Top 5 Reasons to Develop Your Client Personas
Business owners and marketers are faced with an ever-growing challenge: how to reach their specific customers and prospects with a compelling message on a medium that works. Should you advertise on TV? Radio? On a billboard? In the Newspaper? Social Media? YouTube? Before saying yes or no to any of those options, it’s important to know 1) who is the customer – really, and 2) how does he or she gather information? That information is key to building client personas.
Here are the Top 5 Reasons to Develop Your Client Personas
One size does NOT fit all – Generational Marketing
Different generations view and consume information very differently. Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964), for example, are increasingly embracing technology, yet they can’t quite let go of voice mail. Many of them are using Facebook – in fact, people over the age of 55 are still the fastest growing segment on Facebook. They read informative blog posts, they watch videos (often longer, slower ones), they value testimonials, and they appreciate discounts.
On the other end of the spectrum is Generation Z (those born after 2000) who focus primarily on social media, memes, quizzes and eye-catching imagery. They consume up to 5 hours of video a day (often quicker, faster ones with lively music) and are often using more than one device.
You might be out of touch
Just ask the Wisconsin Tourism Federation who debuted their new logo with a giant WTF. It took more time and significant budget to rework all of their materials to reflect the next new iteration and branding of the Tourism Federation of Wisconsin.
Your competition is already doing it
- 44% of B2B marketers have already discovered the power of Personas.
- 83% of B2B marketers expect to use Personas in the near future.
- 90% of companies using Personas have been able to create a clearer understanding of who their buyers are.
- 65% of companies who exceed lead and revenue goals have updated their Personas within the last 6 months.
You already know a lot about your customers
Many businesses have a wealth of information about their current customers and their wish list of ideal clients. Customer records & CRM (customer relationship management software) data can provide great demographics. Don’t forget to check in with your sales team for more information about current clients
Personas can be used by various departments
Once you develop your client personas, they can be used by various departments to create content for your website, for use in marketing materials, content creation, product development, social media and hiring. A clear understanding of your client personas can even be key in setting a budget for PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising.
Your business will likely have more than one client persona. Don’t forget to include your employees as they make up a persona also! It’s smart to include many people from your company when developing these personas. It can be a work in progress and may take some time to create and refine. The end result will be a clearer understanding of where to spend your time, efforts, budgets and energy to connect your products to your ideal customer.
References:
https://marketingtechnews.net/news/2018/feb/09/gen-z-engaging-10-hours-online-content-day/
https://curatti.com/generational-marketing-infographic/
https://blog.tomorrow-people.com/how-to-develop-buyer-personas-for-b2b-marketing
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For more information on the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Top Five series, visit the Business Resources page. While there, be sure to register for the next Top Five series.
Barb Breeser
Barb Breeser is the digital mobile marketing strategist at digital marketing agency, Purplegator.