Buyer Personas + Journey Maps: B2B Marketing Gets Personal

This week #ContentChat was joined by Ardath Albee (@ardath421) for a lively discussion on how buyer personas and customer journey maps can help marketers create more compelling and personal marketing experiences.

Q1: What are buyer personas?

A1: Buyer persona is a composite sketch of a segment of a target market based on validated commonalities that are actionable #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A1a: Effective buyer personas provide the insights to help companies build profitable business relationships #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A1b: Buyer personas include objectives, obstacles, orientation, questions, preferences, keywords, engagement scenarios #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A1c: Buyer personas also help you step into the buyer’s shoes with a “day in the life” narrative – in first person #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

Profiles of your ideal customers…think along lines of novelist creating their initial character sketches #ContentChat https://t.co/1ec4YwI4OR

— Brett Pucino (@BPucino) October 10, 2016

A1 Semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers #contentchat

— Phil Siarri (@philsiarri) October 10, 2016

A1: I LOVE personas. They put a personality to your buyers helping you understand the who, what, where, when, why and how. #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/cCDYdt93TZ

— Jeff Reno(e) (@Renoe) October 10, 2016

A1: Buyer personas are researched personifications of who your audience is, both pre and post purchase. #ContentChat

— Brandfolder (@Brandfolder) October 10, 2016

A1 b Originated by Angus Jenkinson / OgilvyOne in the early 90s #contentchat

— Phil Siarri (@philsiarri) October 10, 2016

A1: What buyer personas aren’t: an evergreen customer profile. They must be updated & verified often. #contentchat

— Shelly Lucas (@pisarose) October 10, 2016

A1: personas can be tailored around marketing plans. You don’t need a one size fits all approach, customize personas as needed #ContentChat

— Phil Barnes (@Barnes_Phil) October 10, 2016

A1: Buyer personas are a framework of a person who represents your best customer. #ContentChat

— Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) October 10, 2016

A1d: Buyer personas are not just for marketing, but can inform sales, customer service, product management, R&D, etc. #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A1: Buyer personas are narrative profiles of your target audiences, such as customers or users #ContentChat

— Nina Kostamo (@NinaDeNapapiiri) October 10, 2016

A1) Said another way, personas are the personification of your customer data into something tangible for easy comprehension. #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/L35dsvPaYw

— Jeff Reno(e) (@Renoe) October 10, 2016

Q2: Why do I need buyer personas?

A1: Buyer personas are narrative profiles of your target audiences, such as customers or users #ContentChat

— Nina Kostamo (@NinaDeNapapiiri) October 10, 2016

A2: to be able to put yourself in your target’s shoes & see everything from their perspective. #ContentChat Really get to know them.

— AZ Social Media Wiz (@AZSocialNetWiz) October 10, 2016

A2b: To contribute to revenues, we must create momentum in the pipe – buyer personas help set the strategy to do this #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A2) To learn something surprising that your competitors don’t know #contentchat

— Scott Johnson (@iScottJohnson) October 10, 2016

A2b: To contribute to revenues, we must create momentum in the pipe – buyer personas help set the strategy to do this #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A2: Buyer personas give you direction so you can find the X (see also: Conversion) at the end of your journey. #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/2GcCKIbWjI

— Jeff Reno(e) (@Renoe) October 10, 2016

A2: Buyer personas give you direction so you can find the X (see also: Conversion) at the end of your journey. #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/2GcCKIbWjI

— Jeff Reno(e) (@Renoe) October 10, 2016

a2: Personas are necessary b/c it articulates the challenges, motivations, &products/services a buyer has when considering you #ContentChat

— Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) October 10, 2016

A2: You need personas to make sure you’re not talking to yourself. #ContentChat

— Carrie Hane (@carriehd) October 10, 2016

As a writer, I could not agree more! #ContentChat https://t.co/qz5n0V5vil

— Erika Heald (@SFerika) October 10, 2016

A2: Buyer personas help your writers keep their target focused on your customer needs, create more compelling content. #ContentChat

— Erika Heald (@SFerika) October 10, 2016

A2: Buyer personas help your writers keep their target focused on your customer needs, create more compelling content. #ContentChat

— Erika Heald (@SFerika) October 10, 2016

A2: They also help Creative people devise the images, the voice, the message + media for best connecting with them. #contentchat https://t.co/Y7ykgrNJUj

— John Zebell (@JohnnyZ1959) October 10, 2016

A2: Defining buyer personas help you to map their journeys, ensuring you have relevant content in different touchpoints #ContentChat

