--- title: Quick Guide To Buyer Personas description: As an essential tool in any marketing strategy today, buyer personas cannot be missing from a strategic document, whether it's about product launches, communica image: /hubfs/blog-images/pexels-cottonbro-8088493-scaled.jpg#keepProtocol --- [Marketing](https://blog.talentgarden.com/en/blog/tag/marketing) 7 min read # Quick Guide To Buyer Personas Written by ![Talent Garden](https://blog.talentgarden.com/hubfs/logo-tag-blog.png) [Talent Garden](https://blog.talentgarden.com/en/blog/marketing/quick-guide-to-buyer-personas#) ![](https://blog.talentgarden.com/hubfs/blog-images/pexels-cottonbro-8088493-scaled.jpg) Share on ![](https://blog.talentgarden.com/hubfs/blog-images/pexels-cottonbro-8088493-scaled.jpg) Don't you want to read? Try listening to the article in audio mode 🎧 As an essential tool in any marketing strategy today, ***buyer personas*** cannot be missing from a **strategic document**, whether it's about product launches, communication campaigns or digital strategies.  Unlike classic brand analysis tools (such as charts, positioning maps, SWOT analysis and so on), *buyer personas* have a unique charm, because they describe **real people** - consumers who have the appearance of being our peers, detaching themselves from the cold and mathematical world of data analysis. This subtle **psychological component** of the *personas* (and therefore difficult to trace back to certain parameters) is the reason why sometimes a few questions reappear in our thoughts to which (until now) we were not able to give a clear answer: **what are *****buyer personas***** really**, and why are they so important? But above all, **how to build a *****buyer persona*** without it being a purely stylistic exercise? With this quick guide we figure out where they come from, what their usefulness is in marketing and communications strategy, and how to build them in a way that makes them actually useful. ## Personas were not born yesterday One of the ways to better understand what *buyer personas* are - and what they're for - is to understand where they come from. To do this we have to call into question a pioneer of software development in the 1980s: **Alan Cooper**. He is the one who, for the first time, used the term "***user personas***" to define profiles of typical users of his software, identified from focus groups, with the aim of deepening the interactions they had with his products and improving their interface. In the '90s, the development of **new digital tools** opened the possibility for marketers to **segment the target audience** in a detailed way, optimizing investments.  From being a tool for user experience analysis, *personas*, with their richness of detail, became **fundamental for marketing and communication** and *buyer/customer personas* and *target personas* were born. We'll now delve into the (important!) differences between them. ## What are buyer personas for? Another opaque issue related to *buyer personas* is their true usefulness. Without a clear idea of **why to create them**, the result could be a bunch of ineffective - and sometimes counterproductive - information. Let's start with the obvious: *buyer personas* are not a tool for identifying your target audience. Instead, they are a very specific tool, with the purpose of **exploring the behaviors of a typical subject** who is part of the target, but who does not represent it as a whole. The richness of details and the human component of the *personas* make them true **insight generators** that help us empathize with the target and think like it. This is why the purpose of creating *buyer personas* is closely linked to the themes you want to investigate. Some examples are: - What **purchase ****behaviours** does the target have on a specific occasion, or on a typical day? - What elements **influence** their choices? - Who is able to influence them? What is the **relationship** between customer and influencer? - What **problems** might arise in the customer journey? - How does the user deal with problems? **How does he react**? - What **media** is the customer usually exposed to? Are there any particularly effective media? - What **cultural context** do these people live in? Are they a part of any niche? - What is their **personality** and history? The amount of information you want to investigate may be limited or very large, thus resulting in greater or lesser specificity of the *personas* profile. ## What do I need to create buyer personas? Earlier we said that *personas* are not a tool for identifying the target. This is because their construction is the last (and not the first) step of a path, preceded by other **fundamental steps** to achieve a meaningful result. Let's see which ones. - The first thing to clarify is the **target**, defined by **socio-demographic parameters** identified through the research and analysis of data.  - Good practice is then to segment this target by dividing it into **clusters**, that is, groups of people who share specific traits, such as belonging to a certain cultural or social niche, or sharing the same problem, need, desire. Clusters are often identified by terms that highlight the **common traits of all subjects**, such as "*fashion-addicted*" or "*sneakerheads*". - Once the clusters are identified, it will feel natural to associate them with specific individuals. This is good, because it means that the clusters are well differentiated, but before building the *personas* we need to do another fundamental step. Depending on our needs, it's important that personas are built from **quantitative data** (surveys, market research, analytics) and/or **qualitative data** (focus groups, one-on-one interviews). This increases the likelihood of creating effective profiles, **avoiding cognitive biases** as much as possible. - Analyze the data, organize it and select the most relevant ones: now you are ready to **create your *****personas***. ## Personas starter pack: what must be included As we have already seen, the construction of the *personas* depends