The impact of a well-researched and fully developed buyer persona cannot be overstated. Making sure that every department — from product development to sales to marketing to customer service — knows the buyer inside and out is crucial to a company’s long-term success. When considering the significant investment that can come with digital advertising, it is important to have buyer personas well-defined as a starting point before developing your advertising strategies. Without knowing who you are trying to reach, it is nearly impossible to figure out how to reach them. This can result in lots of wasted spend, lost customer trust, and missed opportunities, all impacting your bottom line.
You have to spend money to make money
We’ve all heard that old saying that you need to spend money to make money. While this is true for any business, the key is that you have to wisely spend money to make money. It is estimated that nearly 60% of the world’s population has access to the internet, and that number jumps to nearly 87% for developed countries. Even the world’s largest companies don’t try to reach all of those users, and why would they want to? There is no single product that is perfect for every person in the world. Companies that don’t tailor their digital advertising to fit their audience soon find that they are out of marketing dollars without generating enough revenue to make up the difference.
An important concept for any successful marketing strategy is that you must reach your customers where they are. We have discussed this before and for good reason. Without a clear picture of where to reach your target audience, you might as well be shouting your well-tailored marketing message from the top of Mount Everest. Each time I consider which marketing channels to recommend to a client, I ask myself if that is where their audience is. LinkedIn may be the right platform for a B2B company, but only if that is where their users spend their time and gather information on potential new products & partnerships for their company. A user may interact with businesses on LinkedIn, but only for job or networking opportunities, thus resulting in clicks (and spend) on ads but not generating any revenue. In that case, a different platform will be more cost-effective.
Another way to avoid wasted spend is by knowing when your target audience is open to your message. Are you trying to market your high-end consumer product to working professionals during business hours? Or your B2B service when your audience is in weekend mode? Telemarketers have a bad reputation for a reason; no one wants to be sold to while they are enjoying their family time. This is why many marketing platforms allow marketers to choose which days and times of day to display their ads. With an expert-knowledge of who your customer is, you will know when exactly when she will be open to your message.
One-Size-Fits-All Never Really Fits All
Having a laser-sharp focus on your audience (or audiences) can help you make smart decisions on the types of messages you craft. What problem does your product or service seek to solve for your customers? Is this a problem that your audience is already aware of or do they not know of the problem yet? A new company is going to need to create demand for its products by first informing its audiences of the problem, then explaining how their product can solve it for them(and better than anything already on the market). A well-established brand, on the other hand, may only need to continually exhibit why it is better than a competitor. No matter where your company falls on that spectrum, a buyer persona can help you understand your customers’ pain points so you can address them in your advertising messages.
When you picture your product being used, is it only by one narrow demographic? Chances are, your product is used by a wide range of audiences and they all find that it solves different problems. Your audience may consist of both working-moms and jet-setters, but the same message that speaks to your working mom audience will fall flat with jet-setters. Expertly crafted buyer personas can help define your distinct markets, identify each buyer’s pain points, and address them in a personalized way.
All of this work to get to know your audiences serves to build trust with them. When a buyer feels that his/her needs are understood and addressed by a business, marketing suddenly becomes less about going out and finding your customers, and more about building and retaining loyal brand ambassadors. Maintaining a passionate audience is much cheaper than finding a brand new audience. They seek you out when they want to purchase, share their experiences with friends and family, and are more open to your messages.
Never Miss an Opportunity
So you’ve got the right message to the right people at the right time in the right places. Now what? Just like everything else in the digital marketing world, the work is never done. After all this work, it is time to listen and learn some more. What are your customers saying about your product and company? Can your targeting or messaging be refined? Are there new opportunities you didn’t consider?
With the proliferation of social media, people are quick to let you know what they think of your products. The good, the bad, and everything in between. Maybe there is a design flaw that you never considered, but it really irritates your customers. Or maybe there is a barrier to purchase that you already have a solution for, but your customers don’t know about it. Sometimes they even surprise you by using your product in a way that you never expected. All of these are great opportunities for you to expand your marketing efforts and better connect with your customers. Sometimes these exercises can even help you to develop your next product that your (already loyal) customers will be ready to jump on!z
The Bottom Line
Taking the time up-front to fully understand your distinct audiences makes a big impact on your bottom line. When a digital marketing plan is developed and executed around audience personas, your customers will enjoy a more seamless experience with your brand, move down the purchase funnel faster, and purchase at higher rates. With less of your precious marketing budget spent on ineffective ad channels and messages and more revenue coming in, this all adds up to a higher Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
That’s why we love what we do here at E-Power Marketing. We take the time to really understand your customers, diving deep into who they are and what is important to them so that we can better help you connect with them to grow your business.
