Summary: Want to connect with customers who are genuinely looking for your products?
Is it Ramesh who is the marketing manager in an MNC, Ravi from the sales department in a small store, Neeraj, who is a student, or Laxmi, who has just started her dream venture and looking for products and services to expand her business?
Do you know who your customers are? And if so, how well do you know them?
For any business, it is essential to know its target audience. If you don’t know who your customer is, you can't expect your business to grow and sustain in the market. This is why making buyer personas are important.
A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on data and research. It not just gives you time to focus on qualified prospects but also guides product development according to your customers’ requirements.
A buyer's persona just like a business coach helps you to understand your customers better.
This will help you to attract high-value visitors, leads, and customers to your businesses that are going to stay with you for a longer time.
“Okay, so personas are really important for my business. But……from where should I begin and how do I make one?”
Well, this is a million-dollar question. The good news is that it is not difficult to create one. It depends on your market research and customer data.
Here are some tips you must keep in your mind while creating an effective customer persona to grow your business:
1. Narrow Your List
The first thing when you are creating a buyer's persona is to understand that only a small niche of people represents a portion of your audience instead of everyone. Understanding this will give you a clear view and a good start. Once you acknowledge that there are distinct customers with unique requirements and goals, it will be easier for you to develop personas to match your visitors. Narrowing your list will help you understand who visits your website and why.
E.g. if you own an online pet store, you should only consider that segment of your audience who either are pet owners or live animals. They can be further divided into two groups- cat lovers and dog lovers.
If you are working with a business coach, you can take his guidance and support to create an actionable buyer’s persona.
2. Practice Social Observation
Social listening or observing is the process of observing what people are saying about your brand. This can give great insights inside a consumer's mind to business owners and marketing teams. Read their responses on various platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Track hashtags, mentions, and industry-related tags across all social media platforms. Use this information to get a glimpse into the mind of your customers. For instance, you get lots of appreciation on social media for fast delivery and great pricing. But they also mention that you do not have a great product that they would like to buy.
So if the request is within your territory, you can consider finding a way to resolve this challenge. Also, there is one thing you must remember---when building personas through social listening, you will have to learn to cut through some noise.
3. Review Feedback & Customer Support Tickets
Did you know that feedback, reviews, and even customer support tickets have the power to create customer identities? These days almost every business creates a feedback form that they present to new and old customers or website visitors. These forms cover various topics related to products or something broad, like the design and appearance of your website.
These forms can be a great way to learn about how customers feel about your brand. If someone takes the time to submit a feedback form, they are interested in seeing your business grow and succeed.
These tips can help you to understand your customer and build a persona based on their demographics. It will help you learn more about your target audience and improve your marketing efforts. You can hire a best business coach to help you navigate the challenges that many entrepreneurs face in the initial stage of their startups.
However, it's worth noting that creating a buyer’s effective persona will take time and not happen. So, spend a considerable amount of time on social media, reviewing comments and forms on your site, and gathering information through emails and newsletters.
The idea of managing a business is easier said than done and we completely agree with you. This is why to help you move forward with your business goals, we at Bada Business offer an exclusive Business Coaching Program that comes with Foundation courses, specialized courses, and value-added courses. To know more about these courses, visit: www.badabusiness.com
