Putting Personas To Work: Turn Buyer Insight Into Powerful Action

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Putting Personas to Work: Turn Buyer
Insight into Powerful Action
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Panelists
MODERATOR:
Andrew Gaffney
Editorial Director
Demand Gen Report
Tim Cook
Vice President of Client Services & Partner
The Mx Group
tcook@themxgroup.com
@MxGroup

Tim Cook
tcook@themxgroup.com | 630-230-2537
The Mx Group | TheMxGroup.com
B2B Digital & Demand Generation Agency© 2016 The Mx Group
Buyer Personas
Buyer Personas tell you what customers think,
do, want & need as they weigh their options.
Their own words reveal the questions, concerns and
proof you need to address to win their business.

Tim Cook
• Companies who beat sales goals 2x as likely to formally
document personas. (Understanding B2B Buyers Benchmark Study)
• Persona-based content increases customer engagement 6x
when targeting cold leads. (DemandGen)
• Using Personas increases email open rate 5x. (Forrester)
The Power of Personas

Tim Cook
1. The 5 Do’s & 3 Don'ts for creating effective Buyer Personas
2. Getting Marketing & Sales on the same Persona Page
3. Personas and your Media Choices
4. Using Personas to drive Insight-Driven Campaigns
5. Personas and your Engagement Content
What We’ll Cover…

Tim Cook
5 Do’s
1. Base them on
PRIMARY
RESEARCH- you
have to talk to real
buyers!
WHY?
You are not your buyer
and you need to
understand what
matters in their buy
cycle, not what matters
to your sales cycle.

Tim Cook
5 Do’s
2. Think about
PROFILES of the
companies and
people you are
personifying—they
matter to your
output. And
remember
recency!
WHY?
Are the Persona insights
the same for a small
company versus a
large one? Industry
segment A versus B?
Are you personifying the
segments that align to
business and sales
priorities?

Tim Cook
Where will you get the biggest bang for your
marketing buck?
• Aligned with Sales targets & goals
• Sales readiness
• Marketing readiness
• Tactical readiness
Prioritizing Segments

Putting Personas To Work: Turn Buyer Insight Into Powerful Action

Tim Cook
5 Do’s
3. Use a proven
Persona
interview
methodology and
listen more than
you talk!
WHY?
You need to stay on
track in the interview,
get that information that
matters, and maximize
the time you have with
buyers…it goes fast.

Tim Cook
5 Do’s
4. Avoid the
product/solution
“feedback trap” if
you interview current
customers.
WHY?
You want BUY CYCLE
insights that will help
make for more effective
sales & marketing…you
have to “take them back”
tot that mindset.

Tim Cook
5 Do’s
WHY?
You will learn just as
much (if not more) from
buyers that DID NOT
choose you as those that
did.
5. Include a mix of
“stalled or lost” and
“won” in your
research.

Tim Cook
3 Don'ts
1. Forget about the
Persona template
format.
WHY?
You need to make the
format gives your teams
info they need to be more
effective and you need to
ensure your research
approach gives you the
information you need to
populate it

Tim Cook
3 Don'ts
2. Think you have to
“boil the ocean" with
hundreds of
interviews you
conduct.
WHY?
If you have clear, well
defined segments, you’ll
find that 5-10 within each
segment will suffice.

Tim Cook
3 Don'ts
3. Expect that this is
an internal core
competence.
WHY?
There is a lot of value in
outsourcing to a firm that
does this work all the
time—not the least of
which is objectivity.

Tim Cook
xxx

Tim Cook
Getting Sales & Marketing on the Same
Persona Page
Get Realistic about Where You Are Today:
• Is sales ready, able and equipped to leverage Persona insights
in their sales process?
– Ready: Trained, fluent, bought-In
– Able: Comfortable leading with Insight/Empathy instead of Product
– Equipped: Sales materials, presentation, access to info

Tim Cook
Getting Sales & Marketing on the Same
Persona Page
• Sales process
• Sales training
• Sales presentations
• Talk tracks
• Persona specific sales tools
• Campaign content
• Marketing, CRM/SFA database Persona fields
• Marketing supplied content

Tim Cook
Not a “One and Done…”
1. You have to roll-out for sales.
2. You have to revisit and reinforce.
3. You have to receptive to their feedback.
4. You have to revisit as dynamics change.

Tim Cook
How your customer
buys has changed.
Source: CEB

Tim Cook

Tim Cook
Personas & Insight Drive Campaigns
xxx

Tim Cook
Staying on Track…
• Have all your content creators been briefed?
• Are your project and creative briefs leveraging your insights?
• Are your interpreting insights for each campaign?
• Who’s the star of your campaign, you or your buyer?
• Are you establishing empathy and demonstrating understanding?
• Can you get specific or only speak in generalities?
• Are you seeing increased engagement with your campaigns?

Tim Cook
Personas & Engagement Content:
The Content Conundrum

Buyer
Education Solution Selectio
Loosening of the
Status Quo
Committing to
Change
Exploring Possible
Solutions
Committing to a
Solution
Justifying the
Decision
Larry Leader
1.  From: Case Studies
2.  Transformer vs.
transformerless design
article
1.  Form: To Succeed
Control Your Speed
white paper
2.  Product Family Fact
Sheet
3.  Product Brochures
1.  Proposals with specs,
drawings, timeframes
2.  MTBF and availability
metrics
3.  Form: Reliable Tech. white
paper
1.  Form: Reduce Your
TCO white paper
2.  Customer Service &
technical support fact
sheet
1.  ROI analysis and
documentation
2.  Form: Energy Savings
Calc
3.  Form: Advanced Cell
Bypass white paper
1
2
3
Chris Consultant
Bypass white paper
2.  Product Family Fact
Sheet
3.  Product Brochures
1.  Proposals with specs,
drawings, timeframes
1.  Customer Service Video
2.  Form: Industry Experience
case studies
paper
1.  Form: Energy Savings
Calc
2.  Solidifying delivery
times
3.  Customer Service
agreements
documentation
1
2
3
Frank Finance 1.  N/A 1.  N/A
1.  Form: Energy Savings Calc
paper
Bypass white paper
2.  Form: Reduce Your
TCO white paper
documentation
1
Mike
Maintenance
1.  Customer Service
Metrics
2.  From: Case Studies
1.  Commissioning and service
options list
2.  Technical support Ap
1.  N/A 1.  N/A 1

© 2016 The Mx Group
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Q&A / Panelists
MODERATOR:
Andrew Gaffney
Editorial Director
Demand Gen Report
Tim Cook
Vice President of Client Services & Partner
The Mx Group
tcook@themxgroup.com
@MxGroup

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