One of the fundamental tenets of successful marketing and sales – and consequently, more revenues and profits – is not just understanding the products and services that are being offered, but fully comprehending WHO the ideal customer is. In this sense, if the offering is the bow and the business is the archer, then the ideal customer is the aptly-named target. That’s where buyer personas enter the discussion.
Buyer personas are fictional representations of ideal customer types. Once developed, these profiles are used to shape and calibrate everything from marketing content, to sales funnel development, product development and the list goes on. With robust and realistic personas, businesses have a map, direction and destination. But without developed buyer personas, businesses are invariably missing out on connecting with profitable customers, and they are also failing to fully exploit the full revenue potential and lifetime value of existing customers.
Obviously, this means that businesses must make sure that their buyer personas do a great deal of heavy lifting when it comes to targeting, acquiring and converting customers. Further, it also means that relying on professional-grade market research is a MUST, since anything less is nothing more than a guestimate.
Below, we highlight just some of the key aspects that market research can reveal, and ultimately support the development of reliable and valuable buyer personas:
- Demographic-related data (age, gender, etc.).
- Industry-related data (sector, size, etc.)
- Job-related data (role, responsibility, authority, etc.)
- Personal-related data (interests, hobbies, etc.)
- Research-related data (how they get information, what publications and blogs do they read, etc.)
- Goal-related data (what are their aspirations, what problem do they need to solve)
- Objection-related data (what are their key obstacles to solving their problem)
- Budget-related data (how much money do they have to spend to solve their problem)
- Decision-related data (what is their authority, are they a decision-maker or an influencer, etc.)
This is just a snapshot at the answers and insights that market research can glean (through both qualitative and quantitative data gathering methods), which can ultimately be leveraged to create buyer personas that serve as the essence and engine of a successful marketing and sales strategy.
Learn More
Whether you are a marketing agency that needs to serve and impress your clients while delivering ROI, or a business that needs to increase customer engagement and sales, contact the Communications For Research team today to schedule a chat with co-CEO Colson Steber.
While learning more about your business, Colson can give you feedback on your research opportunity and help you learn more about how market research can inform better business decisions.
To learn more about the value of market research and how to communicate this to your clients, download our FREE eBook:
