MARKETINGFUNDAMENTALS

WEBINAR SERIES

Building PersonasPRESENTED BY: Jenn Bader and Kristin Foster

Marketing Fundamentals: Act-On Webinar Series

Build Engagement and RevenueAligning key objectives to the customer journey

Building PersonasUnderstanding the who, what, why and when of personas

Content StrategyDeveloping a content strategy that supports targeted personas

Results-Based Outcomes and KPIsCreating measurable objectives that make a true impact. 01

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BUILD ENGAGEMENT & DRIVE REVENUE

Platform

Marketing Automation: Where to Begin

Marketing Automation Strategy

● Attract and capture ● Build stronger engagements

● Ensure alignment between sales and marketing

● Track & measure campaign metrics

Strategic Marketing Roadmap

1. Company’s Strategic Initiatives

2. Marketing Measurable Objectives

3. Buyer Decision Making Journey

4. Target Persona Development

5. Content Strategy

Why Personas Matter: They Get Results

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Who You Sell toThe Companies in Your Sweet Spot

Who you serve best:

• Priority: Small emerging growth companies, aggressive, $5‒20 million

• Secondary: Mid-sized companies, $20‒500 million

• Tertiary: Departments/divisions of large enterprise/Fortune 500 companies (e.g., Xerox, Progressive, Avery Dennison) $1 billion+ ; Companies that have demonstrated technological sophistication, such as using CRM, etc.

Who you say No to:

• Micro-businesses < $5 mill, and/or companies whose marketing is more casual, bordering on the amateur

Define Your Target Market

Sales Productivity

New Customer Welcome

Funnel Stage Nurturing

EventPromotion

Transactional Email

Speak to a Defined Audience

The Challenge

● What problem does this person have that will cause them to need you?

The Value Proposition

● What value (solution) do I provide to their problems

The Benefit● Why am I their best option?

B2B

B2C

The 3 Most Important Questions

B2B: Define Target Market & Personas

Persona SegmentVertical

Technology

Data Storage

CTO/CIO

DB Admin

Purchasing Agent IOT

Embedded Software

Though we are developing mass communications, the goal

is to engage in “person to person” marketing and

communication.

Defining the audience by who they are, and the specific

interests and challenges that they have, is critical to success.

Persona Development Outline

B2C: Define Target Market & Personas

Persona SegmentVertical

Financial Services

Home Loans

First Time

2nd Home

Investment TBD

TBD

Though we are developing mass communications, the goal

is to engage in “person to person” marketing and

communication.

Defining the audience by who they are, and the specific

interests and challenges that they have, is critical to success.

Persona Development Outline

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Key To Success: Right Person, Right Message, Right Time

PERSONA WORKSHEET

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The CMO: Drew48, married, two kids. 25 years’ exp. MBA, Business. Started out in product marketing. Reports to the CEO and Board.

Responsible for, judged by:

• Brand awareness, press

• Demand / leads, revenue

• Retention / numbers

• Product, go-to-market / launches

What keeps him up at night?

• Team development and performance

• Proof of contribution to revenue

• Marketing getting respect inside company, board

Emotional/professional drives:

• Respect inside company and in industry

• Be seen as successful change agent

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Titles for this personacould include:

Reads:

WSJ, NYT; business: eWeek, trade pubs like AdAge, DGR,

B2B Marketer, MarketingProfs; Analysts: Forrester, Gartner.

The Economist. Mostly online, some paper (WSJ)

Challenges:

Recruit and manage talented people. Stay ahead; build

cross-department partnerships, negotiate politics.

Purchases:

Find products online. See who gets funding. Trust reviews,

peers, use cases, references

Red flags:

Vague brands, buzzwords, pushy salespeople

CMO, VP of Marketing,VP of Demand Gen, VP ofMarketing Technology, VP of Integrated Marketing, VP of Marketing Ops

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Tell your story to Drew

Channels:

• Referrals, references

• Reviews, peer groups

• Major trade and tech pubs, business media, analysts.

• Use cases, case studies (especially in vertical)

Messaging:

•Proven to raise team performance

•Prove department’s value with attributed revenue

•Fast implementation, minimal downtime

•Act-On solid, funded; means dependable

•Integrate your chosen tools; superb CRM

•Proven low-risk; will not hurt team performance

•No IT reliance

•Dependable support for training and rough patches

The decider. Drew prefers to make decisions in

concert with feedback from his team, and consult

with peers.

SEO Watchword/s

Content Inventory Worksheet

Sales-Ready Lead Handoff

Sales Productivity

New Customer Welcome

EventPromotion

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Customers

Sales Team

Third Party Partners

• Qualitative Buyer Research

• In-person User Groups• Quantitative Surveys

• Buyer Insights • Buying Cycle Process• Buying Process

Behavior

• Research Firms • Industry Trade Sites • Associations

Data Collection: The Where and What of Creating Personas

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Data Collection: Bridging the Gap Between Marketing & Sales

Buying Cycle Mapping

Lead Conversion Behavior

Buying Process Behavior

Purchase Decision Behavior

Defined Markets

Audience Behavior

Lead Behavior

Buying Process Behavior

Content Behavior

Qualitative Research

Buyer Persona Development

Buyer Insight Analysis

Joint Strategy Marketing & Sales Alignment

Marketing Sales Buyer Insights

By understanding our audience, it becomes very

easy to anticipate behaviors and prepare automated

marketing programs.

Connecting the Dots: Great personas lead to successful campaigns

Sales-Ready Lead Handoff

Sales Productivity

New Customer Welcome

EventPromotion

Create a master list• Based on Persona Development • Segments are used to trigger specific email nurture

programs or to exit people

Profile Development • Status (customer vs. prospect), title, industry,

product/interest, geo • Behavioral (Engagement): Top/Middle/Bottom of

funnel, visited a pricing page, viewed but did not submit contact form, downloaded advanced content

Persona Development/Segmentation Outline

Prospect Title

VP ChannelIndustry

High Tech

IOT Interest

Channel Strategy

Engagement ment

Top

Middle

BottomCaaS

Channel ManagementData Storage

Sr. Manager

(Influencer)Customer

Status Profile Behavior

BREAKING DOWN THE FUNNEL

Strategic Marketing Roadmap

AWARENESS INTEREST CONSIDERATION CLOSE ONBOARD SUPPORT LOYALTY

Pain Points/Challenges Persuade Aid in

evaluation

Provide critical info, address risks, close

Welcome!Address

risks/delays

Prevent disruption

/churn

Deep engagement

Financial Growth Customer Retention & GrowthAcquisition & Engagement

Sales conversation

Post sales conversation (Sales, Marketing, Support)Marketing conversation

PERSONA A PERSONA B PERSONA C

MARKETINGFUNDAMENTALS

WEBINAR SERIES

Content StrategyThursday, October 24th