marketing

Buyer Persona

Detailed semi-fictional profile of your ideal customer - their role, goals, frustrations, decision criteria.

Definition

A buyer persona is a structured profile of a representative customer: role (CEO, VP Marketing), demographics (industry, company size), goals, frustrations, decision criteria, common objections. Personas guide messaging, product, and sales scripts. Three to five personas is typical; more than five usually means you haven't actually narrowed your target. Personas should be built from real customer interviews, not invented in a conference room.

In your business

  • Build personas from 10+ real customer interviews - invented personas are useless
  • 3-5 personas, max - more means you haven't actually narrowed
  • Use personas in messaging tests - the same offer can flop with one persona and win with another

Related terms

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