“It has never been easier to get into business. Consequently, it has never been harder to get word out about YOUR business,” says
Shelli Nurcombe-Thorne, head of strategy at Parenthesis.
Nurcombe-Thorne was speaking to an audience of entrepreneurs during her marketing Masterclass at #Leaderex2017, held at the Sandton Convention Centre earlier this week.
“Stop telling people why they need to buy your product or service. Instead, find out who you are dealing with, and what problem they need help solving.
So how do you make your product or service stand out from the clutter without spending vast amounts of money or resorting to a “spray and pray” approach?
Nurcombe-Thorne says every business owner needs to create ‘Buyer Personas’ – THEN create engaging content and campaigns that attracts them to YOU.
“Help them find you, so you can help solve their problem.”
What Is A Buyer Persona? It is a semi-fictitious representation of your ideal customer. In other words:
- Who is it you are talking to/would like to talk to?
- Where do they hang out? What are their “watering holes”?
- What gets them up in the morning?
- What keeps them awake at night?
Only have an HOUR to spare? We take you through Nurcombe-Thorne’s ‘Buyer Persona’ Masterclass.
At The End Of The Masterclass You Will Know How To …
- Identify your audience
- Isolate and recognize their problems and how you can solve them
- Create a Buyer Persona
- Implement effective customer journeys and/or communication strategies that drive revenue and growth
Follow the 4-step plan and DOWNLOAD the template to get started.
1. RESEARCH
Find out who your customers are. Ask the following:
Your Sales Team – who is currently buying from you?
Your Social Media Team – who is engaging with the brand on a regular basis?
Your Advertising/Marketing – who is talking about you and why? Who is responding to current campaigns?
2. IDENTIFY
Identify natural groups of people, and give each client group a name. Create a Buyer Persona for each client group.
For example:
- CTO Dave
- Entrepreneur Mike
- Business Development Manager Kevin
- Business Owner Allison
- Product Owner Kate
- Technology Manager Pete
NB: HOW? Use LinkedIn, chat to your clients, ask your friends. Remember, you must interview multiple people who represent each persona. Don’t base your Buyer Persona on one person.
3. COMPILE YOUR FINDINGS AND USE THEM TO INFORM STRATEGY
Communicate your findings with your team and how they need to change how they do business.
- The Sales Team – The Buyers Persona will affect how they contact and interact with each persona
- Marketing/Communications/Digital – They will have to ensure all campaigns are aligned with at least one Buyer Persona. Question whether each campaign addresses their problems and specifies how you can solve them.
- Inbound Marketing – Will have to create content that attracts your ideal customers/Buyer Personas to your brand.
4. DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATE
See how it’s done. Follow this example of ‘Entrepreneur Mike’
