CREATING A CUSTOMER PROFILE OR

PERSONA
THE PROCESS OF CREATING EITHER A CUSTOMER PROFILE OR CUSTOMER
PERSONA WILL HELP YOU TO CLEARLY DEFINE YOUR CUSTOMER’S NEEDS BY
UNDERSTANDING THEIR BUYING PATTERNS (WHAT, HOW AND WHERE THEY
BUY) AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEIR MOTIVATIONS FOR BUYING. YOUR
CUSTOMERS SHOULD BE THE DRIVER BEHIND EVERY MARKETING DECISION
IN YOUR BUSINESS.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN A CUSTOMER PROFILE
AND A CUSTOMER PERSONA?
•A CUSTOMER PROFILE IS A BASIC HIGH-
LEVEL DESCRIPTION OF YOUR IDEAL
CUSTOMERS
•A CUSTOMER PERSONA IS A FICTIONAL
CUSTOMER (WITH A PHOTO, NAME,
PERSONALITY ETC.) THAT REPRESENTS THE
COMMON TRAITS OF YOUR IDEAL
CUSTOMERS.
DEVELOPING A PERSONA
DEVELOP A PICTURE OF YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER:

•WHO ARE YOU ALREADY APPEALING TO?

•WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE CUSTOMERS?
•WHO IS USING YOUR SERVICES THE MOST?
WHEN YOU HAVE ANSWERED THESE QUESTIONS,
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER IN DETAIL
INCLUDING WHAT THEY WEAR, WHAT THEIR HOBBIES
ARE AND WHAT CONCERNS THEM. THIS WILL HELP TO
SHAPE A VOICE FOR YOUR AVATAR THAT YOU USE FOR
YOUR MARKETING ACTIVITIES.
FLESH OUT AND REFINE

•TO FLESH OUT AND REFINE YOUR INITIAL ASSESSMENT, EXAMINE

THE MARKET RESEARCH INFORMATION YOU HAVE GATHERED AND
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
•WHO ARE YOUR TARGET CUSTOMERS AND HOW DO THEY BEHAVE?
•WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHICS OF YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER? (SUCH AS AGE, SOCIAL STATUS,
EDUCATION AND GENDER)
•WHAT ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS’ LIFESTYLES, ACTIVITIES, VALUES, NEEDS, INTERESTS OR OPINIONS?
•WHERE ARE THEY LOCATED? WHAT TYPE OF ENVIRONMENT DO THEY LIVE IN?
•WHAT ARE THE KEY PHRASES OR QUOTES THAT THEY WOULD USE TO DESCRIBE THEIR PROBLEMS
PROBLEMS (THAT YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE WILL REMEDY)?
DOING MARKET RESEARCH WILL HELP YOU
REFINE YOUR CUSTOMER PERSONA AND
GIVE IT A PERSONALITY TO HELP YOU START
CREATING MARKETING MESSAGES.
HOW CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION CAN HELP
• MARKET SEGMENTS ARE GROUPS OF CUSTOMERS WHO SHARE SIMILAR ATTRIBUTES
AND ATTITUDES. SEGMENTS CAN BE DEFINED BY: LOCATION, GENDER, INDUSTRY, ETHNIC
IDENTITY, ATTITUDES (E.G. ADVENTURE SEEKERS) AND ATTRIBUTES (E.G. LUXURY CAR
OWNERS).
• WHEN YOU TARGET A WELL-DEFINED SEGMENT OF YOUR CUSTOMERS IT'S EASIER TO
REFINE YOUR MARKETING MESSAGE AND YOUR BRAND SO THAT YOU'RE SPEAKING TO
THEM DIRECTLY. THIS RESULTS IN MORE TARGETED PROMOTION AND EFFICIENT
MARKETING.
• THE WAY YOU SEGMENT YOUR MARKET DEPENDS ON THE TYPE OF BUSINESS YOU RUN.
HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE YOUR OFFERING?
HAVING REFINED YOUR CUSTOMER PERSONA, YOU CAN NOW
TAILOR YOUR MARKETING MESSAGES SO THAT THEY SPEAK IN A
VOICE YOUR PERSONA CAN RELATE TO AND REFLECTS THEIR
DESIRES OR CONCERNS. HAVING A PERSONA ALSO MAKES IT
EASIER TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS AROUND YOUR CUSTOMER
AND WHAT THEY REALLY WANT, NOT WHAT YOU THINK THEY WANT,
WITH THE ABILITY TO MAKE DECISIONS RELATING TO:
•HOW AND WHERE TO ADVERTISE
•WHAT CHANNELS OR MEDIUMS YOU
SHOULD BE USING
•WHAT VOCABULARY TO USE.
FIVE SIMPLE STEPS TO CREATING AN IDEAL
CUSTOMER PROFILE
EVERYONE KNOWS YOU NEED A TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL MARKETING
STRATEGY IN ORDER TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS. BEFORE YOU
DECIDE HOW TO MARKET TO POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS, MAKE SURE YOU FIRST
TAKE THE TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHO YOU'RE MARKETING TO. DON’T NEGLECT
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF MARKETING: DEFINING YOUR
IDEAL CUSTOMER.
FOLLOW THESE 5 SIMPLE STEPS TO LEARN
MORE ABOUT YOUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS,
DESCRIBE YOUR CUSTOMERS
•DEMOGRAPHICS – THEIR AGE, GENDER, INCOME, ETC.
•PSYCHOGRAPHICS – THEIR PERSONALITY TYPE, PREFERENCES, ETC.
•BEHAVIOR – THEIR SIMILAR LIKES AND DISLIKES, SPORTS, HOBBIES, ETC.
B2B COMPANIES SHOULD ALSO NOTE CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUR IDEAL BUSINESSES TO WORK WITH,
INCLUDING:
•# OF EMPLOYEES
•REVENUE
•GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE
•TYPE OF BUSINESS
•DECISION-MAKING
•BUDGET
LOCATE YOUR CUSTOMERS
FIND THE PLACES YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE ATTRACTED TO, WHETHER A
PHYSICAL LOCATION OR A CYBER SPACE WHERE THEY GATHER.
•WHERE DO THEY HANG OUT?
•WHAT DO THEY READ? BOTH ONLINE AND OFFLINE?
•WHAT DO THEY SEARCH FOR ONLINE?
REVIEW THE NEEDS AND BENEFITS THAT
MAKE YOUR CUSTOMERS PURCHASE YOUR
PRODUCT OR SERVICE.
•WHERE DO THEY BEGIN THEIR RESEARCH?

