In B2B creating in-depth personas is key to creating great content. Content that leads to conversion and to an “Insanely Great” Customer Journey.
To create personas with that kind of insight requires having an intimate knowledge of who the influencers and decision-makers are.
You need insight into what each of them must accomplish at each stage of the customer journey and what information or experience they need to achieve that business outcome.
- What information do they need and in what form?
- What information will they need to convey to others
- What will they need to accomplish during each stage and what will they need to move to the next stage.
Some of that insight can be gathered through research and analytics. To deliver content or experiences that truly differentiate you and create breakthrough customer value requires a different level of insight. An insight that comes from spending time with that customer in their environment. An insight that comes from watching them pull together information, interact with their peers, research and discuss competitive options and present that information internally. That kind of insight will help you create content and experiences that create truly breakthrough value and that will accelerate conversion. Those personas will need to be continually updated as the market changes and as you learn more about those customers and their needs.
I Look forward to your comments on this as a best practice and to your thoughts about other practices that create exceptional customer insight and value.
Mike Connor, Principal Spice Catalyst