So, what is buyer persona, and why do your business needs it RIGHT NOW?
Buyer personas are semi-fictional representations of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers. They help you understand the goals, challenges, motivations, and behavior patterns of your target audience so that you can create content that resonates with them.
By creating a detailed buyer persona for each segment of your target audience, you’ll be able to tailor content more effectively and develop more efficient strategies for reaching the right people at the right time.
In my guide, you’ll get step-by-step instructions on how to create a buyer persona – and how to find the information for every single template section.
These are the examples of what you’re going to get as a result:
- Restaurant Owner Buyer Persona Example (PDF)
- Restaurant Manager Buyer Persona Example (PDF)
- Download my buyer persona templates → (no email required)
You can use the following services to find reliable information:
- Google Analytics: If you have your own site with traffic, you can find out the parameters of the audience (age, gender, location, interests).
- Facebook Audience Insights: If you have a Facebook group, you can find out the age, gender, and location of your audience.
- SimilarWeb: It allows you to analyze competitors’ sites and learn the location, gender, age, interests and social networks of their audience.
- Salary.com: Provides income statistics.
- Zippa.com: Provides occupation statistics (gender, age, level of education, location).
- YouTube: If you don’t have the opportunity to interview clients or do a client base survey, you’ll find plenty of interviews with the right professions on YouTube.
- Google: To search for whatever you’re looking for.
Now I’ll show you how these services and my template can help you create a buyer persona. So… Let’s get started.
Step 1. Demographics
The first thing you need to figure out about your buyer persona is demographics – statistics that describe basic persona’s characteristics. They include name, age, gender, location, etc.
1.1 Industry
f you already know the industries for which your product works, great. If not – don’t hit the panic button just yet. Take to the web and investigate what sectors would be ideal targets for your amazing product.
In my case, the product was designed specifically for hotels and restaurant, which represent the hospitality industry.
Step-by-step instruction:
- If you know your product’s industry, skip this step.
- If not, just google it.
- Choose the most relevant industries that you want to target.
- Put the info in the template.
1.2 Job Title
Once you defined the industry of your customers, it should be easy. Just pick professions from that field as potential targets.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Go online to see what internet has to offer. These are the examples of search terms you could use:
- Go on YouTube. You can use the same terms as for searching in Google.
- Choose one or more methods to figure out your buyer persona’s job title.
- Put your persona’s job title in the template.
1.3 Gender
Gender can often be overlooked in modern customer research, but when diving deeper into the data, it becomes a critical factor to understand.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Go to Zippa‘s website and search for some data based on your persona’s industry. I found gender statistics for my buyer personas there.
- Another method is going to Google Analytics and picking some info there. Go to Google Analytics -> Audience -> Demographics -> Gender to find data about your customers’ gender.
- You can learn more about your customers’ gender with Facebook Audience Insights. Only works if you’re an owner of a Facebook group.
- Use SimilarWeb to analyze your competitor’s website.
- Conduct surveys and interviews with your customers to get first-hand information.
- Select one of the suggested methods, or combine them.
- Determine which gender prevails.
- Put the info in the template.
1.4 Name
This one is simple. You can pick any name you like – it’s fictional anyway.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Think about the first name that comes to mind. For my buyer personas, I chose names Justin and Peter.
- Put the info in the template.
1.5 Age
What is your buyer persona’s age? Carefully consider statistics about the ages of customers for your industry.
Step-by-step instruction:
- You can learn more about your customers’ age with Facebook Audience Insights. Only works if you’re an owner of a Facebook group.
- Use SimilarWeb to analyze your competitor’s website.
- Take a look at Zippa‘s website and search for stats based on your persona’s industry.
- Go to Google Analytics -> Audience -> Demographics -> Age to get info about your customer’s age.
- Conduct surveys and interviews with your customers.
- Choose one of the suggested methods, or combine them for better results.
- Put the info in the template.
1.6 Location
Knowing where the bulk of your customers are located is a must if you wish to maximize sales. Unlocking this information allows you to target those areas specifically and get the most out of marketing efforts.
