Think about this: If you’re organizing a tour, you know that you need to understand your traveler’s preferences to personalize their itinerary. You’re aware that some people love scenic views while others might enjoy cultural experiences. This information allows you to give everyone the best possible experience.
In marketing, these travelers are your “buyer personas,” and you use a buyer persona template to figure out their distinct preferences, priorities, and behaviors. For referral marketing campaigns, a buyer persona is key to tailoring your offerings so that they’re relevant and appealing to your audience.
Here’s everything you need to know about buyer personas, why use them in a referral campaign, and how to build one.
What Is a Buyer Persona?
A buyer persona is a fictional character or profile that describes your ideal customer. It represents the person who is most likely to be interested in your product or service. Using a buyer persona allows you to better understand and target customers.
Through a buyer persona, you can uncover the following:
- Your business’s typical customers
- What they like (and don’t like)
- Potential challenges they face
- The top reasons they might choose to buy a product or service
These pieces of information can help you tailor your marketing strategies to better connect and meet their needs! 💪🏼
Another important question is: What makes a good buyer persona?
An effective buyer persona is detailed and accurate. It includes demographics, psychographics, behaviors, goals, challenges, and buying motivations. Moreover, it is relevant to your product or service.
Next, a good buyer persona is realistic and grounded in actual data. It is also not static and evolves with changes in the market and shifts in customer behavior. Lastly, it should align with the overall objectives and goals of your business.
Let’s take a look at the buyer persona example above.
Lisa Montoya is a software architect interested in new tools for communication, reporting, tracking, and measuring. Notice that her goals, frustrations, and motivations are also listed down, which could give companies an idea of how to appeal to her.
Lisa could be an ideal customer for companies that develop collaboration and project management tools that cater to the needs of software development teams. These tools need to be user-friendly and reasonably priced based on her motivations.
Why Do Referral Campaigns Need Buyer Personas?
Referral campaigns need buyer personas because these personas help to precisely target and engage the right audience for referrals. Here are some reasons why you should use buyer personas for your referral campaigns:
To select the best incentive to offer
A buyer persona includes the motivations and preferences of your target audience. This allows you to choose the best incentive to use in your referral campaign.
For example, if they are cost-conscious, discounts may be effective. If they have a certain interest or lifestyle, you could include the experiences, events, or products that resonate with their preferences.
To tailor your marketing message
Buyer personas allow you to understand the communication preferences of your audience.
For example, they might prefer formal language, a casual tone, or specific channels of communication. You can also factor in details like their age, profession, and lifestyle to ensure that your messaging feels relatable and authentic.
If you know the best incentive to offer, you can also emphasize it in your messaging to increase the likelihood of capturing your audience’s attention!
To increase relevance, which builds trust
Buyer personas increase relevance during referral campaigns because they can help you tailor your messages and incentives based on the characteristics, motivations, and preferences of your target audience. This results in your campaign becoming more appealing, and it leads to higher engagement and success.
Adding a personal touch also reinforces the perception that your business genuinely cares about meeting your audience’s unique requirements.
What Should Be Included in a Buyer Persona Template?
A question many new marketers ask is: How do you write a buyer persona?
Building a buyer persona involves a combination of research, analysis, and creative thinking. A buyer persona template would be helpful in this process.
Now, what is a buyer persona template?
It is a structured document that guides the process of creating detailed and semi-fictional representations of your ideal customers. This template includes various sections designed to gather information.
Below are typical elements you would see in a template:
Persona Overview
In this section, you will provide a snapshot of your buyer persona. Include the characteristics of your ideal customer. Give them a memorable name that can make it easier for you and your team members to remember. It is also helpful to specify their job title and role to give context about their professional capabilities.