— Nina Kostamo (@NinaDeNapapiiri) October 10, 2016

It’s important to realize that the “buyer” may not be the end user / customer. Often the case in corporate & manufacturing #ContentChat

— Phil Barnes (@Barnes_Phil) October 10, 2016

A2 Buyer personas help you map your content to each unique buyer challenge and identify any gaps in your content strategy #contentchat

— Tatiana Beale (@tatianabeale) October 10, 2016

A2 Buyer Personas are needed for dev product, informing mfg on product, building prod & mktg strategy, & support & service #ContentChat

— Mike Mathews (@memathews) October 10, 2016

A2: you’ll hardly get buyer personas right the first time. You have to adapt your plan to account for new customer habits #ContentChat

— Phil Barnes (@Barnes_Phil) October 10, 2016

Q3: How do I create buyer personas?

A3: To create buyer personas: 1st talk to sales team – what do they know about buyers and who do they want to talk with? #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A3a: Talk to exec team to understand business objectives – select personas based on which buyers can help to achieve them #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A3b: Talk to representative customers – not an inquisition but a directed conversation – 30 minutes gets those booked #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A3: Research. Customer insights. Employee interviews. Customer journey mapping. The list goes on and on. @SFerika @ardath421 #ContentChat

— Shred Nations (@shred_nations) October 10, 2016

A3c: When selecting personas remember to focus on role, not title. Personas can span titles based on responsibilities #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A3 Ethnographic, scientific research … engaging with audience / leads #contentchat

— Phil Siarri (@philsiarri) October 10, 2016

A3 Ethnographic, scientific research … engaging with audience / leads #contentchat

— Phil Siarri (@philsiarri) October 10, 2016

A3: Talk to your customers. Learn what motivates them, their challenges, their goals. #contentchat

— Debbie Schwake (@SpiceDebbie) October 10, 2016

A3 Pay attention. Meet with customers. Listen. Focus groups2+ some quantitative. Salespeople often know a lot 2. #contentchat https://t.co/goKnxj0F0b

— John Zebell (@JohnnyZ1959) October 10, 2016

A3: Create personas by interviewing customers (when it’s convenient for them, not you) and keeping a repository of the data #contentchat

— Tatiana Beale (@tatianabeale) October 10, 2016

A3: Focus groups, phone calls, or simply buying them a coffee are all great ways to learn what’s important to your audience #ContentChat

— Brandfolder (@Brandfolder) October 10, 2016

A3d: Make sure that marketing programs can effectively reach selected personas – or that sales can. Otherwise waste of time #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A3: In persona development, it’s important to listen to what customers say, but also pay attention to what they do. #contentchat

— Shelly Lucas (@pisarose) October 10, 2016

A3: Collect consumer data. Compile media research. Ask Questions. Be open to the answers. #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/lN8oeLhj7n

— Jeff Reno(e) (@Renoe) October 10, 2016

A3: Interview key stakeholders from product & sales teams, then talk to clients and industry thought leaders. #ContentChat

— Erika Heald (@SFerika) October 10, 2016

A3: I’m so glad to hear so many people saying “talk to your customer” as part of creating personas. You can’t make this up! #ContentChat

— Carrie Hane (@carriehd) October 10, 2016

#ContentChat A3: Find I learn a ton by attending events. Can have lots of conversations w/ customers/prospects in a short time https://t.co/IpCBgIkV0i

— Dustin Luther (@tyr) October 10, 2016

A3 I like constructing target personas with hypothesis that go deeper, deeper. Then validate with trial balloons, research #contentchat

— John Zebell (@JohnnyZ1959) October 10, 2016

A3: take past failures into account when developing personas also. Use these experiences to improve the customer experience #ContentChat

— Phil Barnes (@Barnes_Phil) October 10, 2016

A3e: Do external research to validate your findings and add flavor – @LinkedIn profiles of similar people can be a goldmine! #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A3: Buy and update personas from data on actual customers / leads / targets. #contentchat

— Josh McCormack (@joshmccormack) October 10, 2016

A3: First interview 10+ customers. #contentchat

— Dennis Shiao (@dshiao) October 10, 2016

A3 We often dive into targetgroup data aswell using as much real data as possible and not be stereotypical in building personas #ContentChat

— AnnSi Krol (@annsikrol) October 10, 2016

Q4: How do buyer personas interact with buyer’s journey maps?

