We know, we know…it seems all too obvious to say this but, understanding your target personas is absolutely key to your brand’s success. You’d be surprised how many people skip over this vital part of the market research and branding process and are surprised when they fail.
You started your business because you saw a need that your product or service fulfills, right? That’s the first part of the formula here. The second part is knowing who your audience is and how to best approach them.
Don’t Cut Corners
When thinking about who the buyer personas that make up your audience are, don’t just make assumptions. Be sure to do the necessary research to uncover and understand your ideal customers on a deeper level before making any further moves.
You cannot create visuals or an identity for your company without this step. Otherwise, you risk being tone-deaf or too obscure. You need to know exactly who your audience is in order to connect with them. This is especially important now that buyers are more careful about where they spend their money.
Where do I start?
Maybe you are wondering to yourself “okay but where do I start?”, don’t worry, WePropagate’s got you covered!
Throughout our marketing research process, we dive into who your audience is and sift every corner of the internet to uncover necessary information for you. We don’t stop at just name, age, income, and location. While that data can be helpful, nothing matches doing in-depth research about the exact people you want to reach. It’s important to sit down and imagine exactly who your personas are. What makes them tick, what do they do in their off hours, and what are their values? What is their favorite brand and why? The more questions you ask, the better. This helps create the framework for your brand’s success.
Don’t make the mistake of skipping this step: Keep in mind that these days, it’s about how your brand fits into the buyer’s lifestyle. That’s why it is so crucial to speak with your customers (if available) about their interests. Get as much information from them as possible, including the bad and the ugly. If you know certain designs make your customers upset or that they don’t resonate well, you are saving yourself precious time and money by acquiring that knowledge. If all of your clients hate the color orange, then you know to steer clear of that color. Imagine the headache and potential loss of business you will avoid!
We can’t stress enough how important it is to talk with real people and get their feedback. It will undoubtedly help you further understand how to approach your audience and make them feel understood, represented, and convert them into happy customers.
Types of questions to ask your clients:
- Name
- Age
- Location
- Highest Level of Education
- Job Title
- Responsibilities
- Hobbies
- Goals and Objectives
- Biggest Challenges
- Motivations
- How our product helps them/Purchase Drivers
Set Yourself Up For Success
It is important to note that not all of your findings need to be completely based on your research. You will see that in doing a deep dive on your personas (we recommend creating at least three), you will begin to know and understand them well enough to make fundamental assumptions about them (based on your research). The main takeaway here is that your buyer personas cannot be based on data points and stats alone, otherwise they will miss the mark.
Doing the necessary legwork this early on will save time and money in the long run. Doing your market research correctly will lessen the need for potentially reworking the design strategy since it will be well received.
Remember, the more buyer persona research that you do, the less risk you are taking with a brand launch! If you need help with branding personas, shoot us a message!
