Persona marketing looks easy. It isn’t

Here’s what goes wrong

Attempts to create evergreen, catch-all content have been largely a failure. The subject matter tends to be so elevated and thought-led that it gets hoovered up by analysts, marketers and academics rather than real retailers.

Or the tech company makes a big noise on LinkedIn, reaching perhaps a handful of genuine decision makers but forgetting perhaps that the real decision maker may not even be on LinkedIn or certainly not a regular networker, unless of course they are looking for a new job.

Or the content is coated in the language of tech, beloved of its owner, but an impenetrable jungle to the person it was aimed at.

Or the content is a 3,000 page white paper aimed at a chief executive, while the CTO gets the infographic. Some mistake surely. Either way, the content generally tends to be too long and is largely unread.

Or the so-called insights in the content are already very well known to the audience, so they simply feel they are being talked down to, if they get that far.

Here’s how to fix persona marketing:

Take the time to find out who you are targeting and what their preferences are. Sure, you can’t know much to start with but you can respond as you progress to their reactions or lack of.

Use the language of retail. Think you know what that sounds like? Guess again. Bet you don’t spend enough time with retailers; you can never spend enough time with retailers. They almost certainly hate your pet words and phrases.

Keep it short. Get to the point. Say what you have to say and get out. Make it valuable and actionable. Add a call to action – what do you want them to do next?

Work with the sales team. Why do I feel I have to say this? It should be bloody obvious. They are the ones who spend most of their time with retailers. Moreover, everything marketing does should be directed at helping the sales team to win new business.

Don’t quit. Most tech companies run a big campaign, then stand back, check the figures and decide it hasn’t worked. The truth is, it has only just started. Keep going; you may get bored hearing the same message over and over but your audience may not hear it until communication number seven.

Account Based Marketing at Fieldworks is driven by market intelligence and actionable insight. Find out more about our ABM service here.

https://fieldworksmarketing.co.uk/services/account-based-marketing/

Here’s what goes wrong

Attempts to create evergreen, catch-all content have been largely a failure. The subject matter tends to be so elevated and thought-led that it gets hoovered up by analysts, marketers and academics rather than real retailers.

Or the tech company makes a big noise on LinkedIn, reaching perhaps a handful of genuine decision makers but forgetting perhaps that the real decision maker may not even be on LinkedIn or certainly not a regular networker, unless of course they are looking for a new job.

Or the content is coated in the language of tech, beloved of its owner, but an impenetrable jungle to the person it was aimed at.

Or the content is a 3,000 page white paper aimed at a chief executive, while the CTO gets the infographic. Some mistake surely. Either way, the content generally tends to be too long and is largely unread.

Or the so-called insights in the content are already very well known to the audience, so they simply feel they are being talked down to, if they get that far.

Here’s how to fix persona marketing:

Take the time to find out who you are targeting and what their preferences are. Sure, you can’t know much to start with but you can respond as you progress to their reactions or lack of.

Use the language of retail. Think you know what that sounds like? Guess again. Bet you don’t spend enough time with retailers; you can never spend enough time with retailers. They almost certainly hate your pet words and phrases.

Keep it short. Get to the point. Say what you have to say and get out. Make it valuable and actionable. Add a call to action – what do you want them to do next?

Work with the sales team. Why do I feel I have to say this? It should be bloody obvious. They are the ones who spend most of their time with retailers. Moreover, everything marketing does should be directed at helping the sales team to win new business.

Don’t quit. Most tech companies run a big campaign, then stand back, check the figures and decide it hasn’t worked. The truth is, it has only just started. Keep going; you may get bored hearing the same message over and over but your audience may not hear it until communication number seven.

Account Based Marketing at Fieldworks is driven by market intelligence and actionable insight. Find out more about our ABM service here.

https://fieldworksmarketing.co.uk/services/account-based-marketing/