3 Buyer Persona Mistakes You Might Be Making

If you’re struggling to see the positive impact buyer personas have had on your marketing strategy, you might be making some common buyer persona mistakes.  If done correctly, buyer personas will help you understand your customer, craft messages directly to them, and increase conversion rates as a result.

However, you may fail to see results if you’re making one of these three mistakes. Learn more about these common mistakes and how to avoid them.

1. Skimping on Research
   Research is arguably the most important step in the creation of your buyer personas.  Many people feel overwhelmed by the prospect of data-centric research, and instead turn to generalizations and anecdotal stories. The problem with this is that your research is not backed up by cold hard facts.  A well-known example of a company instituting policy based on the assumption of facts is JC Penny’s attempt to move from coupons to every day low prices. They didn’t understand their customers and their sales collapsed as a result. Research based on data is the only way to be sure that your buyer persona is complete and operating at its most effective.
   Avoid this mistake by spending time and effort researching your current and prospective customers. A great place to start is asking yourself these 20 questions from HubSpot.
2. Creating an Abundance of PersonasYou should have multiple personas if your company targets several types of customers in its business model.  However, it might be tempting to create too many personas, and in return not be able to deliver on any of them.Avoid this mistake by cutting out personas that you cannot fill effectively. If your persona is not detailed or fully realized, then you do not need it. Focus on your core persona and build from there.
3. Not Integrating your Buyer Personas
   While buyer personas are first and foremost a tool utilized by the marketing team of a business, their usefulness extends far beyond that. Everyone in your company should be aware of your buyer personas and how to utilize them effectively. If you don’t share your customer insights with your sales team, they will not be able to craft their conversations around the customer’s unique goals and challenges.Avoid this mistake by taking the necessary steps to fully implement your buyer personas across the company. Bring the entire company on board and start personalizing your content for your buyer personas.

If you’ve been making any one of these three common buyer persona mistakes, now is the time to sit down and reevaluate your personas and how you’re utilizing them.  Remember, buyer personas must be part of a detailed marketing strategy in order to be effective.  Focus on avoiding these mistakes and your personas will positively affect your bottom line in no time.

Begin speaking to the right audience by developing your buyer personas with our free buyer persona template. Start using this free tool today!