One of the most critical needs of every business BEFORE they start a marketing plan is a well defined persona.  Without it you are guessing in the dark.  Your potential clients becomes anyone and everyone.  You grasp for whatever person will buy your product or service.  Never being truly satisfied with the business you dreamed of.  Sound familiar?  One of the biggest blank stares I get from clients when we start working together is on this topic.  A good business, great products and services, a fantastic staff and a hodge podge marketing plan (or lack thereof) can take a good business and cause them to fall apart….and quickly.

So what will a persona do for your business?  Simplify every decision you make from what products to have on the shelf to how you market to get customers in the door.  Everything comes back to would “Kate” want this, be interested in this, consume this, or interact with “this” as it relates to your business. Seems logical doesn’t it?

Imagine for a a retailer next time you go to market youre buying process is faster because you are personalizing your ideal customer.  It’s as if you are shopping for one person, not the mass of potential clients you could have.  For the non profit, your donor target becomes clearly identifiable and the clients you serve also clearly recognized.  Imagine your marketing efforts going forward.  You craft a singular message to your potential clients and one to your donor.  Then you look for key marketing pieces where they can meet in the middle.

But what about large-scale industries and business to business?  Does this apply to that audience as well?  Doesn’t everyone need insurance?  Banking? Cars?  Realtor? And so on?…  Absolutely. 100% it applies to these industries as well.  You might find yourself with 1-2 or no more than 3 target clients you generate a persona from depending on your business, industry, where you are at as a company and other factors we uncover in our discovery process.

Identifying your persona(s) is a fun process that will help rally your entire company around a common language and goal of what you are working towards and who you are serving.

So….what’s your businesses persona?