Personas allow companies to get a general idea of who and what their customers are looking for. It allows you to point out key components of what they might like and what would draw them into your store/website. The more detailed, the better. Using a “character” helps the company be able to target personalities and traits of the customer while creating product or advertisements for the company. This way, the team of the company can envision how the customer will respond to the approach they are using.
People have hundreds of unread emails in their inbox. How are you going to be the one that is opened? Stated by Megan Marrs, “the subject line is more important that the body paragraph”. You need to be clear and concise in what you are try to proclaim to the customer. If your subject line is clear on the points you are going to make, studies show that your email will most likely be opened.
The challenge of sending any email is if the email is getting opened and read. “You want your subscribers to look forward to your emails”. It was said in the 37 Tips for Writing Emails article that you want to be like someone’s friend and have your subscribers trust you like a friend. The goal of writing the email would be to use a conversational voice. You want the customer to feel as though you are talking to them and not just talking to a group of people. Don’t waste people’s time and use information that is going to help them. You need to be on the side of the customer and give them a reward for taking the time to open the email.
Students can also use personas in able to educate themselves on what is happening in the current marketing field. Using Design Thinking Methods are important when creating a persona. Part of a persona is understanding who their target market is and who visits their store. Who as a company are you trying to reach? What are the challenges that you face in getting those customers in the door? Learning how to create a persona map and create the personality of a customer can help in any marketing job that a student obtains in their future.
The best way to get a clear persona is interviewing a customer. Using surveys to get real information creates a realistic persona. Once you have the understanding of one of your customers, it will make it a lot less challenging than starting from scratch and having to make up a person. Comparing past and current customers is something that you will also want to look at. Why are customers different than they were before? Is the company offering something different or has the customers been loyal throughout the time period of the company?
As a company, you should be discussing differences in a persona and asking teams for different ideas on how to improve the company based on the persona. Understanding a customer can also help you advertise upcoming events such as posting on social media. Social media is recently one of the best ways to reach a variety of different target market groups. Utilizing this feature is something that customers should take advantage of. Using a welcoming design and inviting social media page will encourage followers and future costumers. Your social media page should feature your “Brand identity”. You want your followers to know what they can expect from your company.
My Persona- Starbucks
For my project, I focused on a persona based on Starbucks. This was a female in her early 20’s that had a busy lifestyle. She participated in receiving her college education and maintained a job as well. She had a spunky personality and needed energy throughout the day to keep moving. This female needed a place to go to get her favorite coffee while both having the place to study and catch up with friends. She also wanted to be able to try new things and feel welcomed in the space. Her main source of finding out information was on Instagram and Snapchat. Due to this, Starbucks needed to post about their new products and deals on these sources in order for her to know what was coming. She usually starts her day with a cup of coffee. She expects consistency and good customer service to bring her back every morning.
Using this persona can allow Starbucks to understand what a customer is looking for and help them continue to be a loyal customer. Starbucks customers can range in gender and age, yet they are all looking for a place to relax and enjoy coffee together.
Citations:
“The 9 Best Email Subject Line Styles to Increase Your Open Rates.” WordStream, https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/03/31/email-subject-lines.
“How To Create Personas For Marketing In 2019.” Digital Agency Network, 20 Mar. 2019, https://digitalagencynetwork.com/how-to-create-personas-for-marketing-in-2019/.
Lee, Kevan. “The Beginner’s Guide to Creating Marketing Personas: Buffer.” Buffer Marketing Library, Buffer Social Blog, 30 Nov. 2018, https://buffer.com/library/marketing-personas-beginners-guide.
