Business & Marketing Persona Building

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Business & Marketing Persona Building

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1. Background

First Name *

Last Name *

Business Name *

a. What business are you in? (What needs does your business meet in the marketplace? What problems do you solve?) *

b. What services and/or products do you provide and what is your average revenue per client/sales? *

c. What are your business objectives over the next two years? Be as specific as possible, and make sure to address the following goals. Please specify numbers when possible. *

d. What compelled you to start this business? Do you have a story to tell? *

2. Market

a. What is the market opportunity? What is the market size with respect to geography and the industry? *

b. What are the key industry trends that are fueling your success? What industry trends can inhibit your success? *

c. Is your business or market affected by business cycles or seasons? If so, describe how it is affected. *

3. Target Audience

a. Who is your audience? *

b. What market segments are you targeting (list segment name and characteristics)? What segments are you not targeting that you would like to? What are the demographics of your audience? *

c. What kind of audience are you targeting? What are its members’ demographics and psychographics (for example, what keeps them awake at night, including both fears and opportunities)? List multiple audiences in order of priority. *

d. What is the online behavior of your audience? Blogs they visit, websites they purchase from, social platforms or other channels they use. *

e. What is your customer’s primary reason for buying or wanting to use your product or service? *

f. Why would someone prefer your offering versus that which is offered by the competition? (you might want to answer the section on competition then come back to this question.) *

on do opportunities)?

g. Are there any issues or concerns that the target audience might have regarding this type of product or service? *

h. Are you currently getting feedback or having conversations with customers? Surveys, polls, online discussion forums etc. *

4. Competition

a. What categories of competition threaten your success? (Label each category, and identify its key characteristics.) *

b. Which companies pose the greatest threat, and how do they differentiate themselves? What strategic or tactical elements do they use that threaten your success? (List the company websites as well as the strengths and weaknesses of their strategies. Which competitors have the greatest visibility with your target audience? *

c. How will you differentiate yourself to best combat competition? *

d. What barriers to entry into the marketplace are you creating for yourself? *

5. Problem solving

a. Which problem(s) are you solving for your market? Identify the need for each target audience. *

b. What features and associated benefits does your soution provide? (Identify each features and associated benefits for each) *

c. How do we deliver the features identified in item “5b”? (Be specific-this is the proof that we can do what we say) *

d. Of these features, which ones differentiate you from the competition? *

e. Do you offer any value like a discount, BOGO offer, other special offers, free consultations, free samples etc? *

6. Brand Messages

a. What does each of your identified target audiences know and believe about you today? *

b. What is the single most important message that we must communicate to ALL of your target audience? *

c. What evidence can be used to support the claim that you make in your single most important message? Any certifications, seals, guarantees? *

d. What happy clients do you have today that we can reference in our communications? What did they buy from you, and why are they happy? Do you have testimonials or honorable mentions? *

e. What kind of personality do you want to portray in your communications? What tone? What flavor? *

f. What is the net impression about your company or offering that you want clients and partners to take away after each interaction with your company? *

g. Do you have any media we can leverage? Imagery, videos, guides, infographics? *

h. What is the overall language and tone you’d like to use to communicate to your audience both online and offline? *

7. Sales and Buying Process

a. What is the process for selling your services or products? (List the key milestones in the process) *

b. Do you use any of the following processes? *

i. Direct personal sale-
ii. Direct online sale-
iii. Indirect through channels (Social media)-

c. Who is involved, both from your company and from your sales channel partners in each step of the sales process? *

d. Do you have a marketing team? If not, who is the point of contact? *

e. Do you have a technology team? If not who is the point of contact? *

f. Do you have a design team? If not, who is the point of contact? *

g. How does your target audience buy your type of offering? Is the purchase an impulse buy or a planned purchase? *

h. What purchase process steps do the members of your target audience follow? Does this process vary based on the vendor that they select? (If the process does vary, explain how and/or why) *

i. What buying criteria does your target audience use to select an offering? *

j. What criteria does your target audience use when selecting a vendor or a manufacturer? *

8. Pricing

a. How important is price in the decision process? *

b. What is your current pricing structure, including discounts, product options, rebates, and so on? Do your customers understand it? *

c. Which of your competitors is considered the price leader? What does the price leader charge for its offering? How does the price leader determine its price? *

d. What are your other competitors charging for their offerings? *

e. What can be done to reduce costs without affecting quality? *

f. What tradeoffs of price or value, or of both price and value, do customers make? *

g. What is the perceived value of your offering as compared to its price? *

h. What services do you currently include in the price of your product? What services can we consider now and in the future? *

i. What industry trends are going to drive prices down? What industry trends are going to drive prices down? What industry trends are going to drive prices up? *

9. Marketing Experiences

a. Tell us about your past marketing experiences (campaigns, channels, offers, audience segments) - what has and hasn’t worked for your audience? Which campaigns, offers or channels have been: *

i. very successful and why?
ii. somewhat successful and why?
iii. somewhat unsuccessful and why?
iv. very unsuccessful and why?

10. Recognitions

a. Please list any recognitions, awards, rewards or significant milestones you have had in your business. If there are links to these awards, please add them. *

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