Imagine you are designing your new product collection. You have started to draw up some ideas on how to communicate it, how to advertise it, the packaging… but in this strategy it is based only on general consumer traits and economic factors such as purchasing power. In short, you have a defined, but totally impersonal idea of your audience.
Buyer persona help you to get to know all these factors more closely, but above all to empathise with your customers. This way, you can better understand their needs and how your product can meet them.
What is a buyer persona?
A buyer persona is a simulated representation of your ideal customers, an archetype. It is about defining very specific aspects of their traits and characteristics, in a way that helps you to attract them from a more human and realistic perspective.
Your products may have one or several audiences, as well as several uses. It is important to bear this in mind as it is possible that we are offering a product for a specific purpose but that your real customers buy it for another reason and use it for another function. Knowing who buys from you and what your creations are used for is essential for positioning yourself in the market. On this basis, you will be able to build our buyer persona.
How to create a buyer persona?
Defining your ideal customer requires knowing (and listening to) the people who buy from you, follow you or show interest in what you do. The more specific your marketing campaign becomes, the more specific your buyer persona will become.
First step: give it a name
Although it may seem banal, it will help you to better identify their characteristics and you will be able to define several buyer personas. Each one, with their own name. For example: Pedro García and Beatriz López.
In our experience, we also recommend you to accompany this portrait with a photo (even if it is of someone unknown) but which will help you internally to put a house to a buyer persona type.
Details your work and family status
Try to answer the following questions, based on the profile of your customers or target audience:
- How old are you, are you a student or a worker?
- In which municipality do you live?
- What is your occupation? How much can you earn each month?
- What level of studies do you have?
- Do you live independently, in a shared flat or with your parents? Do you have children?
- What are your aspirations?
As you answer these questions, you will be able to better understand the needs of the buyer persona.
3. Define his/her interests or hobbies
Whatever the handmade product you are going to sell, their desires and emotions will be the factors that end up generating the sale. Therefore, define the hobbies, tastes and preferences of your buyer persona, along with the above traits. This field, which is much more subjective, is the one that will allow you to definitively connect with your customer profile. For example, you can ask yourself:
- Do you appreciate local products?
- Are you committed to the environment and sustainable products?
- Do you lead a healthy lifestyle? Do you like to take care of yourself?
- Do you value quality over price?
- Are you sensitive to design or art?
In addition, you will need to define how you can “find” this profile:
- Do you read blogs on a regular basis, do you subscribe to any magazines?
- On which social networks are you active?
- What type of content do they consume (video, photos or text)?
- Does he/she read the emails you send or does he/she prefer to be called?
The result of answering all these questions should give you one or more buyer persona profiles with a set of specific needs. Your product should be focused on satisfying them, on fulfilling their dreams or aspirations. Above all, in the field of communication, this must be clear and defined if you want to connect product and type of clientele.
Tools such as Google Analytics or Google Trends can help you detect the origin of your web traffic or find niches of interest: through which channel has it reached your website? What keywords has it used? With this portrait you can complete it by listening, once again, to your customers, attending to their requests and proposals (including criticisms). And of course, asking directly, in some cases, can be the best option.
Engaging through content
So, now the big question: how can you articulate all this information and take action? Both online and offline, the type of buyer persona you are targeting will determine the how and when of your content. In other words, you need to tailor your communication to the type of buyer persona.
On Instagram, for example, you should define a calendar that offers content of interest to your buyer personas: one day you will publish for one archetype, another day for another. You can also combine it if you think it is of general interest. The important thing is that the people you are targeting feel attracted by the special content you are dedicating to them. This way they will connect with you, they will want to know who you are and you can end up selling them your product or service.
We hope we have helped you define your buyer persona. If you have any doubts or need advice, Labois can help you. We offer online marketing advice specialised in the craft sector.
See you in the next post 😉
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