How to Unlock Insights Into Buyer Personas For More Targeted Marketing

No matter what the future of marketing holds, one thing will remain consistent: the importance of knowing your target audience. Not every product or every solution is intended for everyone. Choices are important, and consumers want to feel in control of their purchase behaviors. Even if a company dominates the space, there will be other viable competitors. A classic example is Apple whose products are entrenched in many people’s lives; however, there will always be consumers desiring alternatives from Samsung and Google.

That said, understanding your target audience has come a long way from guessing and assuming what your core demographic would like. Companies assumed that if one product flew off the shelves, then another similar one would as well. Unfortunately, this speculating method isn’t always successful. Candy Corn Oreos may have sounded like a festive idea for Nabisco, but combining it with a classic cookie staple didn’t pan out. Today, data is essential for understanding your demographic, and thanks to technological advances you don’t need to rely on presumptions. 

But as the cookieless future becomes the cookieless present, marketers are relying more on first party data and AI technology. Both of these solutions are privacy-first alternatives that still allow for niche audience targeting. Yet another alternative marketers should consider are predictive models of behavior, like predictive audiences. With this tactic, you can assume a consumer will be a viable lead based on their prior search and purchaser behavior.  

What is a Buyer Persona? 

Before diving into your core demographic’s needs, it’s important to discern what is meant by a buyer persona. Simply put, a buyer persona is a representation of your ideal customer. A persona goes beyond their age, race, and gender, incorporating things like their internal motivators and interests. By having a sense of what is driving them and how they are motivated, you can meet and exceed their needs with your offerings. 

Buyer personas are essential for targeted content creation and product development. Additionally, having a true understanding of your buyer personas can enhance the brand-customer relationship, leading to loyal customers. And, of course, having loyal customers is the end goal for most companies. Now that you have a grasp on buyer personas, here are some ways you can unlock insights to level up your marketing efforts. 

1. Site Analytics 

Who is going to your site should be one of the first places you look when it comes to obtaining insights. After all, your website is one of the first places a new customer will go. It’s a destination for individuals to learn who you are, what you are about, and what you offer. The average time spent on a site is just 53 seconds! So, capturing your audience’s attention from the get-go is important.

Your site’s analytics provide valuable demographic and behavioral data, both of which are key to knowing your buyer persona. These analytics can reveal everything from an individual’s gender to their location. With this data, you can obtain information on their interests and other preferences. You will also see which of your site’s pages receives the longest session duration and the browser history for how users are finding your site. Having this information can help you better understand your user’s inclinations and goals. 

2. Social Media Insights

If a user doesn’t land on your website first, then there is a high likelihood that they will discover you on one of your social media platforms. Your brand’s social presence is an important marketing tool. Consistent branding, engaged followers, and regularly scheduled posts are key aspects of maintaining a strong social presence. By monitoring your social media platforms, you can begin to obtain data based on your followers. 

Again, analyzing this data is a way to acquire insights on their demographic and behavioral interests. But a bonus with social media is that you can also gather real-time feedback and testimonials. That’s why it’s important for all brands to read comments and engage with their users. You may, for instance, learn more about what features they are hoping for, which can inform product development. 

3. Surveys

In addition to reading and responding to social media comments, another way to go deeper on hearing from your customers is through surveys. Administering surveys will provide you with a comprehensive overview of their wants, needs, motivators, and goals. Online surveys are a tool many brands use to guide their future business decisions, including new product launches.

When conducting customer surveys, be sure the questions you ask cover a variety of topics to unveil your buyer personas. This includes basic demographic information as well as purchase behavior, marketplace challenges, and decision-making criteria. Your survey sample size will depend on your business goals and objectives, however aiming for 500 to 1,000 responses is often recommended.  

Conclusion

Unlocking insights into your buyer personas can transform how you conduct business. Rather than going on gut instinct, you will be more sure in your decisions. You will be able to adopt comprehensive marketing strategies that are successful from the start, thereby providing a better ROI. Through site analytics, social media insights, and customer surveys, you can get a leg up on your competition by making more informed marketing decisions.