Buyer Personas, Revised and Expanded

A fresh look into understanding your prospective customer's buying decisions to influence them and win more business

Building on the groundbreaking success of the first edition, this newly revised and updated version of Buyer Personas enables marketers to stop wasting time and resources on their best guesses and start drilling down to understand what buyers truly care about—then harness this newfound knowledge to create strategies and messages that break through the clutter and reach buyers on their level.

In a world where buyers frequently struggle to get the information they need to evaluate competitive alternatives and feel confident in their choices, this book lays out a step-by-step approach used by hundreds of companies to understand what buyers want to know and experience as they search for a solution to meet their needs, weigh their options, and make a buying decision. In this book, you'll learn:

• Why understanding the buying decision is far more important than knowing a few things about the individuals or roles involved in that decision
• How to develop a modern Buyer Persona based on five types of buying insights that will inform nearly every marketing and sales decision you make
• Why interviewing recent buyers is the best way to develop your Buyer Persona and how to do it effectively
• How to use AI and quantitative survey research to enhance your Buyer Persona
• Ways to use Buyer Persona insights to increase awareness of your products and services, drive consideration, and convert more business

The revised and expanded Buyer Personas is a complete guide to go beyond benefit-heavy, undifferentiated marketing and focus only on what buyers care about most. It earns a well-deserved spot on the bookshelves of entrepreneurs, executives, marketers, and other business professionals looking to influence their prospective buyers.

Introduction: Listen First, Then Speak 1

PART I The Art and Science of Buyer Personas 9

Chapter 1 Understanding Buying Decisions and the People Who Make Them 13

Chapter 2 Focus on Insights That Guide Marketing and Sales Enablement 31

Chapter 3 Decide How You Will Discover Buyer Persona Insights 43

PART II Interviewing for Buying Insights 55

Chapter 4 Setting Up Your Buyer Persona Study 57

Chapter 5 Gain Permission and Schedule Buyer Interviews 73

Chapter 6 Conduct Probing Buyer Interviews 87

PART III Creating Your Buyer Persona 109

Chapter 7 Mine Your Interviews for Buying Insights 111

Chapter 8 Communicate Buying Insights for Impact 131

Chapter 9 Conduct Survey Research to Enhance Buying Insights 147

PART IV Aligning Your Strategies to Win More Business 167

Chapter 10 Decide What to Say to Buyers 169

Chapter 11 Adjust Strategies to Deliver the Knowledge and Experience Buyers Want 185

Chapter 12 Start Small, with an Eye to the Future 201

Acknowledgments 213

About the Authors 215

Index 217

JIM KRAUS is the President of Buyer Persona Institute (BPI) and a Principal of KS&R, Inc., a leading global market research and consulting firm. Jim has spent his entire career as an executive and consultant, advising small to market leading global brands on how to understand their prospective buyers and why they make the buying decisions that they do.

ADELE REVELLA is the Founder of Buyer Persona Institute (BPI) and a leading authority on buyer personas. A career marketer with decades of experience, Adele has seen the discipline from all sides: executive, consultant, trainer and entrepreneur. Now retired, she traveled the world as a marketing and business leadership speaker, consultant, blogger and workshop facilitator.

The groundbreaking first edition of Buyer Personas redefined what an actionable buyer persona can and should provide—fast forward ten years and the need to understand the buying decision has never been more important. This newly revised and expanded edition of Buyer Personas provides readers with everything they need to navigate the complex world of modern buyer behavior, enabling them to stop wasting time and resources on their best guesses and start drilling down to understand what buyers truly care about.

More than just another marketing book, Buyer Personas takes a deep dive into key, yet often overlooked aspects of buyer behavior and decision making, from the volume of information that buyers and consumers are now subject to on a daily basis, to when, where, and how buyers seek out information to inform a particular buying decision they are involved in.

Practically, this book covers a variety of methods and tools that readers can use to understand the buying decision pertaining to their own products and services, with information on high level concepts, when it’s appropriate to use each technique, and insights you can expect from each one. The authors include detailed case studies throughout to demonstrate how real businesses used these techniques to gain fresh insight and make a bigger impact with their target audiences.

Moving past simple features and benefits, Buyer Personas helps readers give buyers the information they need, when they need it, in the manner they want it in to alleviate their concerns and instill trust and confidence that you and your solution can deliver what they need. It earns a well-deserved spot on the bookshelves of marketers, entrepreneurs, and executives looking to cut through the noise and directly appeal to the modern consumer mindset.

PRAISE FOR BUYER PERSONAS

"The guide you need to create personas based on the actual problems of actual people...not guesswork or hunches or vibes."
—ANN HANDLEY, bestselling author and Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs

"The first edition of Buyer Personas changed the trajectory of my career. For close to a decade, it has been the only method that is mandatory for every one of our fractional CMOs. The expanded edition brings new insights to the first book's fundamentally profound simplicity, revealing the persona methodology that every existing and aspiring CMO should embrace."
—JOSEPH FROST, Founder, yorCMO

"Buyer Personas is an important playbook for sales and marketing leaders grappling with how to drive decisions with B2B buyers desperately searching for providers and solutions that they trust."
—TED MCKENNA, Coauthor of The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision

"Most marketers acknowledge the importance of understanding their prospective customers, yet they often struggle to initiate a reliable process to do so. This book serves as the ultimate solution—a comprehensive guide akin to a 'know your customer bible'—empowering you to make sales and marketing decisions grounded in an accurate understanding of your buyers and why they make the buying decisions that they do."
—JOE PULIZZI, author of five bestselling marketing books including Epic Content Marketing and Content Inc.

“The guide you need to create personas based on the actual problems of actual people... not guesswork or hunches or vibes.”
—Ann Handley, bestselling author and Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs

“The first edition of Buyer Personas changed the trajectory of my career. For close to a decade, it has been the only method that is mandatory for every one of our fractional CMOs. The second edition brings new insights to the first book's fundamentally profound simplicity, revealing the persona methodology that every existing and aspiring CMO should embrace.”
—Joseph Frost, Founder, YorCMO

“Buyer Personas is an important playbook for sales and marketing leaders grappling with how to drive decisions with B2B buyers desperately searching for providers and solutions that they trust.”
—Ted McKenna, Coauthor of The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision

“Most marketers acknowledge the importance of understanding their prospective customers, yet they often struggle to initiate a reliable process to do so. This book serves as the ultimate solution—a comprehensive guide akin to a ‘know your customer bible’—empowering you to make sales and marketing decisions grounded in an accurate understanding of your buyers and why they make the buying decisions that they do.”
—Joe Pulizzi, author of five bestselling marketing books including Epic Content Marketing and Content Inc.