Script below:
For this episode we will answer the following question:
How well do I need to know my Buyer Persona?
Before we get into this question, let’s go over what exactly a buyer persona is. Financial service firms today have no problem brainstorming and carrying out marketing campaigns, whether it be through email lists, blogging, or social media, but often don’t really have a clear idea of who these campaigns are for.
It may be silly to think about how can you even run a marketing campaign without knowing who to target? However, while firms may have a general idea of who would benefit from their services, many do not take the time to think about the specific, unique traits that their ideal customer would have so that they can tailor their communications to truly resonate with them.
This is where a buyer persona comes into play. A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your firm’s ideal customer based on real data from your actual clients and from market research. It is not a vague idea left off in the distance, but a realistic, specific outline of who would be a good fit for your firm. A buyer persona has a name and they have unique characteristics, goals and challenges which your firm needs to think about.
If you want to improve your marketing initiatives and develop a greater understanding of who your firm’s buyer persona is, here are 5 key questions you should ask yourself:
Assigning a name, and even a face, will help make your buyer persona more tangible and easy to recall. And from then on, you can use this name when planning your next marketing campaign to easily remember and associate all the characteristics that you’re targeting.
Ask yourself what is their predominant gender, age range, income, how many kids do they have, etc.?
After defining their general demographics, what specifically makes your buyer persona unique from all the other customers out there? How would you describe their demeanor? Are they someone calm? Always on the go? How about their communications preference? Do they respond better by email or phone calls? How do they best enjoy consuming content?
You want to make sure that your firm cares about the same things as your ideal customer. Understanding their goals will allow your firm and its marketing campaigns to be as helpful and relevant as you possibly can.
Identifying the challenges your buyer persona faces in both work and life will help form the foundation of what content you write so that it best addresses their pain-points and needs.
That is all for this episode, if you have any questions that you would like us to answer related to marketing in the financial service world, please email us at podcast@bethinkmarketing.com