A good customer persona saves you time and money. Here’s how.
Want to save time and money with your digital marketing? One of the best ways is to take the time to build a detailed customer persona.
A customer persona (also known as a “customer avatar” – popularized by such blockbuster movies as “Avatar”) is a detailed profile of your ideal customer. We’re not just talking about their demographics either. A useful customer persona goes as far as to include how your customers think – something known as “psychographics.”
How does having a good customer persona save you time and money? Here are four ways:
1. A customer persona reduces your competition.
Want to actually reduce the number of other businesses you compete against? A detailed customer persona will do that.
Imagine you’re in the fitness business. If you didn’t have a customer persona, you’d have to spend precious time and money on marketing to compete against everyone in the fitness business. That’s over 34 thousand fitness centers (in the US) not to mention the thousands of online competitors.
If, instead, you had a detailed, and precise customer persona, you’d cut down that field significantly. For example, if your customer persona is a middle-aged professional who works sitting down in an office most of the day, eats too much fast-food, strives for longevity so he can enjoy life with his kids and wife, and makes $95,000 a year, you could create a business around this persona’s specific needs and significantly reduce your competition.
Use a customer persona to reduce your competition.
2. A customer persona helps you attract attention.
Relevance is the best way to get attention. A detailed customer persona helps you be relevant.
Want an example of how this works?
Imagine you are a person who’s into luxury SUVs. That’s what you’ve driven for years, you feel like your job and station in life demands this kind of a vehicle, and you think this is the best kind of vehicle for your family.
You’re scrolling through Facebook and two sponsored ads pop up in your stream. The first one is just for “used cars” at a local, nondescript dealership. The second one is for luxury used cars from a dealership that focuses on Cadillacs, Audis, and BMWs. Which one will get your attention? In fact, will you even notice the first ad at all?
The same goes for your marketing. The more you know about your ideal customer, the more you can target them with relevant content and ads that will actually get their attention.
The quicker you can get your customers’ attention, the more money and time you will save.
3. A customer persona helps you earn trust.
Trust is huge for anyone with a business. Not only is it the most important component of first impressions, but it is also a determining factor in building customer loyalty.
Here’s the problem. If you’re selling something, you’re already at a disadvantage. One recent marketing study found that people trust salespeople even less than lawyers!! That’s not good. Anything that can help you build trust will help you strengthen your brand and ultimately build customer loyalty.
Getting to know your customers really, really well is one of THE best ways to build trust.
We all like and trust people who take the time to get to know us and want the best for us (like our mothers, for example). You want to be that person to your customers.
Consider what this article in Inc.com had to say about building customer trust. Four of the nine suggestions (numbers 2,3,5, and 7) all either revolve around getting to know your customers well, or are only possible if you do know them well.
Get to know your customers really well (get to know what they want, dream about and fear better than they do) and they will trust you more.
4. A customer persona helps you avoid wasted conversations.
Consider this scenario. You’ve just given a keynote at your local chamber of commerce to promote your brand and you feel pretty good about it. A few people come up to talk to you which you think is a good sign. One particular person asks you lots of questions and you end up talking for 20 minutes. When she gets ready to leave, she tells you that she is the Executive Director of a local nonprofit and is really interested in your consulting services.
Only one problem. You don’t provide services to nonprofits.
If only you’d been more specific in your message.
If only you’d had a specific and definitive customer persona.
Just like that brand-building keynote, if you develop a good customer persona you’ll attract less attention from people who have no interest in buying from you and attract more from those who do.
A customer persona will help you avoid wasted conversations – online and offline. That will save you time and money.
Ready to build your own customer persona?
What do you think? Do you use a customer persona in your marketing? Would you like to market directly to people who are interested in your business and avoid wasting time with those who aren’t?
Every digital marketing plan needs a great customer persona.
Watch for our upcoming blog posts where we will talk about exactly what a customer persona should include, and how you get that info.
In the meantime, check us out on our Instagram page where we share daily digital marketing hacks, tips, and wisdom!
Eric Hsu
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