Buyer Persona

This is where modern selling begins in our current age of the buyer. Buyer personas should be research-based models of who buyers are, what they are trying to accomplish, what goals drive their behavior, how they think, how they buy, and why they make buying decisions, and where they buy as well as when they decide to buy. 

At a minimum it should include 

• Position (CEO, CFO, VP of ABC, Director of XYZ)
• Decision-making role (decision-maker, influencer)
• Buyer type (user, technical, economic)
• Goals /Needs/Wants/Desired Outcomes : Achieve, Avoid, Fix
• Main sources of information:  Where your persona does his or her research
• Challenges/pain points:  challenges and the accompanying emotions 
• Preferred content medium:  How your persona likes to absorb content
• Quotes:  Bring your personas to life with actual quotes 
• Objections:  anticipated from your persona during the sales process
• Role in purchase process:  his influence in the decision making process
• Marketing message:  The messaging that speaks directly to this persona

20 Qs in a Persona Interview

Role

1) What is your job role? Your title?

2) How is your job measured?

3) What does a typical day look like?

4) What skills are required to do your job?

5) What knowledge and tools do you use in your job?

6) Who do you report to? Who reports to you?

Company

7) In which industry or industries does your company work?

8) What is the size of your company (revenue, employees)?

Goals

9) What are you responsible for?

10) What does it mean to be successful in your role?

Challenges

11) What are your biggest challenges?

Watering Holes

12) How do you learn about new information for your job?

13) What publications or blogs do you read?

14) What associations and social networks do you belong to?

Personal Background

15) Describe your personal demographics (age, married, children).

16) Educational background : level, schools, subjects 

17) Describe your career path. How did you end up where you are today?

Shopping Preferences

18) How do you prefer to interact with vendors (email, phone, in person)?

19) Do you use the internet to research vendors or products? How do you search ?

20) Describe a recent purchase. Why did you consider a purchase, what was the evaluation process, and how did you decide to purchase that product or service?

What activities indicate your company has a customer focus?

1. Do you consider customer service as an integral and important part of your offering ? Are you aware of the needs of various types of customers and to what extent your competitors are meeting it ? Are you aware of what gaps do you need to fill and do you have explicit agenda for it?
2. Do you have sensible and validated mechanisms for measuring  satisfaction of various types of customers with you as well as that of your competition? Are you aware of the trends? Are you aware of what agenda you need to set as a result of the analysis of measurements?
3.  Do you know to what extent your various customers are loyal to you and why? Do you know the same about your competition? Are you aware of the trends?
4. Do all people in the company know the voice of the customer as loudly and clearly as the voice of the financial figures?
5. Do you know how you come across to your various types of customers at the various touch points (planned and unplanned) and what do the customers infer based on their experience? Do you know the same thing about your competitors ? Do you know what are the trends?
6.  Do you perform Win/Loss analysis to get a continuous updates on who your real competitors are and what you need to do?
7. Do you calculate Net Promoter Scores?
8. A Framework for using Customer Focus to drive sales  Basic customer focus process is using the customer’s (buyer’s) perspective to plan and execute the sales process and the 5 pillars are :

• Creating a model of Buyer Personas
• Mapping the Buying Journey and Buying Process
• Aligning Your Sales Process to this
• Understanding Market Conditions and Buyer Issues
• Aligning Your Sales Solution Architecture

Should you really select this customer ?

