What Is A Buyer Persona?

A buyer persona is a profile based on research depicting the target customer. Buyer personas depict who the ideal customers are, the challenges they face, what their days are like, and how they make their decisions.

New businesses can start with one buyer persona to develop strategies accordingly. However, it is also common to have several buyer personas for businesses that are targeting multiple industries. Having one unique persona for each segment helps with personalization.

More About Buyer Persona

Did you know that the first person to develop a buyer persona called ‘Kathy’ was Alan Cooper in 1985? While developing a new project management software, Alan interviewed several potential users and used the insights to create ‘Kathy.’ This persona went on to help him modify the design of the software and add new features according to the customers’ needs.

Cooper first used the term ‘buyer persona’ in his book, ‘The Inmates Are Running the Asylum’ in 1998. However, Angus Jenkinson is credited for developing personas in the field of marketing back in 1994. Marketers worldwide were already using personas years ago to segment their target demographic and use the insights to build products and drive targeted marketing efforts.

Now, let us look at what are buyer personas from a business point of view.

Did you know 70% of companies that have exceeded their revenue and lead goals have generated and documented their buyer personas?

Buyer personas are important for your business because they help you understand your customer. Creating a buyer persona based on effective market research offers you critical audience insights in many different circumstances.

It will help you make better strategic decisions and create better content that is personalized according to different audiences. Buyer personas play a significant role in boosting your customer base through social media reach. When you understand your customers’ needs, expectations, and challenges, you can deliver better solutions to them.

You can create a buyer persona using the data from social media. The steps for creating a buyer persona include the following:

  • Assess your existing customer base.
  • Analyze the audience of your competitors.
  • Find customer goals and challenges.
  • Get deep insights from customer service.
  • Create your buyer persona.

You can get an idea of a buyer persona from the image given below. The image highlights the buyer’s personal details, challenges, personal goals, and how your product can help them in achieving their targets efficiently.

buyer persona

Frequently Asked Questions

How are buyer personas used?

One of the major advantages of a buyer persona is that it assists a business in getting cross-departmental alignment and customer insights. It will ensure that product development, sales, marketing, and customer support all agree on the ideal customer.

Should small businesses build buyer personas?

Yes. For small businesses, having a buyer persona helps clearly define their goals. A buyer persona represents their existing customer base and potential ideal customers. Small businesses can use a buyer persona to narrow their focus, discover what will attract the customer to their business, and create marketing strategies accordingly.

How can a business create a buyer persona?

Buyer personas need a combination of external and internal research. Business owners or marketers can start by choosing their target customer demographic and then building a persona based on customer knowledge.

After conducting thorough research, the business will be ready to create its first buyer persona. There are multiple ways to approach creation. The easiest option is to create a slideshow representing all the main pointers around the persona. Build a slide for each factor of the persona. This way, all stakeholders can easily access it on screen or get it printed for reference.

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