Dive into some statistics and discover what insights they provide.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Go to Zippa to uncover location insights like I did.
- Google Analytics can also be used to reveal your persona’s location. Go to Google Analytics -> Audience -> Geo -> Location.
3. You can learn more about your customers’ location with Facebook Audience Insights Only works if you’re an owner of a Facebook group..
- Use SimilarWeb to analyze your competitor’s website.
- Google for more info if needed.
- Use the info from one of the sources or combine it.
- Put the info in the template
1.7 Income Level
Knowing a buyer’s income level is key to unlocking their potential as customers. It can determine how much they may be willing and able to spend on your product, giving you an invaluable edge in crafting the right marketing campaign for them.
Step-by-step instruction:
1. Google your persona’s income level. These are some of the search terms you could use:
2. Dive into Zippa‘s statistics like I did.
3. You can also go to Salary.com to look for some information.
4. You may be surprised, but there’s so much information you need on YouTube. I watched a couple videos from Marcus Guiliano‘s channel and CareerWatch‘s channel to get insights on my buyer personas’ salaries.
5. Conduct surveys and interviews with your customers if that’s possible to get additional information.
6. Use the info from one of the sources or combine it.
7. Put the info in the template.
1.8 Level of Education
Knowing the education level of your customers is essential when creating a buyer persona. This information can shed light on their preferences and how they view your brand.
1. Google your persona’s level of education. These are some examples of search terms you could use:
2. Discover your customers’ educational backgrounds with Zippa.
3. Pay attention to BestAccreditedCollages, you can get some information there.
4. Go on YouTube to see if there’s something for you.
Sometimes the information is contradictory, and you have to choose the option that seems best to you. Keep in mind that marketing is a risky thing!
5. Conduct surveys and interviews with your customers.
6. Use the info from one of the sources or combine it.
7. Put the info in the template.
1.9 Family Status
Understanding your buyer persona’s family status can be the key to figuring out what decisions they may make. Are they single or married? Do kids factor into their decision-making process?
You’ll probably have to do some digging around here, and the results will vary anyway. The point is to bring them together and find a shared middle ground.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Look up your persona’s family status on the internet. These are the examples of search terms you could use:
2. Search for restaurant websites that match your target area. You can consider the restaurants that come to your mind, or search for “best places to eat in *your area*”, and then visit a bunch of websites to explore the details. Usually, the information you need is hidden in “About” sections.
3. Go on YouTube and see if there’s something helpful.
4. Social networks. You can go to your customers’ Instagram, Facebook, etc. to get insights about their personal life.
5. Conduct surveys and interviews.
6. Use one or more methods to define your persona’s family status.
7. Put the info in the template.
Step 2. Personality
Getting to know your buyer persona is crucial for success – and that means looking beyond just the cold hard facts. Consider their character traits, what quotes make them tick, plus any hobbies or interests they may have. All of this helps create a bigger picture.
2.1 Character Traits
Developing a clear understanding of your customers’ character traits is essential for creating your buyer persona. Knowing their character traits helps to ensure that we create experiences tailored to appeal and attract them.
Step-by-step instruction:
1. As always, use search engines to help you find your persona’s character traits.
2. Good old YouTube is here for you.
3. Conduct surveys and interviews.
4. Use one or more methods to define your persona’s charachter traits.
5. Put the info in the template.
2.2 Favotire Quotes
Uncover your buyer’s personality and preferences by discovering the quotes they find meaningful. Knowing what motivates or resonates with them can help you tailor content to maximum impact.
Step-by-step-instruction:
- Look up your buyer persona’s favorite quotes on the internet. These are some examples of search terms you could use:
2. Go on YouTube.
3. Conduct surveys and interviews to get quotes straight from your customers.
4. Use one or more methods to collect quotes.
5. Put the info in the template.
2.3 Hobbies and Interests
Your buyers are more than just a bunch of numbers – find out what they’re passionate about to craft marketing messages that really resonate with them. Knowing the likes and dislikes of your customer base helps you customize content so it speaks directly to their interests.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Go online to see if there’s something you could include in your buyer persona’s list of hobbies and interests.