Here are some buyer persona examples:
- Marketing Manager Marnie: Marketing or advertising industry
- Tech-Savvy Tom: IT professional in the tech industry
- Health-Conscious Hazel: Fitness instructor in the health and wellness industry
Demographic information
Demographic information includes details about your persona’s basic characteristics. This includes the following details:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Occupation
- Income Level
- Marital Status
- Family Structure
- Homeownership
- Cultural or ethnic background
Demographic information can help you align your offerings with the specific needs and preferences of different groups. For example, a product targeting teens might have different features than one targeting people in their late 20s.
Goals and Objectives
The goals and objectives section outlines the aspirations, priorities, and challenges that influence the decision-making process of your ideal customer.
This includes their professional objectives, personal goals, and timeline for reaching these goals. Additionally, you’ll also want to include the pain points they encounter in pursuit of these objectives.
By understanding this information, you can tailor your referral campaign incentives and messaging to align with their goals and objectives.
Buying Behavior
The buying behavior section can provide insights into how your ideal customer makes purchasing decisions. You can outline the steps they take when making a purchase, from recognizing their need to searching for information to looking at alternatives and making the actual purchase.
Also, consider their habits and preferences. They might do their research by checking online reviews, social media, or industry publications.
Investigate their preferred communication channels, which could be email, in-person, or phone calls. Assess if recommendations from friends and family are part of the decision-making process.
How to Build a Buyer Persona Template for Referral Marketing
Building a buyer persona template specifically for referral marketing involves tailoring it to focus on the characteristics, preferences, and motivations that are relevant to the referral process.
Follow these steps:
Review your existing customer database.
Take a look at your existing customer database to identify patterns, trends, and characteristics that would be helpful in your referral campaign.
You can identify customers who have come through referrals, and look for commonalities in demographics, behavior, and preferences. For example, you can review which types of incentives have been most effective in encouraging referrals.
Another idea is to identify referral champions — these are individuals who are active in making referrals. They may provide insights into the characteristics and behaviors that lead to successful referrals!
You can also analyze the preferred communication channels of referral customers. This might be email, social media, or other channels.
Make sure your referral campaign provides a solution to their pain point.
The right incentive should address or alleviate their pain points, making the prize more attractive to your audience.
For example, people on a tight budget are more likely to be attracted to discounts, because it makes your products more affordable. Potential customers who are unsure about the quality of your products might be interested in receiving a free trial.
For people who want to purchase products with limited availability, early access to these products will be appealing.
Create a template that can be adapted for various personas.
Make sure that you design a buyer persona template that will work for different types of customers. Begin by identifying sections that are applicable to different buyer personas. This might include behavioral traits, pain points, incentive preferences, and communication channels. Customize each section that doesn’t apply to the other personas.
For instance, if you run an e-commerce business selling tech gadgets, it is possible for you to have 2 buyer personas:
- Tech Enthusiast Terry: Terry is a 30-year-old software developer who follows the latest technology trends. His preferred incentive is exclusive access to new gadgets and invitations to product launches.
- Discount Lover Diane: Diane is a 21-year-old student who has a tight budget, but is interested in tech products. She is motivated by cost savings, so discounts would be her preferred incentive.
Refine your persona template by gathering feedback from your participants after the campaign.
Always strive to refine your persona template after the referral campaign. Reach out to participants through surveys, interviews, or feedback forms to gather insights.
Ask them about their experience with the referral campaign, what motivated them to participate, and their opinion on the incentives. Take note of their challenges during the campaign — whether it's related to the referral process or communication issues.
Next, update your persona template based on the feedback to ensure that it reflects the real experiences and preferences of your participants. The next time you run a campaign, you can offer different incentives and use messaging strategies based on your learning.
Final Thoughts
Integrating buyer personas in your referral campaigns is beneficial because it helps you target and engage the right audience for referrals!
If you’re looking for a marketing platform that specializes in creating and managing viral referral campaigns and giveaways, use UpViral. It provides tools to help your business generate leads and drive customer engagement. Click here to learn how other businesses use the platform to reach their goals.