What is a Buyer Persona, and why is that so important for my IP firm?
In any market, there are different players based on size, number of employees, organizational form, corporate culture, and, of course, the role they play. To run successful sales and marketing campaigns on the IP services market, you need to know your competitors. Still, it is even more important to know everything about your customers - both potential and existing. Understanding them will help you in customizing your communication and better target your messages. In this article, we will give you tips on how to identify your potential buyer personas.
What is a buyer persona?
A Buyer Persona is a fictional person based on real data that represents your target audience (or a segment of it). Of course, the Buyer Persona itself doesn't exist, but if you create "him or her" based on accurate (and rich) information through thorough market research, the persona represents real people, and you can work with them.
The Buyer Persona represents a specific type of customer you already have or are targeting for potential future business. It represents an employee or a decision-maker that you can use to build your sales and marketing strategy.
How to build a Buyer Persona?
The great news is that if you are an already established IP Firm, you can use your existing clientele to create the personas. Think about how you got in touch with the clients, who was the decision-maker, who was your first point of contact, or the gatekeeper you had to convince.
Businesses have different customers, and the best approach is to identify the ones you can easily win. The ultimate goal for creating buyer personas is to see the full picture of reaching out to them. Where are they present? How did you win those deals before? Focus on these questions.
A Buyer Persona usually consists of the following information:
The name of the Buyer Persona
give a name to the persona
this helps to make the otherwise lifeless theory real
Job and title
Industry
Company size
Job details (position in the organization, job title, main responsibilities)
Demographics
Age
Income
Place of residence: urban / suburban / rural
Education level
Marital status
Goals and challenges
Primary objective
Secondary goal
How will you help him achieve his goals?
Primary challenge
Secondary challenge
How do you help him solve his challenges?
Values / fears
Primary values
The main challenge in the sales process?
Other information
Hobbies, interests
What blogs, media sites do they read?
Which social media platforms are they registered on?
You can create as many Buyer Personas as you see fit, but don't get too caught up in details at first - we recommend starting with 3-5 archetypes.
How can you use the buyer personas?
A critical part of your Buyer Personas is their challenges and how you can help them overcome them. Use this information through various sales channels to successfully approach your potential future customers.
Google and Facebook Advertisements can help you reach new audiences with your message. Take advantage of your Buyer Personas, when you set up the campaigns and target them with the data you collect.
Create useful content on your blog and social media posts to address your Buyer Personas's current problems. Review your sales pitches and use the profiles to customize the content, from the introduction to the presentation of possible solutions.