A4: Journey maps are about “tasks to be done” and context at each step of buying process. Personas help define those #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A4: Buyer personas can give the context for the journey. And the journey can inform the persona. #ContentChat

— Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) October 10, 2016

A4a: Journey maps also provide pipeline metrics – time to stage transitions, level & patterns of engagement for personas #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

And content! Best thing I ever did was start mapping content needed to the journey steps. #ContentChat https://t.co/zhdUv9l5K4

— Carrie Hane (@carriehd) October 10, 2016

A4b: Journey maps will help you say NO to channels that don’t yield impact. You don’t need to be everywhere #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A4b: Journey maps will help you say NO to channels that don’t yield impact. You don’t need to be everywhere #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A4: the same concept as developing a #UX you have to take a proactive approach. Start broad and narrow your focus as you learn #ContentChat https://t.co/VogXJQYGYS

— Phil Barnes (@Barnes_Phil) October 10, 2016

A4 Same person, different need states+touchpoints. Walk the path to purchase=dynamic results for same persona #contentchat https://t.co/G6xNGx8SIn

— John Zebell (@JohnnyZ1959) October 10, 2016

A4: Buyer persona is the visual of the customer and journey maps are like task to complete in a project #ContentChat

— Danielle Siarri (@innonurse) October 10, 2016

@SFerika @ardath421 A4 Each unique buyer’s journey maps helps you document each buyer’s experience with your brand’s content #contentchat

— Tatiana Beale (@tatianabeale) October 10, 2016

A4: Personas are the How and Why. Journey Maps are the When and Where. #ContentChat pic.twitter.com/eC470sl3Mc

— Jeff Reno(e) (@Renoe) October 10, 2016

A4: Stay tuned in to what motivates different personas at different points of your marketing funnel. #ContentChat

— Brandfolder (@Brandfolder) October 10, 2016

A4: Journey maps summarize different stages of personas’ tasks throught the funnel: great tool for meaninful content creation #ContentChat

— Nina Kostamo (@NinaDeNapapiiri) October 10, 2016

Q5: B2B marketing is about marketing to other companies, not consumers—so why is it important to get personal?

A5: People are still your buyers. They have things to accomplish. Relevance is price of attention. #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A5a: B2B buying process can be long. Try carrying a relationship that long without knowing what your buyer cares about #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A5) Brands aren’t robotic, it’s nice to show that your brand has a personality. Transparency works wonders regardless of client #ContentChat

— Jason Schemmel (@JasonSchemmel) October 10, 2016

A5: B2B Marketing is still about humans buying from humans. All purchases are emotional. Diff emotions, but still emotional. #ContentChat

— Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) October 10, 2016

A5: It is always H2H – You are always marketing to a human. Personas help you talk to that 1 human you’re selling to. #contentchat

— Debbie Schwake (@SpiceDebbie) October 10, 2016

My intuition says because behind every business decision is decision-maker (s), & those are people (hopefully) #ContentChat https://t.co/y4YcdROjE2

— Brett Pucino (@BPucino) October 10, 2016

A5 Because in #B2B humans market to other humans 😉 #contentchat

— Phil Siarri (@philsiarri) October 10, 2016

A5 Companies are people, too! Ha! People make decisions+(oddly) non-rationale factors place big role in B2B decisionmaking #contentchat https://t.co/9R3Oa9ym4f

— John Zebell (@JohnnyZ1959) October 10, 2016

@SFerika @ardath421 Businesses are run by real people. You start with building relationships like real humans #ContentChat

— Wendy van Gilst (@wendyvangilst) October 10, 2016

@SFerika @ardath421 A5 Brands have lost the war with reaching consumers. It’s all about connecting with people, not companies #contentchat

— Tatiana Beale (@tatianabeale) October 10, 2016

A5) Helps in writing content that speaks to your B2B buyer’s needs, pain points and goal #contentchat

— Scott Johnson (@iScottJohnson) October 10, 2016

A5: In the end, it’s all human to human sales. For now, at least, until it’s robot to robot. 😉 #ContentChat

— Carrie Hane (@carriehd) October 10, 2016

A5b: B2B buyers work in teams – impt to engage the team to get consensus – otherwise no sale. Personas help with this #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A5 +Communication made with people/not machines or blank-faced corpses. Hence, storytelling also works in B2B #contentchat pic.twitter.com/ZxvafrvACR

— John Zebell (@JohnnyZ1959) October 10, 2016

@SFerika @ardath421 Because at the end of the day, it’s a person making the decision to use your services, not the company. #B2BMarketing

— Margo Kleman (@margokleman) October 10, 2016

A5 Whether you’re talking B2B or B2C, it’s a person making the buying decision, not a “business.” #contentchat

