Buyer Personas: The Drivers Behind Successful Businesses

We call them the ideal users, buyers, or customers, but in the end, it all boils down to the same concept: a buyer persona. 

 

The idea of buyer personas emerged in the 1990s and ever since the social media boom, most (if not all) law firms that are going digital have their ideal buyer persona already figured out. Knowing who their ideal client helps law firms put “a face” to the ideal customer. You could say that your buyer persona is basically like the compass within your customer journey map that guides you in the right direction towards more qualified leads.

 

As your law firm evolves, so should the buyer persona. Businesses change. People change. But many businesses fail to realize this and never go back and update the buyer persona. Why? A lot of businesses get distracted with measurements and metrics and fail to look back at their most important asset, their clients. 

 

According to the Search Engine Journal, “Many content marketers had changed their targeting/messaging strategy […] but fewer had revisited their customer/buyer personas.” In other words, a lot of businesses like law firms are missing out on opportunities to grow. You might be, too!

 

Make it Personal

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “it’s not personal, it’s strictly business,” from The Godfather, but  we much prefer the tagline, “it’s business, therefore make it personal.” 

 

Business objectives without having the clients’ wants and needs aligned simply won’t do. Nowadays, users have plenty of options to pick from and users want brands they can trust. And how do you build trust? You make it personal. Understand the buyer personas from all of the angles.

 

Yes, looking into demographics (age, gender, location, etc.) is important…but there are a few other aspects you’ll want to consider, too.

 

According to Business to Community, you need to know who you are speaking to. To do this, it’s important to go back and create different buyer personas according to their common goals and not common characteristics. (This very important factor is often overlooked).

 

Why is it important to dig deeper into the buyer persona? 

 

To personalize content. According to Search Engine Journal, “Having a target audience of ‘everyone’ puts you in danger of appealing to no one.” Here’s an example for you to visualize: What perception would you have of a store that sells clothes, groceries, pharmaceuticals, small electronic appliances, and car parts? We asked ourselves the same question and concluded that by targeting so many different audiences with this massive portfolio of offerings, they risk for their potential customers thinking they might have sacrificed quality over quantity.  The same applies to the process of content creation!

 

To survive in today’s competitive legal marketing industry, content has to be personalized to the client. And the more personalized you can get, the more spoken to the right prospect will feel.

 

Speak Your Client’s Language 

According to Hootsuite, keyword search to monitor mentions and competitors is vital real-time information to know what is being said about a business.

 

According to Neil Patel, gathering all the information from the keyword search gives the business a better reflection of the persona’s search intent and the relationship between certain words. 

 

And why is this important? Because it’s far more efficient to appeal to people that are actually interested in you than trying to please everyone online. 

 

By speaking your customer’s language you can create content that will speak to them directly in channels they are found. This is the moment to make your client’s business your business. 

According to Hootsuite it’s important businesses get out of the feature mindset and start focusing more on the benefits.

 

Why? Because a feature just says what your business is but the benefits tap into the persona’s psychological wants and needs. For starters, you can think of this: “How would the persona’s life be better if they chose your services over your competitors?”, “Why are the attorneys at your law firm the best bet for a specific client?”

 

The Power of Emotions 

In today’s world, everyone is so focused on metrics, but the reality is that clients are emotional drivers.

 

Search intent is driven by emotions. According to Kantar’s NeedScope, a new framework tapping into emotional marketing, the “Why?” Is far more important than the “What?”

 

The truth is that demographics rarely tell (SEO professionals, content creators, writers, etc.) what they need to know about their consumers. It only emphasized the what. According to Google search terms and emotions, there are 6 “Canonical” consumer needs: (Each driven by a combination of “emotional, social, and functional needs”)

 

It is important businesses within the legal industry tap into the emotional side of the persona’s search intent to understand their goals and objectives more deeply. 

 

Unlocking Growth 

It is important to break out of traditional marketing metrics and tap into the psychological and emotional side of the consumer.

 

If businesses within the legal industry want to understand where they are heading, it is important to look back, and remember that the client DOES come first. Your client should be considered a personal business, and your client taps into their emotional side with their search intent and loyalty

 

Business does have to be personalized. It not only gives the entire company-specific directions but it could push your business to long-term success and loyalty with their clients. 

 

Establishing success is also at your reach. If you’d like to know about a more personalized approach to your law firm’s marketing, reach out to us! We’d be happy to help.  

 

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