Before you sell anything, you need to know who you’re selling to.
That’s where a customer or buyer persona comes in.
Messaging becomes a lot stronger when you’re writing with a specific audience in mind, because you’ll be able to address their struggles, wants, and needs. But how do you find out what these are so you can create an effective buyer persona?
Let’s find out.
What is a buyer persona?
A buyer persona is a profile of a fictional member of your ideal audience. It’s the ultimate depiction of your target customer. To create one, you’ll need to do your research. The buyer persona should include demographics, lifestyle choices, pain points, values, and goals to help you create a full picture of the type of person that wants to buy from you.
Why do buyer persona profiles matter?
Knowing your audience is the key to creating effective messaging that resonates and ultimately converts. Taking the time to create a buyer persona profile gives you a clear picture of your ideal customer. You may already know who your target audience is in your mind. Maybe you started out with in-person sales and events and you genuinely know your customers. Maybe you developed your business or product based on a personal need (that you know other people share), so you are the ideal customer. Regardless, it’s still helpful to have a description of your target audience written down somewhere so you can reference it.
It will come in handy if you’re onboarding new team members and want to ensure everyone’s on the same page in terms of understanding your brand. Or if your own brain is fried while you’re creating something new, and you need a reminder of who you’re creating for.
How to create a buyer persona profile
Ok, so you see the benefit of having a definitive buyer persona profile as opposed to just keeping it mind. But how do you make one? Let’s break it down step by step.
Step 1: Research
And lots of it. You hopefully already have an idea of who your target audience is, so spend some time getting to know them. There’s a lot of ways you can do this:
– Conduct surveys and interviews, either digitally or in-person
– Spend time on forums where people share more about their needs, wants, and pain points (social media is great for this)
– Review research performed by competitors or other marketers
– Study your own resources, like existing company data or product reviews
Basically, you want to get into the minds of real people who could potentially become your customers to find out what it is they’re looking for in a product. This helps you shape your messaging and positioning.
Let’s say you have a sustainable haircare brand that specializes in shampoo and conditioner bars. You might think the zero waste/sustainability aspect is the most appealing part of your brand, but your ideal audience may value the travel-friendly nature of the bars more. When you find this out, you can refine your copy and marketing strategy to appeal to travel enthusiasts.
Step 2: Segment
Sometimes a single buyer persona is not enough. People are not a monolith, so you might need a few or even several buyer personas. Let’s keep on using that shampoo/conditioner bar example. The brand could have a buyer persona for the travel enthusiasts that value being able to easily pack the bars, a buyer persona for the eco-conscious individuals that are looking to reduce waste in their care routines, and a buyer persona for the longevity-minded shoppers that like how much longer shampoo and conditioner bars last than their liquid counterparts.
Step 3: Create
Now that you have a good idea of your buyer persona(s), you can officially create your document! You can have fun with this and style it up to match your other brand guidelines, because why not?
Questions to ask when creating a buyer persona profile
But first, here’s a list of questions to ask that will help you create your buyer persona profile(s). I’ve seen a lot of briefs depict basic demographics like gender, age, and location, but these alone are not enough to define an entire person.
Here’s an example: Sam and Tom are two 35-year-old urban men living in Toronto, but their lives are very different. Sam is a corporate employee that lives in a residential neighbourhood with his spouse and 3 kids. Most of his free time is spent doing family-friendly activities, and he values products that offer him versatility and efficiency. Tom is single, lives right downtown, and works in a creative role. He spends his free time going out with friends, attending artistic events, and travelling. He values craftsmanship and uniqueness in his products. Sam and Tom might be interested in some of the same products, but you’d have to tweak the messaging to truly appeal to either person, even though they share certain characteristics.
So, to dig deep into the minds of your customer, ask the following questions:
– What kind of career do they have? How does it impact their day-to-day life? If they have very demanding careers, what kinds of products are they looking for to make their lives easier? If they work from home, what kinds of products make their lives more stimulating?