2. Use SimilarWeb to analyze your competitor’s website.
3. Google Analytics can offer more accurate statistics on interests of your customers. Go to Google Analytics -> Audience -> Interests to collect imformation.
4. Discover what YouTube has for you.
5. Conduct surveys and inerviews.
6. Use one or more methods to collect information about hobbies and interests of your customers.
7. Put the info in the template.
Step 3. BIO
Take the time to get to know your customers inside and out and collect their BIO data. This will give you an understanding of what their life is like, what they did in the past and what brought them to where they are now.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Start from googling the info. These are some examples of search terms you could use:
2. Go on YouTube and search for interviews or “My story” kind of videos.
3. Conduct surveys and interviews. I’d recommend focusing on face-to-face interviews.
4. Use one or more methods to collect information about your customers’ lives.
5. Craft a BIO based on the information you collected.
6. Put the info in the template.
Step 4. Professional Status
Knowing your customers’ professional statuses gives you valuable insights into their job roles and tools required for success – all of which provide the perfect ingredients to craft a powerful buyer persona.
4.1 Job Responsibilities
Gain valuable insights into what motivates your customers and how to better serve their needs by studying their job responsibilities.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Google your buyer persona’s job responsibilities.
2. Go on YouTube.
3. Conduct surveys and interviews.
4. Use one or more methods to collect information about your customers’ job responsibilities.
5. Put the info in the template.
4.2 Tools They Need to Do Their Job
Get a deeper understanding of your customers by exploring the tools they need to get their job done.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Use search engines to see what tools your customers use to do their job. These are the examples of search terms you could use:
2. Go on YouTube.
3. Conduct surveys and interviews.
4. Use one or more methods to collect information.
5. Put the info in the template.
Step 5. Psychographics
Understanding buyer’s psychographics is integral to crafting an effective buyer persona. These data points can reveal personal and professional objectives, values, beliefs – giving insight into what drives them as consumers.
5.1 Professional Goals
By understanding your customers’ objectives, you’ll be more informed on how to best assist them in achieving their ambitions with speed and ease.
Step-by-step instruction:
1. Check the info on the internet.
2. Go on YouTube to see if there’s something helpful.
3. Conduct surveys or interviews.
4. Use one or more methods to collect information.
5. Put the info in the template
5.2 Personal Goals
Connecting with your customers on a personal level and understanding the goals they seek to achieve can provide you important information that allows you to become their trusted advisor, helping them reach those goals even faster.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Use Google Search to find the info.
2. Go on YouTube.
3. Conduct surveys or interviews with your customers.
4. Use one or more methods to collect information.
5. Put the info in the template.
5.3 Beliefs and Values
Customers have unique beliefs and values that shape who they are. By gaining insight into the buyer persona of your customers, you can create a highly-targeted marketing strategy, speaking directly to their needs in an engaging way.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Use Google Search.
2. Go on YouTube for ideas.
3. Ask your customers to learn about their beliefs and values – conduct surveys or interviews with them.
4. Use one or more methods to collect information.
5. Put the info in the template.
Step 6. Challanges and Pain Points
For a successful connection with customers, it is important to gain an understanding of their issues and troubles. By uncovering the biggest worries, apprehensions, and difficulties associated with each buyer persona group, you can develop ways to meet customer expectations in meaningful ways.
6.1 Bigges Stuggles and Challenges
Take time to uncover the biggest struggles and challenges of your customers – by doing so, you can create an effective buyer persona that will help shape solutions tailored specifically for those needs.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Go online to see if you can find something useful.
2. Go to YouTube.
3. Conduct surveys and interviews with your customers – let them honestly tell you about their struggles and challenges.
4. Use one or more methods to collect information.
5. Put the info in the template.
6.2 Fears
So what’s keeping your customers up at night? What ideas wake them in a cold sweat? Let’s delve into their deepest fears to enrich the buyer persona we’re shaping.
Step-by-step instruction:
- As always, use Google Search. These are the examples of search terms you could use:
2. Go to YouTube.
3. Conduct surveys and interviews.
4. Use one or more methods to collect information.
5. Put the info in the template.
Step 7. Sources of Information
Let’s take a deeper dive into your customers’ world – their must-visit sites, go-to social media platforms, influencers they trust and events that make up the fabric of who they are. This should help you create an even fuller picture for understanding what makes your buyers tick.
7.1 Favorite Websites
It’s easy to get an inside look at who your customers are – just take a peek at their favorite websites, social networks, influencers, and events.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Use search engines to help you find your persona’s favorite websites. These are some of the search terms you could use:
2. YouTube is here for you. Go there and see if it has something for you.
3. Conduct surveys and interviews.
4. Use one or more methods to collect information.
5. Put the info in the template.
7.2 Influencers
Dive into the minds of your customers and explore who their influencers are. With this knowledge, you can have an even better understanding on how to engage with them.
Step-by-step instruction:
- You can google the info. Here is a couple of search term ideas:
2. Go on YouTube.
3. Conduct surveys and interviews with your customers.
4. Use one or more methods to collect information.
5. Put the info in the template.
7.3 Favorite Social Networks
Knowing where your customers hangout online is like a treasure map! It helps you craft an accurate buyer persona, so you can deliver the perfect message at just the right moment.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Look up your persona’s favorite social media on the internet.
2. Let’s go back to the influiencers. If some of them do the same business as your customers do, you can check what social networks they use.
3. Use SimilarWeb to analyze your competitor’s website.
4. Go on YouTube and see if there’s something helpful for you.
5. Conduct surveys and interviews.
6. Use one or more methods to collect information.
7. Put the info in the template.
Step 8. Favorite Online & Offline Events
Bring your buyer persona to life by getting creative with how you figure out what your customers love. By exploring their favorite online and offline events, you can gain insight into the activities they enjoy in their free time.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Use Google Search.
2. Go on YouTube to see what it has to offer.
3. Conduct surveys and interviews.
4. Use one or more methods to collect information.
5. Put the info in the template.
Step 9. Purchasing Process
We’re almost home! Now it’s time to unlock the secret to understanding how your customers shop. Dive in and discover all the steps of their purchasing process.
9.1 Buying Role
There are 5 buying roles: initiator, influencer, decider, buyer and user. But I’m going to simplify things and leave just two buying roles – influencer and decision-maker. Which one do your customers represent?
Step-by-step instruction:
- This step should be easy, as you should already know your customers’ buying role. Do they make decisions themselves, or do they have to ask for someone’s permission to buy what you’re selling?
- Put the info in the template.
9.2 Buyer’s Journey
Do your customers know about your product? Do they redy to buy in or they first need to be informed? Figure out your buyer’s journey.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Try to find the info on the internet.
2. Go on YouTube.
3. Conduct surveys and interviews.
4. Use one or more methods to collect information.
5. Put the info in the template.
9.3 Potential Buying Cycle
How long does your subscription lasts and when do your customers have to pay again? This is what potential buying cycle is about and it depends on your product.
Just fill in the template with the info about your porduct’s potential buying cycle.
9.4 What Stops the Persona from Making a Purchase
What’s keeping your customers from taking the plunge? Dig into their doubts and find out why they’re hesitating to purchase to clear those hurdles away.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Use Google Search.
2. Go on YouTube.
3. Conduct surveys and interviews.
4. Use one or more methods to collect information.
5. Put the info in the template.
Step 10. Summing up
Now that you’re educated on how to create a buyer pesona. Last but not least – write a short description for your persona based on all the information you have found while creating it.
Step-by-step-instruction:
- Look through the information you have found to creat your buyer persona.
- Write a couple sentences that describle your persona.
- Fill in the template.
Boost Up Your Content Marketing Strategy
If you’ve read each point carefully, by now you should know how to create a buyer persona with no fuss!
Go ahed and do research to fill in the template with what you’re going to find. If you follow my instructions and create a detailed buyer persona, your content marketing strategy will get to a whole new level.
If you have any ideas to share, write a comment below👇
