Word of the Week - Buyer Persona

Your fictional best friend! Yes, we encourage you to have one if it helps your business succeed. Your buyer persona is an ideal customer, all of their attributes and habits align with what your company has to offer. This persona is a great representation of who your target market is.

Tips For Creating and Using a Buyer Persona

• Gather information on your current customers such as: demographic, geographic, interests, hobbies, personality traits. This will help you understand what they want/need from your business

• Give your persona a name. The more you understand this model customer the easier it becomes to talk to your target customer.

• Have more than one. Some businesses have different types of groups that purchase from them, create a persona for each group. This will lead your business to understand how to market to these specific groups.

Example

Coffee Shop Co. is a breakfast bar that serves a variety of coffee, tea, mimosas and breakfast food options. They have a dining area with a larger menu for customers that want to enjoy a sit down breakfast. They have 3 Buyer Personas:

Buyer Persona 1: "Hurry Heather" Heather loves coming to Coffee Shop Co. on the way to work. She stops by the breakfast bar and orders the same thing every morning. She stays no longer than 10 minutes. For "Hurry Heather" Coffee Shop Co. may advertise their fast and reliable service.

Buyer Persona 2: "Sit Down Sally" Sally likes to enjoy her breakfast in the dining area with her family, she comes in twice a week with her partner and two kids. They each order a breakfast meal and drink. They spend quality time with each other and enjoy a friendly staff member. They usually spend about 1 hour at the table. For "Sit Down Sally" Coffee Shop Co. may advertise family discount specials, child accommodations and friendly staff members.

Buyer Persona 3: "Brunchin' Ben" Ben only comes to Coffee Shop Co. on Saturday or Sunday. He comes in with some friends around 10 AM and stay until about 12 PM. Ben and his friends order one meal with multiple drinks. They are ready to have a good time for a long time! For "Brunchin' Ben" Coffee Shop Co. may advertise a weekend special of bottomless Mimosas.

Coffee Shop Co. creates separate marketing campaigns that target each of these personas. By dividing up their customers they are able to send a clear and concise message to each group.