[October 07, 2022]
Modern consumers have more options than ever before. Just take a look at your competitors. So how do you get more people to look forward to hearing from you and to choose your products or services?
You could blast emails about what you’re selling or write generic content just to get something out there, but our guess is you’ve tried that and you’re looking for better results.
Imagine being able to scout out the mind of your prospect and find out what’s going on in there.
- What do they want?
- What will make them pull the trigger and buy?
- How have they gotten burned in the past that has them hesitating to spend their money?
Knowing these details about your prospective customers shows them your business is custom-fit to achieve their goals AND overcome their objections. You’ll cut through the noise they are surrounded with and become the company they seek out.
Compile information to create a Buyer Persona
According to Single Grain Digital Marketing, using marketing personas made websites 2-5 times more effective and easier to use by targeted users.
Hubspot’s definition of buyer persona is this: a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers.
To create a buyer persona, you need to access valuable information about your prospects and existing customers. Here are a few ways to do that:
- Listen to recorded calls that come into the service area to find out what callers talk about, the words they use to describe themselves and their situations, and the problems they’re encountering. You can also discuss with Sales and Customer Service. They talk to people every day who already have an interest in your product or service.
Listening is one of the most underrated ways of finding out more about your prospects but is marketing gold. “We’re trained to talk not listen– and that’s a huge problem for marketers,” says @copyhackers.
Getting information directly from the source, instead of relying on assumptions, will allow you to speak in a natural consumer language. When you’re able to speak specifically to your prospects’ goals and motivations while addressing their pain points, you will create a lasting bond built on empathy and trust.
- Ask demographic information when prospects come to your website. If you have a free download in exchange for an email address, this is a good place to ask for age, gender, company size, title, education, etc.
If what you’re giving the visitor in return for this information is valuable to them, they will be more likely to complete the form with these answers. Plus, if you let them know answering these questions will help you better serve them, they’ll be more apt to share.
Demographics are only part of the picture, but they help create a story about the individual you want to serve and make it easier to relay this information to management, marketing, sales and all areas of the business.
- Conduct surveys or interviews with real-life customers.
Once someone becomes your customer, you can talk with them about why they chose your company, find out what questions they had coming in and what led to their decision to buy. Identify why they’d buy again. You can also ask about the results they received from your product or service.
Then use this information to inform your marketing as well as find areas for improvement or clarification in your sales materials. An added benefit of collecting this information? You can use it to create case studies, which are a powerful form of marketing collateral.
Using the information you’ve collected, you’ll now be able to speak directly to your prospect in a way that captivates them and motivates them to buy.
Prospective customers need to see your product or service fitting into their lives. When you don’t know anything about their life, it’s hard to align your product or service with their values, goals, and internal motivations while eliminating their frustrations.
Adopt the mantra: “Business isn’t business, it’s personal”
Treat your prospective customers like real human beings. It’s amazing how few people feel heard and understood in today’s world. Think about how excited someone is when they actually get to talk to a live person on the phone instead of an automated system. People crave that one-to-one interaction.
That’s why companies that try to appeal to everyone with their message end up attracting no one. Their message is too watered down to be applicable to anyone.
Don’t worry though, getting specific doesn’t mean you’re losing valuable potential customers. Quite the opposite actually. When you speak to ONE person, you become much more relevant and your words resonate with that individual. If someone can’t relate to everything you say, it’s because they aren’t the right customer for your business. If they are the right person, they’ll ignore any minor discrepancies because they see themselves as the person you’re talking to or they aspire to be that person.
Most customers are convinced that their situation is unique and although that’s isn’t usually true, speaking to them as if their situation is unique by accurately describing their experience, makes them confident you can help. Since you clearly understand them!
Segment for multiple ideal customers/buyer personas
Dividing your audience into “buckets” and developing content targeted to each one is a critical element to improving sales. Market segmentation has been proven to be effective in increasing sales. That’s because you know exactly what will interest a select group of individuals and therefore, significantly boost your odds of grabbing their attention.
Developing your buyer personas is an ongoing process. You’ll want to revisit it them on a consistent basis as your business grows, expands and changes over time.
Contact AKC Marketing today for help with website content, blog posts, landing pages and emails that are targeted to your buyer personas.