Target customers change as your business grows. The ideal customer of the past now costs you too much time for the resources at hand. In order to become more profitable, you decide to create a new marketing strategy to focus on your “new” ideal customer. Great idea! But, exactly how do you do this?
This is precisely the question I was faced with as I charted a new strategic marketing plan. The consultant my company retained suggested we create buyer personas to make up imaginary customers to map out our plan. Hmmm….WHAT? You want me to sit around and think up who my ideal customer is and then pretend I am them and then imagine how they would make decisions and what product they would like to buy and why. Seriously? Do you know how silly this sounds? I have an immense amount of respect for my consultant (hence why I hired him), so I decided to really try and wrap my brain around this concept and give this mental model a whirl.
I began to really think about the “perfect” customer for my company a tall order, but not impossible. What did they look like? How old are they? What is their name? What did they love to buy and why? Why did they like working with my company? Were they male or female? What kind of personality did they have? How do they like to shop for products and services? Are they savvy web shoppers or do they prefer to place orders via phone? After answering all these questions, I gave my newly created persona the name of Manufacturer Mike, my perfect customer. He loves to buy multiple products from my company every month. He doesn’t have a lot of time to spend on decisions, so he leans on me for my expertise and wants to know my company has his back when he is in a pinch. He is willing to pay for that security and doesn’t price shop ALL of the time. He has a good sense of humor and is committed to his company’s mission. Before I knew it I was walking in Manufacturer Mike’s shoes. His persona is a tool that helps bridge the gap between my customer’s experience and expectation on one hand, and the unconscious assumptions of my company’s on the other.
Personas help you think, feel and behave like your audience (target customer) and improve your ability to communicate effectively and efficiently.
So today, try it. Create your perfect customer persona to test that new marketing strategy you are thinking about. Step into their shoes and see if they really want to buy what you are selling. What you find just might surprise you! You may have the perfect product or your persona may say, “back to the drawing board”.
If you need a little help to get started, email me and I will send you a link to a great worksheet.
Erin Smith, Spotlight Strategies
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