Why do Target Personas Matter?
A topic that has been prevalent lately in our business circles is the process of developing target personas. We try to write about topics that are relevant to what we’ve been experiencing and what we think would be an interesting topic for others. So, let’s dive into it.
What even is a target persona? That’s a fantastic question.
A target persona is a fabricated profile of a person who represents one of your most prominent target audience groups, based on characteristics and qualities of your customers.
What are key characteristics of a target persona?
There are A LOT of aspects you can build out when looking at personas. But generally, developing target personas can be broken down into the following characteristic segments:
Contact Info
Background
Demographics
Identifiers
Behaviors
Goals
Needs
Challenges
What We Can Offer
Calls-to-Action
… that’s a lot. We know. However, taking your time to build your target personas out thoroughly often gives you context you’ve never considered as to who you serve and how to reach them. Often times, this context totally changes the way we do business.
If you are having trouble wrapping your head around where to start with all of this, we have a self-guided template that can help you work through this process. You can download our target personas template HERE.
So, why are target personas important?
They help direct and redirect us. While we started our businesses to fuel our passion, what we do is largely about who we serve in doing it. With that being true, it is pretty important to know who those people are.
Questions you can ask include:
What is this customer’s age & gender?
Do they have children? If they do, how many?
What is their marital status?
Where do they live?
What is their education level?
What is their personal or household income?
What is their career path?
What is their job title/role?
What type of media do they consume?
These are just a few of the questions you can start with. Building target personas well can become incredibly in depth.
Common Misconceptions about target personas:
We find that people often feel that they know who they serve… until we start asking the right questions. These are some of the most common misconceptions we have run into when working with people to build their target personas.
“Personas should mirror my clients”...
While personas might be built around some of your existing clients, it is important to make sure that you are also vetting if those clients and personas are strategically aligned with your company’s goals and growth plans.
“Everyone is a target persona”...
Even if you serve a wide variety of clientele, you aren’t for everyone. There are people that you are best tailored to serve. THOSE people are your target personas. The process of building target personas helps your brand become crystal clear on who exactly they are trying to reach with their messaging.
“The smaller details don’t matter”...
The more specific of a persona you develop, the better you can market to them. It’s really as simple as that. The details are your most useful tool.
When should you develop target personas?
We walk our clients through target personas in our branding process. So basically, it is ideal to develop them before you hit the ground running. However, it is never too late to develop your target personas. We also recommend that brands re-evaluate their target personas every year to make sure they are still on track with their goals and maximizing their reach.
Who on your team should contribute to developing Target Personas?
Your Sales Team
Your Leadership
Support Roles - Designers, Project Managers
Each role has a unique vantage point on how they engage with your prospects and customers. It is valuable to have a team involved in building target personas out.
Have we convinced you that you need to develop your target personas? It can be difficult to navigate if you have never gone through the process before. If you need some facilitation, we offer consulting to help entrepreneurs and teams develop their target personas. Please feel free to CONTACT US for more information.