•WHAT IS THEIR PROBLEM OR NEED?

•WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO FINDING A SOLUTION?
CONNECT WITH CURRENT CUSTOMERS
REACH OUT TO YOUR CURRENT IDEAL CUSTOMERS TO GAIN ADDITIONAL INSIGHT INTO WHAT MADE THEM
SELECT YOUR BUSINESS OVER OTHERS. CONDUCT INTERVIEWS, FORMALLY OR INFORMALLY, AND ASK THEM:
•HOW DID YOU ORIGINALLY FIND OUR COMPANY BEFORE CONTACTING US?
•WHY DID YOU ORIGINALLY BUY FROM OUR COMPANY?
•WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO BUY FROM OUR COMPANY?
•WHAT DO WE DO THAT OTHERS DON’T?
CREATE CLIENT PROFILES (PERSONAS)
CREATE PROFILES THAT DESCRIBE SPECIFIC SEGMENTS OF YOUR CURRENT CLIENTS. ENSURE THAT THE
PROFILES ARE TANGIBLE, SO THAT YOU CAN ENVISION THIS PERSON AND WHAT WOULD MOTIVATE THEM TO
FIND YOUR BUSINESS.
•DESCRIBE YOUR CLIENTS IN WRITTEN PROFILES, CALLED PERSONAS
•CREATE A SPECIFIC PERSONA FOR EACH IDENTIFIABLE CLIENT GROUP AND NAME THEM
•INCLUDE IMAGES OF IDEAL CLIENTS, EITHER REAL OR A HYPOTHETICAL INDIVIDUAL
CREATING A STRATEGY WITH THESE IDEAL CUSTOMERS IN MIND
WILL HELP YOU AVOID WASTING TIME AND RESOURCES ON
UNSUCCESSFUL MARKETING EFFORTS. THROUGH FOCUSED AND
MORE CONSISTENT MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS, YOU’LL BE
ABLE TO BETTER REACH THE NEW CUSTOMERS YOU NEED TO TAKE
YOUR BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL.