for a product that doesn’t provide them with value.
To attract this group of customers, you must highlight the benefits of the product. If your value proposition is convincing, value hunters will convert easily.
You can offer limited-edition goods, discounts, and flash sales to drive sales.
We now move on to the next persona.
2. The Researcher
They love to search the internet to learn more about a product. This buyer group will compare the prices and benefits of the products. Next, they’ll check the reviews of the products.
If they're 100% satisfied that your products offer interesting prices and benefits, they’ll convert.
To attract this group, you must answer all their queries. Make sure you display attractive pictures, videos, and reviews on your website and social profiles.
To appeal to this type of group, show social proof.
Did you know?
With Debutify, you can easily display your Instagram pictures on your Shopify store. All you have to do is download Debutify and use the ‘Instagram Feed’ Add-on. Don’t worry! It’s FREE with the theme. You don’t have to pay an extra dime.
Watch this video to learn more about Debutify's Instagram Feed Add-On:
Up next is...
3. The Social Butterfly
Are social networking sites the ideal hangout place for your audience?
If yes, they belong to the social butterfly group. To target these buyers, you can collaborate with content creators and influencers.
Did you know social butterflies are always updated with the latest trends and news? Yes, that's right. So, the best way to reach them is by kick-starting your social media marketing.
Another persona, we'll have a look at are your...
4. Brand Advocates
It's my all-time favorite group!
This group represents your loyal customers. They love your products and rave about them. They also recommend your products in their social circle.
It’s easy to keep them coming back to the business. Introducing a loyalty program and providing amazing services is an effective way to retain them.
We're down to the last two. Let's proceed to the next...
5. The Mobile Buyers
Mobile buyers are on the go all the time.
Unlike value hunters and researchers, this group is quick to make a purchase. If they like something online, and it’s within their budget, they’ll buy it.
They won’t spend time researching and comparing the products. Just make sure you have attractive pictures, videos, and descriptions. This can compel them to convert.
And just like that, we're down to the last persona.
6. The Generous Ones
This group doesn’t buy the product for themselves. They buy it to give it to their loved ones. So, if you are trying to target this group, focus on the presentation of your products.
Offer them deals and bundles to make them buy more for their loved ones.
It’s time to create a buyer persona for your business. So, are you ready?
Let’s begin…
How to Create a Buyer Persona?
In five simple steps, you can create a buyer persona for your business.
1. Audience Research
This is the most important step for developing the persona. You can't just rely on your gut feelings or mere guesses about the audience. You need to research learn more about your buyers.
Search for the following information about your audience:
- Age group
- Gender
- Location
- Buying power
- Interest
- Pain points
Wondering where to gather the information from?
The following sources are gold mines to collect customer data.
- Social media Analytics – Facebook Audience Insights
- Business’s Customer Database
- Google Analytics
The next step is…
2. Identify Your Customer's Pain Points
Identifying your customers’ pain points requires the answers to the following questions:
What are the challenges that your prospects face?
What hurdles stop them from reaching their goals?
So, how are you going to find the answers to the above questions?
The best person to answer these questions is your sales team. Your sales team is the one that deals with your customers. They know what your customers look for and what problems they face.
You can also send surveys and polls to your audience. Ask them about their common problems. Their valuable feedback can help you identify and understand their pain points.
After finding their problems, you can think of ways to solve them with your products.
3. Identify Customer Goals
How can your customers solve their problems and reach their goals?
For example, your customer’s pain point is his unhealthy body weight. His goal is to get fit by shedding unwanted pounds.
Understanding your customer’s goals helps you highlight the product benefits. It tempts buyers to buy your products.
But what if your products do not help the customer directly?
Even then, you need to understand your customer’s goals. It is important for pulling off your marketing campaign successfully.
Now, let’s say you sell yoga mats. Do you think by simply buying the mat, your customer will lose all his weight?
Nope!
Then how can you convince the prospects that your products can help them achieve their goals?
4. Understand How You Can Help
Once you have your prospect’s pain points and goals, it’s time to highlight the product’s benefits.
Now, in this step, you need to think from your prospect’s perspective. Study your products and identify which features can attract the audience.
For instance, you sell pedometers. It is lightweight and counts accurate steps. Do you think it’s enough to make your prospect buy the product?
I don’t think so…
Here's a simple rule (you need to remember):
Prospects aren't interested in product features. They want to know what benefit your product can provide them.
So, what you can do is highlight the benefit that its pedometers display the number of calories burnt by walking. It will convince your prospect to buy it to keep track of calorie loss.
Time to gather all the data!
It's time to...
5. Create Your Buyer Personas
After studying all the details, pick out the common characteristics of your audience. This will form the basis of your customer persona.
For example, your data shows your audience age is between 25-35 years. They live in small cities, are gym enthusiasts, and own compact cars.
After that, move ahead and list their problems and goals.
Let's say your customer’s problem is their busy schedule, and their goal is to exercise more often.
Now you need to name your ideal customer. Create a realistic description to make them appear like an actual person.
Wait, why the name?
Is it easy to talk to Mike or to a 35-year-old American man?
Taking the name of the person while discussing marketing activities with the team is quite easier.
And voila, you’ve created your buyer persona.
This persona will help you design strategies to meet your customers’ expectations.
After creating your buyer’s persona, it’s time to design the buyer journey.
Below are the three main stages of a buyer’s journey.
Stages of a Buyer’s Journey
1. Awareness
The first stage of the buyer’s journey is awareness.
At this stage, a buyer gets to know about the business and its products through a friend, advertisement, or social media post.
So, at this stage, grab their attention by offering informative material on your website.
For example, you can provide visitors with an eBook, blogs, printable materials, etc.
It will educate the buyer more about your business.
You can use your buyer’s persona to publish free material. For example, your buyer is a Shopify seller and wants to boost sales. You can publish articles on how he can optimize his store for increased conversions.
After your potential customer has learned about your brand, aim to move them to the next stage.
2. Consideration
The second stage is consideration.
At this stage, the prospects compare the prices, features, and benefits of different products. You create strategies to make the customer select your product. They create targeted messages, highlight product benefits, and share social proof.
After consideration comes the last step, the decision to buy the product.
3. Decision
The step where the prospects turn into your customers.
Thus, providing tempting offers and a seamless shopping experience to prospects.
For instance, you can provide discounts and deals to make your customer buy your product.
Don’t forget to make your website easy to navigate. If the website is not user-friendly, your prospects will exit. Similarly, your checkout stage should be smooth. Don’t irritate the customer by presenting him with long forms with many fields.
The shorter your checkout stage is, the easier it is for customers to finish it.
Use Buyer’s Persona To Reframe Your Business...
A buyer’s persona is a powerful tool for designing successful marketing campaigns.
It helps marketers to understand their potential customers and target their pain points.
A good buyer persona also helps the business to connect with customers and win their loyalty. Hence, create your buyer persona to make your marketing efforts more targeted.
Optimize your Shopify store today with a fast and responsive theme, Debutify. It caters to the needs of all types of buyers.
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Ricky Hayes
Trisha Ballesteros