The success of your marketing campaigns will depend to a great extent on how much you know about your clients and prospects, otherwise known as your target audience. One of the more effective ways of identifying and understanding your target audience is to create a client persona. Here are some effective ways to do that and reasons why a client persona will be extremely helpful to your business.

What Is a Client Persona?

A client persona is a set of characteristics you identify that represents your typical or ideal customer. An effective client persona will include actionable details about those customers and prospects you envision as being most interested in, and most likely to buy, what you have to offer.

What Should a Client Persona Contain?

The client persona should include demographic data such as age, gender, income level, geographical location and family status. Gathering demographic data is a starting place to develop your personas because it’s easy to obtain and allows you to get a clear picture of your client. An effective client persona will also include segmented data such as:

• Personal interests: Hobbies, social causes, political affiliation and other personal interests can be useful components of a client persona. Understand a day in the life of your client persona.  Does this persona spend more time at home, or at work? What kind of TV shows do they watch?  How do they dress? How do they cut loose? Where do they get their information?  Do they participate in social networks?  Once you get an idea about what makes your persona tick, you will be able to develop and channel messages that effectively reach your desired audience.
• "Pain points" and problems: The issues that a clients wants to resolve by using your products or services will help you determine the type of and level of interest in your offerings.  In detail, describe how this persona feels. You will find pain points will differ among your personas; therefore, your message needs to take these nuances into consideration.
• Decision processes: The ways in which clients and prospects make decide to award services or purchase will give you information you can act on to appeal to your target audience. For example, a target audience that makes quick, impulsive decisions is probably not the most likely target audience for a company that sells houses, expensive jewelry or real estate. If your potential customers are likely to spend time conducting online research before making a decision, you'll know to focus on your online presence and information resources.
• Address Objections: It is also important to be able to address any concerns your persona may have with your product or service.  Try to be prepared and anticipate client persona objections. Take the time to effective education audiences about your products and services.  Understand their level of experience with your product or service.  All of these factors will help you to relate and speak to their concerns.
• Psychological Triggers: A useful client persona will also address why people select the type of products and services you offer. Convenience? Prestige? Practicality? Competitiveness? If you know your target audience's psychological triggers, you'll be able to craft marketing messages to activate them.

Are your creating your client personas?  Did you make any additional assessments that should be considered? Share them with us in the comments section.

Contact Colosi Marketing today for more information on identifying your target audience and what it takes to reach them with effective, persuasive marketing messages.