on the theme we want to explore: it can be one or many. In any case, there are some **must-haves** that are usually encountered in most cases. **Name and photo** The very first element of a *persona* is just what differentiates it and makes it human. Giving our *persona* a name and a face will help us refer to it as a **real individual** and remember it easily. After all, we are genetically inclined to identify our fellows by recognizing their somatic features. **Socio-demographic data** Age, gender, education level, employment status, income and residence. All these data, in the form of a list, allow us to frame the *persona* at a glance within the **target audience**. **Short bio or typical day** This is a more or less **detailed description of the subject**, often focused on behaviors that have to do with the product or service for which the research is carried out. Depending on the case, it might be more relevant to tell about his background or his typical day. **Customer Journey** The customer journey, that is, the "path" that leads the consumer from the first interaction with the brand/product/service to the purchase (and beyond), is an analysis tool that can also be unrelated to the *buyer persona*, but if integrated with it can give rise to very helpful **insights**. By mixing a typical customer journey with a *persona*, it's possible to analyze her **feelings** along the way, her **concerns**, the **obstacles** she needs to solve and what gives her relief. **Influencers** No, we don't mean Chiara Ferragni. Influencers are all those individuals, part of the *persona*'s life, who are able to **influence her choices**. It can be a partner, a work colleague, a child or the sales staff of a store. There is no such thing as a persona without its context, which is why it is important to analyze it. **Media exposure** What media is the *persona* exposed to? What **social media** does he or she use? What **newspapers** does he/she read? Does he/she watch **TV**? And in what **time slots**? What are his/her **favorite shows**? Of course, let's not forget **OOH** (out of home) media such as billboards, and anything else that can convey a message in general (from **events**, to branded landmarks, to the aisles of a supermarket). Understanding our *persona*'s media exposure allows us to identify the best ways to communicate with them. **Quote** Last but not least, a quote of what the persona would say about a particular aspect of their customer journey, character or habits. This allows us to spot that **person's trait** at a glance when our *personas* are getting numerous. **Personas are not only “buyers”** The term "*buyer personas*" suggests that the personas are necessarily those to whom we want to sell our product/service. As we've seen, however, *personas* live within a context, and in **relationship with other individuals** who influence their choices. Let's take an example. Marco is a family man, and together with Elisa, his wife, he has an 8-year-old son, Giacomino. The end of the school year is approaching and the parents want to give Giacomino a present. The father sets out to find and purchase the gift, and begins to gather information. Of course, as Elisa is involved in her son's education, she also wants to have a say in the choice of the gift. For example, she would like to avoid gifting the bb gun that Marco likes so much. In addition, the two of them will also choose the gift based on Giacomino's age and inclinations, so they will definitely avoid buying a 1000-piece puzzle or a crossword book. In this situation, there are **three different** types of subjects: the buyer (Marco), the influencer (Elisa), and the actual user (Giacomino). All of them contribute - directly or indirectly - to the final purchase, and a good marketing strategy must take all of them into account. If we are dealing with product development, the reference *personas* will be the actual users, like Giacomino (***user personas***). If we are dealing with branding and communication we must take into account all those who can influence choices, such as Elisa (***target personas***). If at last we are thinking of a tactical marketing action (like a discount operation) our reference will be the actual potential buyers, like Marco (***buyer personas***). Be careful: these *personas* do not compartmentalize! They influence each other and are further influenced by other people. That's why, for a good marketing strategy, you should always **develop *****personas***** of all types**, so that you have a complete picture of the situation. ## Conclusion In short, the world of *personas* is much deeper and more complex than a couple of profile images and a rough description. **Data research and analysis, sensitivity to the target audience, clear objectives**: this is what it takes to build *personas* that are truly useful for our marketing strategies (digital or not). Once these elements are understood, the construction will come by itself, without necessarily using a predefined template. Finally, a tip to make sure that the *personas* you create don't fall into disuse: **make them live**. Mention them (by name) during meetings with your colleagues, brainstorms, and conversations with clients. *Personas* are a "slow" tool: the longer they live, the more they develop a distinct identity that can lead to interesting ***insights***. Article updated on: **09 August 2023** ![Talent Garden](https://blog.talentgarden.com/hubfs/logo-tag-blog.png) Written by Talent Garden, Digital Skills Academy ### Subscribe to our newsletter Subscribe to the newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest digital industry news and trends ### Keep reading ![](https://blog.talentgarden.com/hubfs/blog-images/corporate-management-strategy-solution-branding-concept_53876-121525.webp) 6 min read ### Digital PR: what it is and why it is important in a Marketing strategy Digital PR are online marketing strategies that companies can benefit from in order to increase their online presence, ... 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