Buyer personas are defined by four key areas. Functional attributes focus on job roles, common titles, organizational position, and the buying center, offering insight into their responsibilities and decision-making power. Emotive attributes capture the persona’s needs, challenges, and aspirations, helping marketers craft emotionally resonant messaging. Decision process attributes examine the persona’s role in the purchasing process, their level of engagement, and the key decision drivers that influence their choices. Lastly, behavioral attributes reveal how personas consume information and interact with content, guiding marketers in developing effective communication strategies that align with the persona’s preferences.
Functional Attributes
Functional Attributes: Buyer personas are defined based on their job role, common titles, organizational position, and buying center. These functional attributes help marketers and sales teams better understand their responsibilities, decision-making influence, and the unique purchasing processes within their buying centers.
Job Role
Buyer personas are centered on job roles, focusing on their responsibilities, accountabilities, and performance measures, which can be illustrated through a day-in-the-life exercise.
Common Titles
Personas often represent multiple job titles; compiling these helps target the right prospects and assists sales teams in identifying relevant contacts.
Position on Org Chart
A persona’s organizational level affects their decision-making power and information needs, with senior and lower-level individuals having different priorities.
Buying Center
Identifying the persona’s buying center (business unit, department, or team) is critical, as each center has unique objectives and purchasing processes.
Firmographics
Personas often vary by organization type, geographic region, or segment, and should be subdivided based on market and firmographics when possible to address unique buyer needs and challenges.
Emotive Attributes
Emotive Attributes: A buyer persona profile should detail the persona’s needs, challenges, initiatives, and aspirations, allowing marketers to create messaging that resonates emotionally with the persona's goals and fears.
Initiatives
Identify the persona’s key projects and aspirations to understand how they earn credibility and advance their career.
Challenges
Recognize the persona’s business issues, fears, and obstacles to help address their pain points in marketing.
Buyer Need
Determine the primary need driving the persona toward the offering, focusing on the desired business outcome.
Lexicon
Use the persona’s industry-specific language and keywords in messaging to enhance resonance and optimize for search engines.
Decision Process Attributes
Decision Process Attributes: Understanding the persona’s role, level of engagement, and decision drivers (financial, operational, or strategic) is essential for creating targeted campaigns that align with their purchasing process.
Buyer Role
Refers to the persona’s specific role in the purchasing process, such as champion, influencer, decision-maker, user, or ratifier. Each role comes with different levels of authority and decision-making criteria.
Level of Engagement
Describes how actively a persona is involved in the various phases of the buying process (education, solution, selection), as well as the depth of their influence in decision-making at each stage.
Decision Drivers
These are the key motivators or opportunities that influence how the persona evaluates the offering, which can be financial (revenue/cost impact), operational (efficiency/productivity), or strategic (growth/expansion).
Behavioral Attributes
Behavioral Attributes: Marketers must know how personas consume content, interact during the buying journey, and where they seek information to tailor communication strategies effectively.
Content Assset Types
Identify whether the persona prefers short-form or long-form content to guide content strategy.
Interaction Types
Determine the persona’s preference for non-human (e.g., website, trial) or human (e.g., vendor rep, events) interactions during the buying journey.
Watering Holes
Learn where personas network or gather information, such as LinkedIn or industry events, to direct marketing efforts.
© Framer Inc. 2023