Writers are a reserved lot by nature. Our minds are filled with jewel heist plots and Mars landings, dark dystopias, and enough characters to fill a major metropolitan area. It’s no surprise that developing customer personas comes easily to us. However, with a little imagination and market insight, anyone can create customer personas to help guide marketing strategies.
What is a customer persona? Simply put, it’s a profile of your ideal client or clients. Who is it that you want wearing your clothing brand? Who would become engrossed in your new app? Taking time to imagine these people – who they are, what they worry about, what they desire – is an invaluable step in creating successful marketing campaigns and even in determining if you’ve targeted the best audience for your brand.
Let’s take a look at two customer personas to see where they might lead our content planning.
Customer Persona No. 1
Meet my imaginary friend Mary, a sixty-year old retired teacher. By the time she reached retirement, Mary was earning an annual income of $55k. She and her husband invested in stocks and bonds over the course of their marriage, and they each have retirement benefits. They’d planned ahead for their leisure years, putting aside a healthy nest egg. They’d imagined spending their retirement traveling, but they’re not sure that’s a good idea now.
Despite their financial prudence, Mary is still concerned about their security. She’s worried that the nest egg won’t be enough to sustain them indefinitely, and she’s also anxious about her daughter, who took on a huge loan for college and is now struggling to keep up with her monthly payments.
Customer Persona No. 2
Now, meet Tabitha, Mary’s daughter. At thirty-two years old, she’s had three different jobs since she graduated from college with a degree in Education like her mom. She wanted very much to follow in Mary’s footsteps, but teachers’ salaries aren’t what they used to be, and she’s having a hard time finding a school in her area that’s hiring. Currently, she’s working as an office manager, earning $34k annually.
She doesn’t intend to stay in her present job any longer than necessary, but she’s not sure that she wants to teach anymore either. She has a student loan to pay, and she doesn’t want to turn to her parents for financial aid. She’s worried about money and about her future, but despite her fears, she feels optimistic. She’s even toying with the idea of starting her own business.
What we can learn from our customer personas?
Mary and Tabitha are joined by genetics and by shared values. They’ve been drawn to the same careers, and they have some of the same concerns that we all have: money being high on the list. However, it would be a mistake to assume that the two women will be won over by identical marketing strategies. Each grew up in a unique era of American history. Each is part of a distinct generation with different perspectives on the world and current events.
Likewise, individuals within a generation are influenced by their socio-economic status, their geographies, and a myriad of other factors, and these factors impact how particular members of the cohort behave and respond to brands. Because America is a particularly diverse society, effective marketing is a constant challenge.
The question then becomes: How do you reach all those people?
The answer may be a little disappointing in its simplicity.
You don’t.
That’s where customer personas prove invaluable. By imagining particular individuals, you can extrapolate a more focused audience to target with your marketing strategy. A limited audience and a more customized marketing approach will inevitably lead to better results than blanket appeals.
This is particularly true of smaller businesses. While large corporations may be able to sink millions into campaigns, less moneyed brands need to make every penny count. Flops are unacceptable losses. Defining and understanding a focused segment of the population – specifically, the segment who will want what you’re offering – ensures that the money spent on marketing is worthwhile.
