A Buyer Persona is a segment of customers or prospects that share similar demographics and interests.

The idea behind creating a buyer persona is to understand the wants and needs of a common group of people. Once you understand what's important to any particular customer group, you stand a much better chance of communicating to them.

One of the most famous personas of all time is the Soccer Mom. The Soccer Mom profile is that of the middle to upper-class suburban mom who devotes her life to her children. She frantically runs her kids from one event to the next in an oversized SUV, gets into car accidents because she's constantly on the cell phone, and has a husband who's a high-profile executive working 12 hours a day.

Or how about the NASCAR Dad? He's the middle-aged working class guy who drinks Pabst Blue Ribbon (or maybe it's Schlitz) and loves spending the weekends in front of the TV watching NASCAR racing (and football & professional wrestling too.)

While the Soccer Mom and NASCAR Dad may seem almost cartoonish, keep in mind that they were specifically marketed to by both the Republicans and the Democrats in past elections.

Important Note

Nothing will cut into your profits faster than sending the right message to the wrong person. As a small business owner, it is important that you understand all your buyer personas. Only then will you have a chance at communicating a message that builds trust and solves a particular need - a need that is important to that particular persona.

You may find your business only has a couple of buyer personas or you may find you have a dozen or so. The quantity is not important. What is important is your ability to define them clearly.

The key to defining your buyer personas is to look at your customer data and find ways to group common characteristics. Pull up your favorite word processing program and start writing short biographies on your customer personas. Break your customers down into well defined buying categories as best you can. You don't have to be perfect here, just do the best job with the current data you have. Buyer persona profiles can contain age, gender, income level, occupation, education level, hobbies, and anything else you can think of.

If you're a B-to-B company, then it may make better sense for you to create corporate personas instead of buyer personas. A corporate persona can segment based on industry, number of employees, revenue levels, and any other characteristic that applies to your business.

You know your customers better than anyone so add any characteristic that you feel belongs in a particular persona. In a way, you are writing a type of fictional biography since the persona is not based on any single person, but a group of people with common characteristics. For this reason, give your persona categories names (see the example below) and have fun writing them!

After you have defined your various personas, you will update them as you learn more information about your customers. This can be done by using surveys, focus groups, or simply by talking with customers in person or via email. You might be surprised what people tell you when you simply ask.

Creating buyer personas allows you to understand how your business can deliver on the needs and wants of ALL your customers. Your customers aren't looking for your products - they are looking for solutions. By defining a buyer persona, you can work to understand what that persona's problem is and then match your marketing message to solve that problem.

Buyer Persona Examples

My website is devoted to existing small business owners and people that are interested in starting a small business. Here's a couple of buyer persona examples that I have in my business plan. Notice that I've given my persona a title and have described them in as much detail as possible. In addition, as I speak to more of my customers, I will edit and add to my personas in order to keep them accurate and up to date.

The Unhappy Subordinate The Unhappy Subordinate is a mid-level employee that typically sits in a small cubicle. They are 30-40 years of age and have been successful in their jobs, but are itching to be their own boss. They typically have children and that makes them hesitant to leave in order to strike it out on their own. They are tired of having to structure their lives around a 9-5 job but don't necessarily have the resources to make any type of change. They are leery of all the Get-Rich-Quick websites they find but can't stop reading them, often while they are at work. The Unhappy Subordinate would love to start their own Internet business, but the the financial security of their current job keeps them a slave to the corporate world.

The Local Business Owner The Local Business Owner has a small business storefront in their community that does well. They are relatively happy with their earnings but have this nagging feeling that business could be double what it is now. They feel that they could market their business more but are reluctant to spend lots of money on direct mail. While they currently have a website, it is more of a static entity rather than a proactive tool in growing their business. They would love to start a comprehensive marketing program but need to be assured that their investment would produce the required results.

In the above two examples, do you see how I might change my marketing message depending on whether I was communicating to The Unhappy Subordinate as opposed to The Local Business Owner? My call to action may be the same but the message would be very different.

Remember, once you have identified your buyer personas, your job is only half finished. Now you have to create a compelling message for each of them - a message that will provide a solution to their particular problem. Try it - you'll be amazed with the results!

The Buyer Persona

Important Note

Buyer Persona Examples