It is no longer a secret that any marketing strategy’s success depends directly on its ability to focus on the right public. Defining a target audience is part of any business plan and serves as a guide for marketers to develop actions capable of impacting potential customers.
In the digital age, however, the reach of these campaigns has become much broader. Today, through Digital Marketing, it is possible to connect with consumers of all kinds, from all parts of the world. It is important, however, not to lose focus.
To improve the segmentation of these marketing and communication strategies, the concept of buyer persona emerges. It includes characteristics that are much more specific than those of a target audience. If you have not yet built your business’ persona, it is about time to take action.
To assist in this process, we created this article. Along the way, we’ll highlight the main buyer persona statistics for 2022 and talk more about the relevance of this resource. Read on to find out:
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What’s the impact of a buyer persona in a business?
Building a buyer persona is one of the most impactful activities for a business’ success. The semi-fictitious character serves as inspiration for creating valuable content that addresses their pains, explores their motivations, and moves the brand closer to the customer.
The use of a persona, however, is not restricted to content production. In fact, any decision process should take into account the buyer persona’s characteristics.
Let’s say your business wants to launch a new product, for example. Just by observing the persona, you will be able to identify the best way to introduce the new solution in your campaigns.
By working with the idea of buyer personas, the company allows itself to create experiences — and solutions — that delight the consumer.
More than that: delight the ideal consumer. After all, the persona is nothing more than an idealized character that emanates the traits of the customer that the company wants to acquire. In this manner, the effectiveness of any strategy becomes much more remarkable.
Check out this animated infographic to understand why building Buyer Personas can help you direct your efforts to the right audience:
Well, if the persona allows you to focus on the ideal customer, this means that your sales representatives will deal with people who are much more likely to go through the entire marketing funnel and make the buying decision. On the financial side, this also reduces unnecessary costs.
Take a paid ads campaign, for example. If you know exactly which audience you need to reach to achieve your goals, your resources will be invested more intelligently, raising your ROI.
Why you should build one for your marketing strategy?
Defining a persona for your marketing strategy is imperative if you want to get the best out of your efforts. This is independent of the type of approach we’re talking about. Ranging from Inbound to Outbound Marketing, the persona is a central element in developing truly effective approaches.
This character’s construction involves, besides demographic data, more abstract particularities, such as their desires, drawbacks, hobbies, and ambitions. Usually, the persona even receives a name, age, and profession, in order to make it as close as possible to a real consumer.
As you can imagine, this process of humanizing the target audience is a positive factor in the decision-making and brainstorming of marketing teams. Based on the analysis of the persona, it is possible to employ mental triggers and other techniques that will encourage the development of a long-lasting relationship between customer and brand.
Here, it is valid to note that you do not need to stick to just one buyer persona. This is a very common concern, as many companies deal with completely different markets and audiences within their business activities.
It’s not a problem. Your company can build a few extra personas, as long as, of course, it maintains its identity and manages to develop effective strategies for each one of them.
Still not convinced of buyer personas’ importance? So, let’s look at some numbers. Read on!
8 buyer persona statistics that prove its importance
The integration of buyer personas into marketing strategies is by no means a novelty. In the beginning, this feature represented a real competitive advantage for any company that used them.
Today, it is more than a benefit: it is a must. It is no wonder that about 44% of B2B marketers already use this resource, and 86% say they intend to use it in the near future.
With this kind of strategy already widespread in different markets and industries, it is possible to access several studies that highlight its importance.
These statistics show the connection of personas with the business profitability, relationship with the audience, and much more. Below, we have selected 8 stats you absolutely need to know. Check it out!
1. The use of personas increase email open rates 2-5 times
Most digital communication strategies include shooting email messages. Mature marketing departments segment their mailings according to each of their target audience in order to customize the messages to suit each recipient better. But this approach only makes any impact if the lead actually opens the email.
That’s why the open rate is one of the most monitored metrics in email marketing. And, according to data presented by experts in the field, the use of a persona has a positive impact on this metric, multiplying it 2 to 5 times.
2. CTR is increased by 14%
Once the lead has opened the email, the next step you want them to take is to click on the link, image, or whatever element is included in the message.
This will take them either to a specific address, like a landing or buying page, depending on which stage of the funnel you are targeting. Personas increase by 14% the number of people who click on the content delivered in your emails.
3. Email conversion rate goes up 10%
Also, still talking about email marketing, the inclusion of personas in the strategy boosts the conversion rate by 10%, directly impacting your financial results. This is one of the most insightful buyer persona statistics.
4. Makes websites 2 to 5 times easier to navigate
Another pillar of any marketing strategy is the website. Your company’s site should centralize your business information, thus being a fundamental channel for the relationship with the consumer. It turns out that if the experience offered to visitors is poor, they will quickly leave your pages, damaging your domain authority.
The secret is to know your audience and understand how to serve them better. This is one of the advantages that the persona offers you. As a consequence, including them in your strategy will make your website 2-5 times easier for the user to navigate.
5. Increases website traffic by 210%
There are different ways of acquiring traffic to your website: Content Marketing strategies, paid ads, social media posts etc. The fact is: if you want to bring your audience to your pages, you need to know how to approach them, regardless of the channel you are using. By including a persona in this process, you have the potential to increase traffic by up to 210%.
6. Boosts organic search traffic by 55%
For many companies, focusing on organic traffic is essential to maintain a sustainable strategy, as it involves much lower expenses than paid alternatives. Including a persona in an SEO strategy, which focuses on placing the brand in search engine rankings, increases this organic traffic by 55%.
7. 82% of the companies that used buyer personas were effective in creating quality value propositions
Your value proposition is what dictates your ability to engage your audience and outperform your competition. This is another reason why the use of buyer personas is necessary. According to research, the resource was employed by about 82% of companies successful in this strategy.
8. 90% of the companies that use personas claim to understand their audience well
This is another fundamental data to understand the importance of buyer personas. They work as tools to better understand your customers, which allows for constant optimization of the strategy. The study conducted by ITSMa showed that personas exceeded the expectations of marketing managers in this regard.
81% of the people interviewed stated that they expected the use of personas to help them understand their audience. After the experiment, 90% acknowledged that this actually happened.
These buyer persona statistics are clear indications of their importance for the success of several types of strategies, especially in the field of Digital Marketing. The use of personas is crucial for the company to invest its time and money in the most effective way possible, targeting an audience with real chances of forming a loyal customer base.
Now that you checked these buyer persona statistics, you are certainly interested in creating a buyer persona to optimize your strategies. Well, we have exactly what you need! Download our free ebook now!