BUYER PERSONASAli Schwanke, Marketing Strategist@alischwankeSimpleStrat.comLincoln Startup Week

WHAT• Fictitious representations of your ideal

customer.• A composite sketch of a segment of your

target audience. • A foundational element of your marketing

strategy • Also called a “customer avatar”

KNOW THEM BETTER THAN THEY KNOW THEMSELVES.

TONS OF EXAMPLESLIKE THIS ONLINE

WHEN ONE BRAND KNEW ME BETTER THAN I KNEW MYSELF.

EMPATHY• Understanding what’s important to your

customers and potential customers. • How they think & how they view the world• What matters to them and why• Goals, wants, needs• How their lives work, habits & routines

MARKETING• Product Creation• Copywriting • Content Marketing• Sales• Email Marketing• Social & Paid Traffic

AN EXAMPLE OF A FRUSTRATION TURNED INTO MARKETING VALUE

INCLUDES• Demographic Data • Values & Behavioral Insights• Pain Points• Anecdotal Feedback/Their Words• Applied Use Cases/Real-life Scenarios

LET’SBEGINBUILDING.

DEMOGRAPHICS• Age• Gender• Income• Education• Roles

• Certifications• Years of

Experience• Industry• Anything you can

gather as fact

VALUES & INSIGHTS• Values• Job/role

responsibilities• Motivations• Habits• Trusted sources

• Favorites/Hates• Online

communities• What they read• Goals• Desires• Buying triggers

PAIN POINTS• Frustrations & Problems• Objections & Obstacles

• Example: • Looking for an energy bar that

tastes great and provides nutrients so I don’t have to choke it down.

IN THEIR WORDS• Develop a persona “phrase” or series of

phrases that are straight from their feedback

• Example: • “I know there are a million websites I

can go to where I can learn Wordpress, but I just need someone to do it for me.”

REAL LIFE• How does this play out? • How does your product enter

into their daily routines? • When does this problem

become bad enough they go looking for a solution?

EXAMPLE OF USE CASES AND REAL LIFE SCENARIOS

HOW• Surveys• Interviews – individual & groups• Observation – primary & secondary• Online Tools* – Facebook, GA, GSC, • Good old fashioned research

*Don’t confuse data with evidence. It tells the what, not the why.

THE END(NOT REALLY)

Ali Schwanke, Marketing Strategist@alischwankeSimpleStrat.comLincoln Startup Week

Now the hard work begins!