2021 looks a promising year for new businesses to emerge within Africa. The youthful population across Africa has endeared itself towards starting their own businesses either part time or full time.
But I fear many might add to the number of entrepreneurs who quit their businesses within the first year due to some basic mistakes, usually because they want to make money fast.
I’d like to think one of those mistakes is not crafting an effective buyer persona for your business. They set about to start that business without considering who will actually patronize their goods and services.
If you think everybody will buy your product just because it’s good enough, then you’re in for a rude awakening. The success of a company is dependent on a number of factors, and from a marketing perspective, one of those factors is being able to capture a good size of the market with the right customers who not only want to, but also have the purchasing power to patronize your business. This is where having a strong buyer persona comes in.
So what are buyer personas?
A buyer persona simply put, is a fictional character that represents your ideal buyer very well. It serves as a very helpful guide for knowing who your ideal buyer(s) is(are), so that you can fine tune your marketing strategies and campaigns towards attracting those customers instead.
This is especially crucial for Ghanaian and African small businesses who are making the shift towards digital marketing.
A buyer persona is a fictional character that represents your ideal customer very well.
Marketing online is not a smooth road where you simply show yourself on the internet and display your products or service.
No.
If you think people are just going to give you their hard-earned money just because you have a very good product, then you’re mistaken.
It takes just as much effort as with traditional advertising and taking the time to craft solid buyer personas for your business will save you in many ways. At least because it will give you a better chance for your customers to spend their money on you.
How does your brand benefit from identify your buyer personas?
1. Time Saver
This is the most obvious reason to me. Yes, we know you really want to make money. We know those bills aren’t going to pay themselves (how I wish!) and time does not seem to be on your side.
But do you really want to take the risk of launching your business without really having a good idea who’s going to buy your products in the first place?
I think not. That time wasted before eventually going back to the drawing board will be gone forever. Spending some time to determine your ideal buyer will save you without going back to the drawing board after investing so much initially.
2. Money Saver
They say time is money, and whoever said it probably knew the financial rewards of valuing time. And if crafting your buyer personas will save you time, you can bet that it would most likely save you money too. Because this time, you will have a fair idea where and how to spend your budget to give you more qualified leads and a more streamlined financial budget.
3. Makes you empathetic
Crafting the persona typically means putting yourself in the shoes of your customer to be able to know why and how you’re a perfect fit for them. This means you will get to know their needs, financial status, profession etc.
This way, it makes you show more of the human element to be able to relate with them. It could even determine your prices, which could work in your favour.
4. Helps you to communicate rightly with your ideal customer
Since it helps put you in the shoes of your ideal buyer, you are able to discover their pain points and what brings them relief. You get to know the right words to use to get your message to have that psychological effect that will make them want your services and choose you over your competitors. Copywriters especially use buyer personas to help them craft the message copy for websites, emails and even social media posts.
