subject: Create Accurate Customer Personas and Enjoy More Sales [print this page] Do you remember the cliques in your high school such as the "jocks," the "nerds," and the "geeks?" These groups were tied together by their common interests, the activities they participated in and most importantly, the things that were most important to them. Although you probably didn't use the term then, each clique had a different "persona."
During the last election, we often heard the terms "soccer moms" and "Joe the plumber." These are personas as well and campaign managers addressed each one in particular on the campaign trail.
As the owner of an online business, it's very important that you create your own customer personas. Only then can you accurately and effectively deliver your message and brand. Let's say you sell shoes and carry a wide variety of styles. You might create a different persona for each type of shoe you sell. One for the athlete that is looking for shoes that can help them excel in their sport, one for the business woman who often chooses style over comfort, and one for the soccer mom who is buying shoes for her children. They all require a different type of shoe - and a different sales approach.
Is it possible to address more than one persona at the same time? A well-designed website allows you to do just that. Although I normally don't recommend using stock photos on a site, having a photo of a soccer mom with three kids crawling into the family minivan will catch the eye of other moms and tell them they've come to the right place. Or a photo of a pick-up basketball game will be noticed by both professional and weekend athletes. In both these cases, you would have to further define their personas. The soccer mom not only needs everyday shoes for her kids but soccer, baseball and basketball shoes for those activities. She probably wants to buy all the shoes from the same place if possible, so convenience and price are her priorities. And even though the weekend athlete makes his living outside of sports, he wants the very best shoes he can afford and often those worn by his favorite professional players.
So get started on your own customer personas. I suggest that you create a list of at least six main attributes for each. Call them "customer profiles" if you like but clearly define them, then create a marketing strategy for each. Not only will you see a bump in initial sales but in long-term sales as well.
