Developing personas is extremely beneficial to both marketing and sales. Any great marketing team will develop several buyer, influencer, and user personas to help the sales and marketing teams effectively message to and communicate with prospects in all phases of the buying cycle.
Many times marketing teams reference personas to develop specific brochures, white papers, or emails in an attempt to persuade one individual persona. However, decisions are not made in a vacuum, so we cannot market in a vacuum.
Today, decision making is done by consensus. A staggering 17 people are involved in information technology purchase decisions at enterprise companies, according to IDG Enterprise research. (See our infographic for more on IT decision makers.)
All major technology purchases are decisions made by committees.
Here are five reasons you should stop marketing to individual personas and start marketing to groups of personas.
1. Everyone has a different perspective.
In these purchase-by-committee situations, there are many players each with different backgrounds, interests, and challenges. To persuade the committee and earn a sales meeting, marketing must reach all personas directly or indirectly.
2. All of your personas talk to each other.
Marketers often communicate with personas as if they don’t communicate with each other. Spend time researching what the committee process may look like, how the personas interact, who leads the charge, etc.
LinkedIn is a great tool for identifying connections between employees in an organization. When we are informed about the process as a whole, we can make better messaging and marketing decisions.
3. The main decision maker is not always the best target.
You have to find the one persona who will facilitate the buying process within the committee to be your advocate. This persona may not be the main decision maker, but can be a powerful influencer. In order for this influencer to be effective, arm her with information to disseminate to her colleagues. Your influencer can answer the committee’s questions and squash their doubts.
4. High-level buyer personas are sometimes unreachable, but never unmarketable.
A mid-level employee will be more likely to engage with your marketing materials and can elevate your message to higher-level managers involved in purchasing decisions.
For example, an email sent directly to the CEO will likely be screened out by an admin along with dozens of other pitches sent to the CEO each day. Start by reaching out to a persona who is more likely to read your emails, engage with your marketing materials, and elevate your message to the CEO IF you hit their pain points.
You can also determine who DOES have the ear of the C-level in your target verticals. It might be a particular analyst or thought leader. Reach out and establish a relationship with those influencers.
5. Buying committees need help defining their problem.
Buying committees are often overwhelmed with conflicts that can derail your bid for their business before it starts. By strategically marketing to multiple personas within a buying committee, you can help the group define their collective problem and prepare to evaluate solutions.
Some questions and sources of conflict in the committee include:
- Do we have a problem?
- Can we handle it internally?
- What is the best solution?
- What are the costs?
- What is the time frame?
- What will we need to change?
- What else don’t we know?
Use your persona research, smart collateral, and strategic outreach to educate your audience and guide them along the buyer’s journey.
Our technology marketing agency has developed detailed personas for many healthcare and technology decision makers and influencers. Wondering how to identify and develop your target personas? Give us a call to discuss your challenges! 877-887-7611.
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