You can probably pick off your customer demographics like cans with a BB gun.
Male, white, 35 to 50, university educated, urban—pop, pop, pop.
But when you’re speaking to customers, demographics aren’t enough.
When they read your copy, they don’t want to feel like
a statistic.
The solution: Take segmentation further and relate to customers as people, not data.
Unleash the Power of Personas
To do this, internet marketing gurus like Eben Pagan, Frank Kern, Ian Lurie, and Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg champion creating customer avatars or personas as the ultimate way to get inside a customer’s head.
Simply speaking, these are fictional characters who represent marketing segments.
They’re not an amalgamation of statistics.
Rather, they’re characters, each with a personality, hobbies, a face and unique needs.
And that means they’re characters you can have a meaningful conversation with.
Not a dull, dreary, unpersuasive one-way monologue.
Go Beyond Demographics
How do you do it?
First, realize that demographics are just a start.
Designing an avatar is like method acting—knowing the nitty-gritty details is what makes your characters seem real.
Answer questions like these:
- What is their day-to-day reality?
- What are their wants and aspirations?
- What are their needs and desires?
- What are their fears and frustrations?
Also consider what’s going on in their mind.
What internal conversations are they having?
Say those imaginary conversations out loud. You’ll feel silly. But entering into that dialogue can powerfully persuade your customers to action.
Get Some Feedback
Of course, don’t just rely on your own creativity.
Talk to your customers and talk to your salespeople.
You’ll learn whether the avatars you create resonate with your audience.
You’ll also learn characteristics you never thought of—and maybe even ideas for new segments.
And as with every element of your marketing, consistently test your assumptions.
Your
market may change over time. And the only thing worse than having no
avatars is having avatars that don’t resonate with your customers.
Want more tips for writing web copy that resonates with readers? Get
them in our free 25-page e-book, Breakthrough
Web Writing.