– Where exactly do they live? It’s not just about urban, suburban, and rural. Every city has its own distinct neighbourhoods, and they can really influence a person’s lifestyle. Are they a downtown person that loves being out and about? Do they live in a quieter neighbourhood where they prefer to spend more time at home? Are they somewhere in the middle?
– What do they do for fun? What are their hobbies and interests? Are they more laidback, finding comfort at home or other relaxing areas, or is their schedule always jam-packed with activities and events?
– What are their values? Do they primarily care about their own needs, like comfort and efficiency, or are they more interested in how a product is made and how it impacts the environment?
– What does a day in their life look like? Imagine their morning routine, their workday, their post-work free time, and their evening rituals. What products do they lean on, and why?
– What are the biggest challenges they currently face in their life? Do they struggle with time management? With organization? With self-confidence? What can your brand or product do to help them overcome these challenges?
It might help to name your buyer persona or to think of a real person you know so you can really imagine them, their personality, their values, and their needs. Write your copy with them in mind, and it will feel so much more relatable.
The TL;DR Wrap-Up
– A buyer persona is a fictional profile that represents your ideal customer and helps you understand who you’re actually selling to.
– Effective buyer personas go beyond basic demographics like age, gender, and location to explore lifestyle, values, goals, interests, and pain points.
– Research is essential. Surveys, interviews, social media, customer reviews, existing data, and online communities can reveal what your audience genuinely wants and needs.
– Your customers’ priorities might be different from what you assume, so let real audience insights guide your messaging and positioning.
– You may need multiple buyer personas if your products appeal to different types of customers for different reasons.
– Thinking about your ideal customer’s daily life can help you understand where your products fit in and what benefits matter most to them.
– A documented buyer persona can keep your messaging consistent and help new team members understand exactly who your brand is speaking to.
– The better you understand your ideal customer, the easier it becomes to create relatable copy and content that actually resonates.
FAQ
What is a buyer persona?
A buyer persona is a fictional profile that represents your ideal customer. It brings together information about their demographics, lifestyle, interests, values, goals, and challenges to create a clearer picture of the person you’re trying to reach.
Why is a buyer persona important?
Knowing exactly who you’re speaking to makes it easier to create messaging that feels relevant and relatable. A buyer persona can guide everything from your copywriting and content strategy to your overall brand positioning.
What’s the difference between a target audience and a buyer persona?
A target audience describes the broader group of people you’re trying to reach, while a buyer persona turns that audience into a more detailed individual profile. Instead of simply targeting “professional women in their 30s,” for example, you’d explore what that person’s career, lifestyle, interests, challenges, and priorities actually look like.
What should I include in a buyer persona?
Include basic demographics alongside deeper details like career, location, lifestyle, hobbies, values, goals, purchasing priorities, and pain points. Think about what their typical day looks like and where your product could naturally fit into it.
How do I research my ideal customer?
You can conduct surveys or interviews, review existing customer data and product reviews, browse social media and online communities, and study relevant industry or competitor research. The goal is to base your persona on real insights rather than assumptions.
Can a brand have more than one buyer persona?
Absolutely. Your customers may buy the same product for completely different reasons, so creating multiple personas can help you tailor your messaging to each group without treating your audience like a monolith. Start with the distinct customer groups that genuinely matter to your business rather than creating personas simply for the sake of having more. If two groups have meaningfully different motivations, needs, or pain points, it may make sense to create separate profiles.
How can buyer personas improve copywriting?
Buyer personas give you a specific person to picture while you’re writing. Instead of creating generic messaging for everyone, you can speak directly to your ideal customer’s priorities, challenges, desires, and lifestyle, making your copy feel much more relevant and personal.
Copywriting services for fashion & lifestyle brands
Is your messaging feeling a bit vague? Whether you need help with website copy, an email campaign, or a blog article, I can write with your specific ideal customer in mind. Learn more about my fashion & lifestyle copywriting services here, or drop me a line if you’d like to chat directly!