Personas: the secret weapon for business strategy
In the modern business arsenal, personas are like GPS for decision-making. These fictional profiles represent target customers, helping companies visualize who they’re serving and how to meet their needs. Think of them as the bridge between raw data and human-centered design, fusing demographics, behaviors, and goals into a clear, actionable story.
Personas shape everything—from product development to marketing campaigns. A tech company might create “Data-Driven Dan,” a numbers-obsessed analyst who values efficiency, to guide UX design. Or a clothing brand could focus on “Sustainable Sarah,” an eco-conscious millennial, to tailor its messaging. These profiles help teams stay customer-focused, ensuring every decision resonates with real-world users.
Well-crafted personas help align different departments around a shared understanding of customer needs, leading to more customer-centric business strategies and improved ROI on marketing and development efforts. But personas aren’t just static snapshots. The best ones evolve, incorporating insights from analytics, user feedback, and shifting market trends. Done right, they’re a power move, transforming customer data into strategies that actually stick.
Building personas with Generative AI
When it comes to building personas, this has traditionally been done using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods, including surveys, interviews, focus groups, and data analytics. As an example, interviewing customers with the empathy mapping technique can help build out personas. However, recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have made it easier to create ‘simulated’ personas that can bolster these other techniques – filling in gaps and providing validation.
Let’s run through an example using ChatGPT, but note you can use other text-based Generative AI systems in much the same way. If we’re developing a marketing campaign for a new brand of organic soap and want to use marketing personas to better understand our audience, we can use a prompt such as “I need marketing personas for customers of organic soap”. Here are the results:
Persona 1: “Health-Conscious Hannah”
Age: 30-45
Gender: Female
Location: Urban
Occupation: Health and wellness coach, yoga instructor, or similar
Income: $50,000 – $80,000 per yearPain Points:
- Concerns about chemicals and artificial additives in personal care products
- Seeking high-quality products that align with her wellness lifestyle
- Looking for eco-friendly packaging options
Goals and Aspirations:
- To lead a healthy, toxin-free lifestyle
- To set an example for her community or clients
- To reduce her carbon footprint
Preferred Channels:
- Social media (especially Instagram)
- Wellness blogs
- Online forums and communities related to health and wellness
Persona 2: “Eco-Friendly Ethan”
Age: 22-35
Gender: Male
Location: Urban or suburban
Occupation: Freelancer, tech industry, NGO worker
Income: $30,000 – $60,000 per yearPain Points:
- Concerned about environmental degradation
- Looking for cruelty-free and vegan options
- Has skin sensitivity issues
Goals and Aspirations:
- To adopt a sustainable lifestyle
- To make ethical consumer choices
- To support businesses that are transparent about their sourcing and production processes
Preferred Channels:
- Podcasts on sustainability or ethical consumption
Persona 3: “Mindful Millie”
Age: 18-25
Gender: Non-specific
Location: College town or urban area
Occupation: Student, part-time job or internship
Income: $10,000 – $30,000 per year (mostly disposable)Pain Points:
- Limited budget
- Looking for authentic brands
- Desire for uniqueness, doesn’t want mass-produced items
Goals and Aspirations:
- To stand out and express individuality
- To make purchases that reflect personal values
- To engage with brands that align with social causes
Preferred Channels:
- TikTok
- YouTube influencers focused on lifestyle and sustainability
You can see the personas have detailed breakdown around location, salary, pain points, goals, and even which channels would be most useful to reach them. Another thing to notice is that the system provides good variation across the personas in areas like jobs (going from student to professional) and location. This can be useful for segmentation purposes where you have customers that could all have use for the same product, but how you reach them can vary. Take a look at this example of how organic soap brands appeal to different customer types:
You should use these personas as a starting point or guide, rather than the ultimate basis for a marketing campaign or product development. They can be fleshed out further with additional research, such as customer interviews or surveys.
Once your product or campaign is in market, you may also develop more refined personas. For instance, if you run a social media campaign for the organic soap example targeting the age range 18-25 (Mindful Millie), you could test marketing messaging around the hand-made unique quality of the soap, versus the price. Based on the results of the campaign, you may discover that price is less important to Millie than uniqueness and update the personas based on this knowledge.
Using Generative AI to develop personas can be incredibly useful as you construct your business strategy. This in turn can open up new potential for your marketing campaigns and execution, and find ways to stand out from the competition.
Resources
Marketing Personas: A Beginner’s Guide
Offers a comprehensive introduction to creating marketing personas to better understand and connect with target audiences.
Your Guide to Personas
A detailed guide to building effective personas for product marketing to tailor strategies and messaging to customer needs.
AI Marketing Personas
Explains how AI tools can enhance the creation and utility of marketing personas by leveraging data-driven insights.