When it comes to implementing your branding strategy, you typically put a lot of work into the collection of data, including persona development. Frequently, however, that data doesn’t seem to filter all the way down to the simple elements such as copy, content, images, word choice, etc.
Did you know that Harvard Business found 85% of 30,000 new product launches in the United States failed because of poor market segmentation? Imagine how much time and money that cost these businesses. If they’d had a better grip on marketing to their perfect customer persona, success might have been the outcome.
With that in mind, I invite you to a quick workshop right here in this blog post!
This workshop consists of one simple exercise. Write 2 paragraphs of website copy about this product. Don’t take too much time. Pretend you’re creating new copy for a promo and you only have 2 paragraphs of space.
No fair cheating and skipping ahead!
What did you come up with?
Perhaps something like this?
Are you caught up in the excitement of the New Year with a frenzy of goal setting? Or maybe you’re in panic mode and running behind? Wherever you stand, getting organized is one of the easiest ways to accomplish your blogging goals.
What’s the easiest way to get organized? With a blogging planner specifically designed to outline and track every important task. With everything in one place, growing your blog quickly becomes one of your favorite to-dos!
OK, great!
But what if all the information you collected told you the audience who is most attracted to this type of planner includes newbies who work from home and have published a blog for 6 months or less? These people have been online for years, but just can’t seem to gain any traction for their blogs. Their primary issues include content brainstorming, SEO, and list building.
How would these bits of knowledge about the customer persona change what you wrote?
I would alter my 2 paragraphs to read this way:
Are you caught up in the excitement of the New Year with a frenzy of goal setting? Or maybe you’re frustrated with trying to apply your online expertise to your blog? Wherever you stand, getting organized is one of the easiest ways for new bloggers to accomplish their goals.
What’s the easiest way to get organized? With a blogging planner specifically designed to outline and track every important task. From brainstorming unlimited content ideas with ease to consistently ranking your posts on Google and growing your targeted, engaged list, you’ll find a new level of joy in blogging.
See the difference? Making the copy specific to the marketing persona gives them something to connect with. All the while they are thinking, “Yeah! That’s me! I need this.”
What if the persona development you did revealed that all those in your audience worked from home, not in business offices? How can you translate the message through your branding strategy that you understand who your customers are and that you relate to them?
Not everything has to be said in words! Images are an exceptional way to connect with site visitors.
Based on what we know so far, which of these do you believe would work best with our blogging planner?
A | ![]() |
B | ![]() |
C | ![]() |
I would choose B.
- Photo A shows a man wearing a suit sitting in a corporate office. Not our audience, for sure.
- Photo C is impersonal, showing only hands. We can do better!
- Photo B shows someone who could work from home wearing casual clothes and getting excited because he has found a way to make his blog prosper.
Brand Strategies Using Marketing Personas Online
I think you’re getting the idea about how persona development seriously impacts the implementation of all brand strategies. Let’s move forward to a couple of online examples.
Consumer Cellular
Consumer Cellular is devoted to providing mobile phones and services to senior citizens. Take a look at their site and you’ll quickly see that all of their branding strategy is customized. They took all the information found during their persona development phase and found a way to represent it visually or verbally on their site.
Photos — All the photographs are of people aged 55 and above.
Partnerships — The joint ventures they have arranged are in cooperation with companies their customer avatar needs, such as this one with AARP.
Products — They offer the latest and greatest smartphones, but the majority of the phones shown are older models and even flip phones (which many people over 70 still prefer).
The plans aren’t complicated and offer solutions that meet the needs of their marketing persona. Including plans that have no texting or data (which a lot of older seniors don’t use).
TV commercials show seniors doing activities typical of their age range, which immediately draws that avatar to the brand.
Love Your Melon
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Love Your Melon. This trendy site targets 20somethings and teens with beanie knit caps and other hats. The mission behind Love Your Melon is to donate to worthy charities… so far over $6 million has been given!
However, in my opinion, this site doesn’t do as good a job of connecting with their audience as Consumer Cellular does.
Font — The frilly script font used in their logo leans far more to the feminine side than neutral or masculine.
Photos — The photographs are all of 20something women. No men are shown even though the site has links for Gifts For Men.
Copy — To be as fun-loving as it appears in the images, the copy is a bit stuffy, using phrasing such as “Together, we create therapeutic experiences and fund charitable programming initiatives for children and families battling cancer.” It seems rather corporate.
Perhaps something more friendly like “Together, we give children a place to play while they heal. Through donations, we pay for a good portion of the expense, so families can concentrate on getting well” would communicate better with their audience.
Yes, it’s important to put a lot of effort and research into your persona development, but it’s critical to use that information in all areas of your branding strategy so you connect tightly with your marketing persona.
Go back and check your marketing pieces: web pages, emails, social profiles… all of it. Make certain you are laser focused on those people who want to hear your message!
Wouldn’t it be great to find out how to compile a customer profile quickly and also how to use the information you collect to improve all your marketing?
Get my Easy Customer Profile Creation mini-course now for just $17 when you use coupon PROFILEBLOG.
Have questions about brand strategies and persona development? Talk to me below!
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