How Do I Create a Buyer Persona & Why Is It Important?

Did you know that the best way to successfully engage with any audience is to understand who they are and what they want? In fact, getting this right is absolutely crucial for any modern marketing campaign. When you take the time to identify specific buyer personas for your intended audience, you’ll have a more complete picture of who they are and how to reach them efficiently and effectively.

Identifying target market buyer personas is one of the first steps in our proven plan for creating an effective modern marketing campaign.

What are buyer personas and why do they matter?

Buyer personas  are semi-fictional representations of your ideal customers based on data and research. The deep understanding of your customer base that you gain in the development process drives everything from content creation and the advertising channels you use to sales follow up and company priorities. Because of this, developing comprehensive buyer personas not only will help you attract larger amounts of better qualified leads, it can also assist in retaining your existing customer base.

“What really decides consumers to buy or not to buy is the content of your advertising, not its form.” 

– DAVID OGILVY

The best and most effective buyer personas are based on both market research and insights gleaned from current customers and qualified leads.

To drive user engagement further and faster, you must explore what makes your ideal customers tick.

There are a number of factors to take into account as you identify your target buyer persona.

1. PERSONAL BACKGROUND - What are the demographics of your ideal buyer? What is their level of education? What is their likely career path?
2. THEIR COMPANY - What industry is your target buyer likely to be in? What types of service does that industry offer? What products do they create and/or sell?
3. THEIR ROLE  - What does your target audience’s typical day look like? What responsibilities might they have on their plates? What knowledge and skills are they likely to possess? What tools do they utilize?
4. THEIR CHALLENGES - What areas of their lives are individuals in your target market looking to improve? What pitfalls might they be encountering?
5. THEIR GOALS - What objectives are your target consumers looking to fulfill? How do they identify success?
6. HOW THEY LEARN - What type of messaging will catch your audience’s attention and drive them to take action? What information do you need to provide and in what format?
7. SHOPPING PREFERENCES - How can you most effectively expose your target audience to your messaging? How can you improve your company’s visibility in digital and traditional marketing spaces? How are your target buyers likely to conduct relevant searches? Consider their most recent purchase. What drove their action? 

We’ve developed a worksheet that will help guide you through the process of identifying your target audience.

When identifying a buyer persona, marketing directors must seek to understand generational differences.

While broad generalizations don’t always apply to every member of a given population, considering the generational cohort into which your ideal consumer falls can provide important direction for your marketing strategy. For these purposes, we divide populations by age and birth year.

• Generation Z: born 1997-2012
• Millennials: born 1981-1996
• Generation X: born 1965-1980
• Boomers: born 1946-1964
• Silent Generation: born 1928-1945

For many marketers, millennials and/or members of Generation Z are their primary target audience. Millennials are quickly becoming the largest generation by population size. They are also obtaining higher levels of affluence and impacting the way many brands are approaching their consumers. 

+ Learn how to win with affluent millennials.

Meanwhile, a younger generational cohort is taking the stage for those marketing to teens and young adults. Members of Gen Z have entered the college era and are the newest candidates for loans, credit cards, real estate leases, and more.

+ Learn more about marketing to Generation Z.

Here are some facts worth noting about these younger demographics:

• Millennials and members of Gen Z are digital natives. They’re typically very active on all social media platforms and are on top of digital trends. 
  
  
• Gone are the ways of older generations who used phones sparingly. It is no secret that teenagers and young adults are highly attached to their mobile devices. In fact, millennials spend an average of 3.7 hours a day on their phones.

• Coupons aren’t just the province of older generations. Members of younger generations love them too. In fact, 88% of millennials say that obtaining a promotion or discount would encourage them to make a purchase. 
  
  
• Millennials and Gen Z-ers look for connection, moments that they can discover and share. In fact, 69% of millennials believe that participating in events helps them connect better with their friends, communities and the world at large.

+ Learn more about how to engage millennials and Gen Z when advertising. 

• Generation Z and millennial audiences tend to be less receptive to "standard" advertising tricks. They might not pay any attention to a print advertisement when out and about if it doesn't catch their eye. These younger generations also value authenticity far more than previous generations, especially in their ads. So make sure you feature diversity and communicate authentically if you want to win with these audiences.
  
  
• Although Generation Z and other Millennial audiences spend a lot of time on social media, when they are ready to purchase, they go to Google. Don't forget to include a Google Strategy in your digital marketing plans.

+ Learn how COVID-19 is affecting marketing campaigns.

Would you like to learn more about how to create a successful modern marketing campaign?

Here at MSSmedia, we’ve been providing Education, Government, Real Estate & Lifestyle clients with succinct, optimized, and successful marketing solutions for more than 15 years. Consider MSSmedia a full-service, one-stop shop for all your Media and Public Relations needs. Your goals are our motivation. And our mission is to propel your message, further and faster, to achieve the outcomes you’re looking for. If you found this blog post helpful, please share!