how to create buyer personas for your business - free template
TRANSCRIPT
HOW TO CREATE BUYER PERSONAS
Fill out a separate template for each of your buyer personas.
Have fun, be creative and ping me when you have questions:
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Table of Contents
3 4 5 6 7page page page page page
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What is a buyer persona? Why do you need buyer personas?
Example of the B2B buying process and roles
How many buyer personas do you need?
How can you find out who your buyers are?
Buyer persona template starting here
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What is a buyer persona?
A buyer persona is an avatar
representing your real-life
buyer. It is a tool that helps
you define who your buyer is
and what their needs are. So
you understand what it is
about your product that is
most important to your
buyer.
Buyer personas are the basis
of positioning, messaging,
marketing campaigns,
demand creation programs
and sales support.
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Why do you need buyer personas?
In a typical B2C sale, it’s easy
to answer the question of
who your customers are.
In more complex sales, such
as in B2B selling, there are
several people involved in the
buying process, typically
more than three (we call this
buying center).
If you are for example selling
software to a healthcare
company, several
departments will be involved
in the decision process; from
the Line of Business to the IT
department. The larger the
company, the more people
are part of the purchasing
process.
Each buyer persona plays a
specific role during the
buying process:
- decision maker
- influencer
- user
See an example of the buying
process and the different
roles on the next page.
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Example of the B2B buying process with different buyer persona roles
Buyer Persona Roles:g-Decisionmaker - Influencer-User
Awareness
Evaluation
Purchase
Advocacy
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How Many Buyer Personas Do You Need?
The number of buyer
personas you want to define
depends on the complexity
of the buying process for
your specific product.
Best practice is to define the
following three:
- the decision maker
- the influencer
- the user
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How can you find out who your buyers are?
If you are just starting to
sell your product:
The best way to get to know
your buyers is during the
beta process. Here you have
several customers that are
interested in your product.
Talk to your main contact
about how they are making
decisions for purchases such
as your product.
If you are already selling
your product:
Talk to your sales people. Ask
them who they talk to when
they sell to a customer. Who
is the initial contact, who
makes the budget decision,
who actually uses the
product.
Buyer Persona Template
Note:The following template is comprehensive. The more information you have the better, but it is ok to leave some areas open.
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Example: Diana
VP of Marketing, Director of Marketing, Marketing Manager
MBA, Masters
Technology
US
Medium size = 1000+
35+Busy life, 2 small children150K+Live in a cityNice suburban homeMid to left politically
Persona Name
What is their job role?
What is their typical education?
Which industry do they work in?
Which country do they live and work in?
What is the size of the company they work at?
How old are they?What is their lifestyle? Do they have children?What is their income?Where do they live?What is their political orientation?
1Buyer Persona Template Person & Life
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Example: Diana
Understand complex technologyOrganizedEfficientGood communicatorsShort attention span
RestaurantsGood foodWineMicrobrewery beerSkiingTravelingSportsWhole FoodsBMW, Tesla, MercedesGood education for their kids
Career advancementSupport familyShow that they are smart, dynamic, up-to-date
Persona Name
What personality are they?
What do they like outside of their job?
What are their main goals in life?
2Buyer Persona Template Person & Life Cont.
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Example: Diana
Inbound Marketing, Digital Marketing, Content Marketing, Demand Generation, Lead GenerationFor solutions or product lines
Planning and implementation of lead creation programs and campaignsStrategy for lead generation programsThought leadership campaignsManage budget for campaigns efficiently
Number of sales qualified leads (SQLs)Number of comments on blog postsNumber of social engagementsKPIs
EmailOnlinePresentationsMeetings, also online meetings
Persona Name
Main job responsibilities
Main job initiatives
How are they being measured?
How do they like to communicate?
3Buyer Persona Template Job & Career
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Example: Diana
Marketing associationsMarketing conferencesLinkedIn groupsLinkedInTwitter
Analyst publicationsIndustry newsColleaguesIndustry leadersSocial media
Marketing trendsInnovations in marketingTechnology newsNew software tools that make their work easierTips on how to stand outTips on how to show resultsEasy ways to stay up-to-date on industry newsWho can help them economically show marketing success
The main decision is being made by their boss (second buyer persona)
Persona Name
Where do they hang out in real life and online?
Which information sources do they trust?
What is the most interesting information to them in relationship to their career?
Are they the main decision makers? Who else makes the decision?
4Buyer Persona Template Job & Career
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Example: Diana
Planning and implementation of lead creation programs and campaignsStrategy for lead generation programsThought leadership campaignsManage budget for campaigns efficiently
Never enough time to get it done rightToo many projects at the same timeNeeds to get done ASAPNot time to think it through
Give them hands on information that helps them be more efficientTell them about short cutsTemplates, easy stepsOffer services that complement their work and support their goalsShort bites of info
Persona Name
What are their main career goals?
What are their main challenges?
What can we do to help our persona to overcome these challenges?
5Buyer Persona Template Job & Career Cont.
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Example: Diana
Too expensiveNo time to manage a consultantNot sure whether you have sufficient insightDo you fit into our team?Are you good working with people?Will you make me look good?
Show ROIShow resultsShow case studiesGive examples how you worked with team seamlesslyShow how you can engage cross-functional teams
Persona Name
What are their main objections to not purchase your product/solution/service?
How can you respond to the main objections?
6Buyer Persona Template Job & Career Cont.
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Diana
1. Customer has decided that they need to get serious in the digital marketing space but they don’t know how to do it.
2. Sales is flattening and they need ideas on how to generate more leads with marketing
3. Sales is flattening and they want to generate more leads with their inbound marketing
1. Not sure they can trust you2. I don’t have the time to do more marketing3. Hiring you will make me look as if I don’t know
my job
CostAre you the right type of person they like to work with?Will you make their daily work easier?Will you make them look good?Can you deliver the results/leads they need?
Persona Name
What are the 3 main triggers to buy your product/solution/service?
What concerns prevent this buyer from purchasing from you?
What does the buyer evaluate before they make a decision
7Buyer Persona Template Job & Career Cont.
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