Is this just fluffy, pointless marketing?
I hear you ask. For a start let’s be clear what a persona is. A persona is a very detailed description of your ideal target customer. I’m not talking top-level AB1 male aged 35. I’m talking about real detail. Level of education, personality traits, their motivation in life, what keeps them up at night and so on. Your persona should read as if you intimately know and understand that person.
Good quality leads start with a fantastic persona.
If you feel frustrated about your lack of leads or the quality of them (or likely both), then what you are missing is a persona. Or, to be fair, you might have the wrong persona. Let’s assume you haven’t got that really detailed brilliant persona, yet.
5 top reasons why your persona is so critical to your marketing success:
It determines the content and information you need to share with them. This is often missed by many businesses who frequently end up writing for other people in their industry. I’ve done that many times, written pieces that only other marketing people would be interested in. Which is great, but they aren’t our primary target market.
-
Find the images that turn them on or off. Again, we don’t all like the same colours, pictures or design. So you can’t design a one-size appeal to all websites or marketing campaigns. You have to be able to tailor it to your persona. What colours mean what to them? What pictures will capture their attention? You won’t know until you know who they are.
-
It allows you to tailor your tone of voice and approach. You wouldn’t, for example, speak to your staff in the same way you speak to your mates in the pub (or at least I’m sure you shouldn’t). The same goes for your marketing. You change your tone of voice, your language, and how you communicate with them depending on who they are.
-
You can personalise your marketing. This is what all customers expect now from every company they deal with. They want a personal approach and service that adds value to their experience and not to be treated like a number. This has to go beyond their name at the top of an email. It has to read as if you wrote it for them and only them. It’s impossible to personalise your marketing if you don’t have a persona.
-
You can choose the right platforms for your target market. Again there is no point in advertising or posting content on Facebook or Instagram if your potential customer isn’t there. It’s a waste of time. If you know who they are, you can find them.
-
How to approach the sale. Possibly one of the most important reasons for developing your persona is to be able to tailor your sales experience to them. How and when you communicate with them. The information they need to make a buying decision. All of this must be tailored to them in order for you to close the sale.
In summary, the more accurate and detailed your persona, the more powerful and successful your marketing will be. The more leads you will generate, the more sales you will close.
