What's a Customer Persona And Why Your Business Needs One
When I first started working in eCommerce, I never thought I’d be dusting off my old-school marketing books. Here I was, writing copy and dabbling into web design and development, never ever thinking I’d end up helping clients with their brand strategy.
But seven years later, here we are – helping clients get back on track by returning to core marketing principles, one of which is to create customer personas again.
I don't know about you, but when I first heard the term "buyer persona," I felt instantly drained. Those two words scream “boring marketing exercise that’ll put you to bed before 8 PM.” However, after creating these buyer personas repeatedly over the past six years, I've come to genuinely enjoy them. Yes, you heard that right – customer personas can actually be...dare I say it? FUN.
And I'm going to share exactly HOW building a persona (specifically for your eCommerce store) can be fun, but first…
Understanding Customer Personas
So, what’s a customer persona?
I could pull a bunch of definitions from the web, but let’s keep it simple:
It's the semi-fictional character of your brand story.
What do I mean by that? Well, as we’ll explore in my blog posts and newsletter (sign up here if you haven't already), every brand needs to tell a story where its ideal customer is the main character, the hero. As humans, we love a good story, where the main character (usually the protagonist/hero) tries to achieve something, faces conflict, and ultimately overcomes it. We’re suckers for a happy endin
But first, you need to know who you’re writing this story for.
In short: we need to figure out who your main character is. Even if you're not ready to build an official customer persona, here are some questions you can start asking yourself to help you build out your ideal customer:
1. What's Your Main Character's Goals?
Every person has some type of goal – whether it’s becoming an entrepreneur or buying a new car. Your job is to tap into what your customer wants to achieve.
2. How About Their Challenges?
Every character (and customer) faces a set of challenges that prevent them from reaching their goal. Money and time are some that immediately come to mind, but what about going even a little deeper.
3. What Motivates Them?
What drives your customers when they face challenges? Is it convenience? Price? Influence from others? When you dig deeper into what drives them emotionally and practically you can uncover the aspirations, values, and influences shaping their decisions.
See how that's much more fun than a boring summary of demographics? Humanizing your audience will not only make your marketing easier (and sometimes cheaper), but it will help you connect authentically with your customers as well.
Benefits of Customer Personas
There are SO many benefits to crafting customer personas, but for me, it really comes down to:
Actually understanding your customer: You gain a deeper understanding of who you're actually selling to, their needs and pain points. Which leads me to my next point...
Better marketing campaigns: When we actually know who we're selling to, we can make better decisions on where to allocate our marketing dollars. Not only is this a win for your wallet, but finding where your target audience lives will help you scale much faster.
Customer loyalty: If you truly know who your customer is and provide a solution that meets their needs and solves their pain points, you'll be able to offer genuine support. This support will not only increase customer loyalty, but allow you to authentically connect with your customers.
But...what if you have more than one main character (or customer persona)?
Believe it or not, most brands WILL have more than one main character (or customer persona). Unless your product is rather niche, there are likely a few different types of customers you'll want to target.
The key is to differentiate their goals, challenges, motivations, and values. While two or more personas might share similar traits, each should be treated as unique.
But...what if you already have a customer persona?!
That's awesome! I’m proud of you. But...maybe it's time for a little review? When was the last time you analyzed your store data or conducted a study to learn more about your customers’ goals and challenges?
A customer persona is not, I REPEAT, not a one-time exercise. It's completely possible (and likely) that your ideal customers might change over time and you'll have to reconfigure your personas and brand story.
Also, if you're a well established brand, it might be worth looking into gathering some qualitative and quantitative data about your target audience. This can be captured through surveys, interviews, market research, or website analytics. Maybe your target audience has even changed overtime?
Revising your customer personas with new data will improve your marketing efforts and increase brand loyalty.
Interested in building an actual customer persona to use for your brand story or marketing efforts? I have a freebie just for you!
Just sign up below with your email and I'll send it right over to your inbox.
My brand persona guide is made specifically for Shopify merchants looking to map out their ideal customers and get some additional tips not found in this post. Plus, I've added a sample persona and worksheet to help get you started on the right track.
I hope it helps you out and I can't wait to see what you come up with. As always, I'm always available to answer any questions about my freebies or posts. Just shoot me a quick email and let's get chatting!
Hi! If we haven't already met, I'm Laura! Founder of Dolgify and author of this little blog. I help small to mid-sized merchants build stores and stories their customers deserve. If you liked this post and want to learn more, here are a few ways you can connect with me:
Join my email list: For a bi-weekly dose of eCommerce insights, tips, and the occasional behind-the-scenes look at how I help merchants like you succeed. I promise to keep it fun, engaging, and always valuable.
Explore my services: See how I can help you create an eCommerce store that's as unique as your brand. From crafting compelling copy to designing custom Shopify themes, I've got you covered. Let's work together to bring your vision to life and build an online presence that stands out from the crowd.
Dive into the Dolgify blog: Find more posts like this one, covering everything from customer personas to email marketing and beyond.
If you have any questions or just want to say hi, feel free to send me an email or connect with me on Instagram. I'd love to hear from you! Until next time, keep building those amazing stores and stories. Your customers (and your bottom line) will thank you for it!
Cheers,
Laura
