A buyer persona is a working description of a customer type and their situation. It should help you choose messaging, content and follow-up. An invented name, age and attractive profile photo add little if you still do not know why someone is considering the offer.
Start with one important customer type. The aim is greater precision, not a cast of characters that no one uses.
Talk to customers who made different choices
Interview new customers, established customers and some who declined, if they want to contribute. Ask what triggered the need, which alternatives they considered and what made choosing difficult. Ask for specific events rather than general opinions about marketing.
Also involve staff who understand sales and delivery. They may spot questions customers do not state directly. Distinguish these observations from assumptions and check them across several conversations before using them to guide decisions.
Describe the decision, not just the person
- Situation: What happens when the need arises?
- Desired outcome: What is the customer trying to achieve?
- Barriers: What creates doubt, risk or delay?
- Buying criteria: What is needed to choose a provider?
- Roles: Who uses, recommends, pays and approves?
- Information needs: What must the customer understand before the next step?
A hypothetical example is an operations manager needing a clearer overview across departments. They may focus on practical use and implementation, while the finance manager needs to understand costs and reporting. These are different needs within the same purchase.
Turn insight into specific improvements
Use the persona when reviewing a service page or ad. Do you explain the problem in the customer’s words? Do you address their uncertainty? Does the form request information that genuinely helps the next conversation?
A persona is not the same as an advertising audience. Platform data and settings do not fully describe someone’s situation. Use interviews to improve offers and messaging, and test responses without assuming targeting is precise at an individual level.
Only collect information you need
Record patterns and anonymise examples when identity is unnecessary. Avoid including private customer stories or sensitive information in shared marketing presentations. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority’s privacy principles describes principles including purpose limitation and data minimisation.
Update when your experience changes
Review the description when entering a new market, changing the offer or seeing a different pattern of enquiries. Treat it as a hypothesis to improve, not as a definitive description of everyone in a group.
Consider a one-page summary of needs, buying criteria and the next content actions. Keep the remaining interview notes in a suitable internal system with appropriate access controls. The content strategy can then be built around the questions you have actually identified.