— Martin Lieberman (@martinlieberman) October 10, 2016

A5 All marketing is to a person, company buyers have triggers both personal & corporate #ContentChat

— Mike Mathews (@memathews) October 10, 2016

A5b because people are the decisions makers! Not companies #contentchat

— Tatiana Beale (@tatianabeale) October 10, 2016

A5b because people are the decisions makers! Not companies #contentchat

— Tatiana Beale (@tatianabeale) October 10, 2016

A5: B2B, B2C… who cares! Ultimately people are doing business with people. And companies are nothing without people. #ContentChat

— Wayne Hendry (@ideakid88) October 10, 2016

A5c B2B sales are highly complex with multiple players involved. You need to speak to all of their challenges, not just 1 brand #contentchat

— Tatiana Beale (@tatianabeale) October 10, 2016

Q6: What are some examples of #B2B companies embracing and excelling at personalized marketing?

A6: HCSS – I nominated its marketing leaders for Content Marketer of the Year @CMIContent https://t.co/qSQD283IjC #ContentChat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

@SFerika @ardath421 I think Hubspot is a great example. They constantly add value to people which helps to built relationships #ContentChat

— Wendy van Gilst (@wendyvangilst) October 10, 2016

A6a: Autodesk is also doing a great job https://t.co/qkDxJAriMN #ContentChat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A6b: Schneider Electric’s university also stands out https://t.co/UU0TU4lvpQ #ContentChat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A6: My go-to’s but @InVisionApp and @HubSpot do an awesome job with tailored content. #ContentChat

— Brandfolder (@Brandfolder) October 10, 2016

A6: My go-to’s but @InVisionApp and @HubSpot do an awesome job with tailored content. #ContentChat

— Brandfolder (@Brandfolder) October 10, 2016

@RichProducts @TysonFdSvc Training centers show customers how to use their products. Tie up in online/digital tools, support. #contentchat https://t.co/XYVKs5EeIW

— John Zebell (@JohnnyZ1959) October 10, 2016

A6c: Thomson Reuters also is using buyer personas effectively – in accounting! https://t.co/DWfaIXNDSz #ContentChat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A6: Corporation #B2B @Hubspot and @FindYourBetter #ContentChat

— Danielle Siarri (@innonurse) October 10, 2016

A6: Companies like @Adobe is delivering great #B2B personalized marketing #ContentChat

— Nina Kostamo (@NinaDeNapapiiri) October 10, 2016

@SFerika @ardath421 A6 I really like Adobe as a B2B model, they definitely know their niche #ContentChat

— Amelia Henning (@AmeliaRHenning) October 10, 2016

Q7: What tools and resources do you recommend for getting started with creating buyer personas and journey maps?

A7: Take a spin through a tool based on my persona strategy to get a handle on the basics > https://t.co/vpZGcXNOor #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A7: Stickie notes. The all purpose tool for pretty much everything. #ContentChat

— Carrie Hane (@carriehd) October 10, 2016

A7: Start with the who/what/where/why/when questions to get started. We had templates to help flesh that out too! #ContentChat

— Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) October 10, 2016

A7a: Start talking to customers – just do it. Focus on what they care about – not your solution #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A7 Going retro here: conversations + empathy for your customers. #contentchat

— Dennis Shiao (@dshiao) October 10, 2016

A7b: Use Advanced Search on @LinkedIn to review profiles of people representative of your buyers #contentchat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A7 Start w customer-centric culture always thinking of buyer. Imbue with habits, language, references, objects/artifacts #contentchat

— John Zebell (@JohnnyZ1959) October 10, 2016

A7: For data collection: observation, interviews, online research, etc. Once data is available, ready-made canvas tools #ContentChat

— Nina Kostamo (@NinaDeNapapiiri) October 10, 2016

A7 b And this #contentchat pic.twitter.com/kMnHR6ID6q

— Phil Siarri (@philsiarri) October 10, 2016

A7 I’m always thinking, too, in B2B, use Sales+CRM tools to capture customer personalities, lifestyle info #contentchat

— John Zebell (@JohnnyZ1959) October 10, 2016

Yes! Go on calls, too RT @carriehd: Listen in on calls for an hour. I’ve done that and it’s super enlightening. #ContentChat

— Ardath Albee (@ardath421) October 10, 2016

A 7 Tap into different data clusters depending on your Q TGI data, research, CSI etc internal knowledge in salesreps, CRM staff #ContentChat

— AnnSi Krol (@annsikrol) October 10, 2016