When developing on a digital marketing strategy, creating customer profiles is one of the best ways to define your target audience. Creating customer personas allows you to put yourself in their shoes, understand their pain points, and then accurately describe how your product or service is beneficial to them.
A customer profile, also known as a customer avatar, is the creation of a fictional persona that would likely buy your product or service. You can have multiple customer profiles, but try to avoid lumping all of your potential customers into one customer persona. Johnny buys your product for one reason, Susan buys it for another. You have to understand both Johnny and Susan’s motivations, and realize that your marketing message may need to be different for each one.
A customer profile, also known as a customer avatar, is the creation of a fictional persona that would likely buy your product or service. You can have multiple customer profiles, but try to avoid lumping all of your potential customers into one customer persona. Johnny buys your product for one reason, Susan buys it for another. You have to understand both Johnny and Susan’s motivations, and realize that your marketing message may need to be different for each one.
Building Your Customer Profile
A customer profile should include the following information:
Name (get creative and make one up)
Location
Age
Income
Job Title (important for B2B sales, not so much for B2C)
Goals/Motivation
Challenges
Hobbies and Interests
Priorities in deciding to purchase (Is price most important, or quality, or customer service?)
Where do you find this information? It’s important to note that this information should be based on real data wherever possible. Making assumptions about your target market can lead your marketing strategy down the wrong path.
The first place to start would be to take a look at your existing customers. Which of your current customers are “good” customers, and which ones are “bad” customers? Knowing what you don’t want from a customer can be just as important as knowing who your ideal customer is.
Other research can be done through online searches, sending surveys, interviewing your existing customers, and running a focus group.
Creating Content with Customer Profiles
Once you’ve created your customer profiles, you can refer back to them when creating content for your website, social media, and advertising. I find them very useful if I’m stuck for new content ideas (like blogs, videos, or social media posts). Put yourself in your ideal customer’s shoes. How does your small business help solve their problem?
Is your business lacking direction without a digital marketing strategy? Reach out to FGM Internet Marketing to see if we’re able to help with consultation, training, or as your digital marketing partner for the future. You can also read more about developing a digital marketing strategy in our blog.
