KEY COMPONENTS
It is important to feel connected to the prospect you are aiming to target with a marketing message. Creating real personas for those individuals is a valuable guide that helps us handcraft our messaging, choose our marketing tactics, and select our delivery channels. We do not want to risk wasting time “thinking” we know or spending money wandering in the vastness of the online and traditional marketing avenues hoping we will run into a viable prospect.
DEMOGRAPHICS
The key ingredients will be to understand our prospects’ current geographic location, age, gender, income and culture. Details such as marital status or children may be important in some cases.
LIFESTYLE
We need to understand and tap into what makes this person smile, laugh, and feel valued. What kind of car do they drive? What do they do for fun? Are they working or retired? What do they do to serve others through volunteering? Do they attend church and is it important to them? Where do they hang out? Do they live in a city or a rural area?
PERSONALITY PROFILE
We should understand what makes this person tick and motivates them to continue or quit. Are they competitive? Methodical? Spontaneous? People-oriented? Do they make decisions quickly or deliberately? Are they logical or emotional?
It is important to feel connected to the prospect you
are aiming to target with a marketing message.
PERSONAL GOALS
We should understand why and how a person makes life decisions. Do they want to look and feel better? Is saving time or money important to them? Are they seeking a new community of friends? Are they pursuing convenience?
INFORMATION SOURCES
What does this person do when they want to find information? Do they search online? Read magazines or newspapers? Talk to people in person? Look to their social networks? Which of these do they trust most? What is their favorite learning style – reading, listening, watching? Just as knowing their goals, pain points and challenges help create targeted content, answers to these questions tell you which platforms and formats to use for communication.
PAIN POINTS
What challenges do they face and how does that make them feel? How can you help overcome challenges or resolve problems to make their daily life better? What are barriers for making decisions?
IDENTITY
Give your persona a name and find a stock photo to give them a face. It may sound silly, but it helps a lot to visualize a “real” person as you’re planning your marketing.
