You have probably already defined your target group, but do you really know who your customers are?
Identifying the target audience may be important, but it is often not enough because it is very one-dimensional.
To reach and delight your customers, you need to know exactly who they are. For this purpose, it is advisable to create a customer or buyer persona.
What is a Customer Persona?
A customer persona is a fictitious person who represents the target group or customer base. This person is created on the basis of customer surveys and market research analyses. From this data, one creates the archetype of the customer, which gives him a face and includes all his problems, wishes and needs. Customer personas combine all the preconceptions and information available about customers.
A customer persona is a tool in marketing to better understand your own customers and thus offer them exactly what they are looking for.
A customer is anyone who has ever bought a product or used a service. The target group stands for everyone who could potentially become a customer.
Why do you need a Customer Persona?
To attract new customers, it makes sense to be aware of the needs and desires of your target group. However, since it is unlikely that you will know each of your customers personally, you need to get a picture of this target group. Customer personas serve this purpose; they have desires and exhibit behaviors like real customers. They are created from digital data and represent the target group, give it a name, a face, an origin.
The benefit of customer personas lies above all in the fact that activities in the company, but also above all in marketing, are aligned with the customer and the focus is on customer satisfaction. In this way, you not only attract new customers, but also retain them in the long term.
In addition, customer personas help employees keep their eyes on the common goal, the customer.
If you know your customers, you know what they want and can deliver exactly that!
Added value compared to simple target group definition
If you want to target your customers, it is not enough to pack them into a uniform mass, with sparse key data. With a persona, you zoom in very close to your target group until you find the ideal representative of your need group. By taking a closer look at your fictitious customer, you will recognize the circumstances in which he finds himself, what challenges he faces, but also what wishes and needs he has. It follows that you do not limit your customer to socio-demographic or psychographic characteristics, but give him a face by creating the profile and accompany him on his way.
How do you develop a customer persona?
Before you create the profile of your persona, you must first filter out the necessary data. For this, you can take a look at your contact database to crystallize initial trends. If you use forms on your website, you can also use the form fields for important persona data and, for example, include a field for personal suggestions or requests. Other ways to gather data include in-person/telephone interviews and surveys with your customers, as well as incorporating feedback from your sales force.
Asking the right questions to the right people
First of all, you should take enough time and also avoid using templates. Because it’s important that you only ask your persona questions that are relevant to your business. You need information about how and why a customer makes their buying decision. These clues can help you do that:
- What factors influence the decision-making process?
- What added value does the customer experience from the purchase/service?
- What points speak against the purchase of a particular product/use of a service?
- Which people influence the potential customer in his decision?
- What criteria are used to evaluate the products/services?
Let us advise you free of charge on the topic of customer persona with all the possibilities, measures and actions.
