Persona Based Marketing

Persona Based Marketing is an approach that is used in advertising, sales, web and software design, and in communicating with shareholders. A basic assumption of this approach is that fictional characters (the personas) represent the different types of users of a target group. Personas are designed to help companies and brands better understand their customer groups. These findings can then be used to accompany and justify decisions with regard to marketing and other business areas. Persona based marketing aims to capture the objectives, desires, and needs of customer segments in marketing campaigns and strategies and personalize communication with customers to a certain extent.

General information

In persona based marketing, different customers are grouped together into one customer group, which is characterized by qualitative characteristics and stands as an example for a particular customer type. This generalization serves the purpose of modeling a customer typology. The intentions and the behavior of a hypothetical group of customers can thus be traced. Potential prospects for a product, a brand or a company are the focus. Marketing does not begin with the product or the company, but with a fictional customer whose needs are to be satisfied and whose problems are to be solved by a product or service. Since needs and problem solving can be quite different, personas put this data and information into a coherent format, which is used for decision-making.

This starting point is meant to allow the branding and brand messages to be coordinated in such a way that customer behavior can be predicted at various stages of the purchase process. Personas are intended to be used to measure the reactions to campaigns, the interaction with a brand or product, as well as sales opportunities. Accordingly, personas can be used at various levels of marketing ranging from the launch of a website to usability tests to target-oriented online campaigns and the efficient use of the marketing budget. Personas are also utilized in the B2B area in order to understand the roles and powers of the decision-makers, thereby increasing the sales opportunities.

Types of persona based marketing

In general, two persona-based approaches can be distinguished. The direction of communication is, in this context, a distinguishing feature that is used to generate personas by means of two fundamentally different target groups: private and commercial customers. This is only one way to use personas in marketing.

B2C

Before consumers make a purchase decision, they go through various stages. According to the AIDA model, these stages are described with attention, interest, need, and action. This buying process is usually non-linear. This means that one customer may be already comparing products while another is just developing interest in the brand. When selling products or services, these aspects of the buying phases can be taken into account by means of personas to meet the different customer groups. In the context of content and inbound marketing, personas can represent different information requirements and purchase intentions.

• Awareness: A customer knows his needs better than the company that approaches him or her. For example, the customer may be searching for information on Google that provides a first indication of a solution to a problem. The company can anticipate this stage and provide relevant information in the context of content marketing. You will get attention if the information is accurate and assists the customer.  Industry experts are often interviewed and third-party content gets integrated. Companies can use their expertise and forward branding.
• Interest: The customer now knows the company and knows that it might offer a solution to his or her problem. Interest can now be generated by the company, for example, with references to particular product properties or the advantages that result from the use of the product for the customer. At this stage, the company can offer this relevant information in such a way that the customer’s interest and confidence in the company is strengthened.
• Desire: The customer would like to have the product for certain reasons. It may handle their problem or serve him as a lifestyle object, which no one in his or her peer group (interest group) wants to miss. This desire for ownership can be influenced by the company, by involving such aspects in the brand communication. The customer’s desire can also be influenced by incentives, free test offers or case studies.
• Action: At this stage, the customer is ready for a purchase. In an online shop, they simply need to click some buttons, enter their data, and select payment and shipping method. Companies can make this stage as easy as possible for their customers. That includes transparent information on the processing, as well as an intuitively usable information architecture which allows customers to navigate easily. Personas can also run the web design at this stage. The easier the ordering process is, the more likely the person will purchase.

B2B

As soon as brand communication is no longer addressed to individual consumers, other aspects come into play. In B2B communication, personas can help understand the roles of different decision-makers. The level of authority of these persons differs as well as their priorities and needs. Additionally, factors such as relevance, time, and price models are even more important in business communication than in the B2C sector.

• Decision-makers: This is the point where a decision about a cooperation is made. Accordingly, a company can provide precisely this relevant information. The question is often how one company can solve a problem of another company. Decision-makers want to understand exactly how they can benefit and what a cooperation will bring to the table for them. Persona based marketing anticipates this and prepares the relevant information accordingly so that is understandable for the recipient. Case studies, interviews with regular customers, and evidence of business success make a contract conclusion more likely.
• Financial experts: Controlling in companies would like to see figures that explain and support the product promise of the provider. Data such as return on investment, various KPIs, and the price model support decision-making from a financial perspective. For example, case studies can be enriched with such data.
• Contact person: The daily communication in the B2B area usually takes place via responsible persons who are not only contact persons, but also experts in their field. The provider of a product or service can make it clear that it represents a gain in expertise for the company. Working examples and proofs of this expertise help contacts to evaluate the benefits of a contract conclusion.

Relevance to online marketing

If companies understand their target groups, they can offer more relevant content and better communication. Customer feedback is sometimes used in product development, such as in user centered design, interaction design or agile software development with its user stories. The fields of application for personas are diverse. Online marketing focuses on relevant content and personalized communication. The interests and requirements of target groups can be integrated into the development and marketing processes of digital products with content mapping, smart messages or user experience design.

However, persona based marketing has also been subjected to criticism. For example, the methodology is criticized for the fact that personas do not represent real persons through their fictional character. The resulting data is not considered to be scientific because it is based only on interviews and generalizations. In fact, some studies show the insufficient empirical foundation of personas. For example, the more attributes are added to a persona, the lower is empirical basis. Moreover, the practical approach to the method in companies is viewed with criticism. Some companies would give themselves the image of being user-centered by means of personas, but in reality, they have no interest in actually understanding their customers.

Weblinks

• What is Persona Based Marketing?
• Marketing Personas Beginners Guide
• 3 Reasons for a Persona Based Marketing Strategy
• Presentation Persona Based Marketing