This type of consumer modeling is a very typical exercise that you will find marketing teams doing at big companies across the world. To some extent, businesses do the same sorts of activities when they are trying to define their overall brand but they are not usually as concrete. Mostly, they tend to focus on adjectives to describe the business and identify its purpose in a more general way. So what happens when you use the same strategy to define your brand persona as a whole?
So with that exercise in mind, ask yourself the following questions about your business, and I bet you’ll get a much deeper understanding of who your business is as well:
- Is it more feminine? Masculine? A mix of both?
- What would its name be?
- Where does it live? (Hint: It doesn’t have to be where it’s actually located.)
- Is it happily single? Dating? Engaged? Married?
- What is its favorite outfit?
- What are its favorite hobbies or ways to spend leisure time?
- What are its biggest pet peeves?
- What kind of music does it listen to? What does it read?
- When does it wake up in the morning? Go to bed?
- What does it eat for lunch?
- Where would it vacation?
- How many friends does it have? What are they like?
- Does it have any strong beliefs or ideas governing it?
- Who are its heroes?
- What are its dreams and goals?
It’s okay if you don’t know the answers to all of those questions now, just thinking about them will help you to more firmly identify your brand persona in the future. It’s also okay to answer those questions one way now and then change your answers in the future. Just like people, businesses change over time!
Once you’ve taken the time to really think about your brand, apply that persona across all of your communications to convey a consistent brand image. Using the same voice on the pages of your website, across social media channels and in communications with leads and customers will make them feel more connected to your brand.
Kate Pierce is the owner of LionShark Digital Marketing LLC, a West Michigan internet marketing company. Her areas of expertise include Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Web Consulting for small businesses, Copywriting and Local Online Marketing. She lives in the Grand Rapids area with her husband and enjoys cooking, watching sports and spending time outdoors. Like a true digital marketing expert (i.e. geek), she loves talking about marketing theory and SEM trends… so don’t say you weren’t warned!