1. Can you deliver spectacular results? If not, consider letting someone else have the job. It's good to stretch yourself professionally, but taking on work that is not a good fit for your expertise is like writing a book, doing a triathlon, or acting—it's a lot harder than you think.
2. Do you really want to do the work? As you meet with a prospective client, find out whom you'd be working with and the nature of the work. Listen to your instincts. Do you want to work with the people you've met? Will the work be interesting enough to satisfy you beyond the money you'd make? Do you have a passion for helping the client reach the desired outcome? If not, consider walking away.
3. Are there big "whys" for the project? Why does the client need to do this project? And, why now? The answers will clue you in to the importance, relevance, and value of the project. If you want to grow as a consultant and make a meaningful impact, you should aim to work on clients' most pressing issues.
4. Does the proposed schedule make sense? One reality for 99% of projects is that everything will take more time and effort than you think. People are eternal optimists when they plan a project, so it's up to you to be the realist. You'll suffer throughout the project, and probably lose money, if you go along with an overly aggressive schedule. One test for schedule validity is to count the assumptions. As a rule of thumb, the more project assumptions, the less faith you should have in the planned schedule.
5. Can you tell if the project is funded? While knowing this answer is important, asking a client the question too directly can make it seem like you are interested only in the client's money. Besides, unbudgeted funds can miraculously appear when a good idea is on the table. Still, you should pay attention to the clues about the level of financial support for the project.
6. Will you be working with a decision maker? As much as we want to sell directly to decision makers, it's not always possible. But make sure you will be working with a decision maker on the project. You'll put project success and your sanity on the line if you must rely on a client team member who can't (or won't) make the essential decisions that every project demands.
7. Are you prepared to sacrifice something else to take on this work? Your final consideration should be about lost opportunity costs—personal and professional. If you use your time to work on this project, what must you abandon or delay? Be honest with yourself about what you won't be able to do and about the anxiety you may feel for not attending to other urgent matters.

How to appoint an ad agency?

1. Who will service your account day-to-day : who will be assigned to your account and in what capacity should be established before you sign on the dotted line. You may work with amazing strategists but they wont be found on your account after-sale.
2. What does the agency know about your company? Act as if you are interviewing a job candidate to see if they've done their homework - do they know how your organization is structured, what you current marketing mix is, who is on your board of directors, what your brand voice is like, and how many visitors your website gets a month. The very best should be able to tell you things about your organization that even you don't know.
3. Consider the billing structure Will they pay-for-performance structure, a monthly invoicing system, or pay-up-front model? Ask for transparency into how you are charged and how the fees are determined. You don't want any hidden costs that come back and bite you later.
4. Gain insight into their internal culture ' : An agency partner is an extension of your internal department, so you want to make sure that its company culture meshes with yours. If you are a straight-laced corporate machine looking to partner with a laid back, young, and hip agency, the partnership may not work out. Ask if you would have beer with them outside of work and enjoy it? Such soft characteristics are important, because you will be spending a lot of time together.
5. Make them prove their value : Ask, "Why should we select you over another?" Look for intelligent answers beyond the buzzwords. Good businesses are introspective and can point out their flaws while also elaborating on the real value they bring. Do they have a particular proprietary technology that no other agency has? Do they offer a service that no other agency does? Look for candid answers about their strengths and weaknesses.
6. Are they up for a challenge?  True success doesn't come in the form of sugarcoated communication. It comes by challenging another's stance. Don't be afraid to onboard an agency that is willing to provide constructive recommendations for your company. You are hiring an agency to become better, more agile, and profitable, right? So ask the question, "Name a time when you've had to challenge a client, and how did you go about doing it." The answer to the second part of the question will help you gauge their level of respect and tact, as well.
7. Is the proof in the pudding? Does the potential content marketing agency have a killer blog and website copy? Does your creative agency have a beautiful but unfriendly website? When an agency talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk, it is a red flag. Take a few hours as a team to research the agency's online presence, past work, and any other company materials so you can gauge that it actually knows what it's doing.
8. Ask about analytics not trophies : In the '90s, awards, trophies, and accolades were the sign of an agency's true value; now, it's all "in the numbers." Client results are the true measure of success. Look for agencies that are able to prove past clients' success through metrics and can understand, analyze, and garner insight via pinpointed data. Ask the agency what exact metrics they use to gauge success. Is it mutually exclusive data, broken down by your in-house activity and results versus theirs? What types of listening and reporting tools do they use?
9. Ask for references agency websites sound the same: we're experienced … we'll deliver … we're creative … we put a premium on serving our clients." Get past the buzzwords by asking for two or three references from past clients. Ask questions similar to those you would the actual agency, and compare answers.

CMO Job Description

Marketing responsibilities 

1. Establish / Justify the company's best competitive position within a market
2. Locate and profile potential markets and key DMU participants within
3. Generates quality sales leads
4. Develop effective selling tools
5. Formally analyze and track competitor's business strategies and tactics
6. Define, prioritize and justify product / service - improvements and developments
7. Promote an explicit company product or service image
8. Facilitate  information transfer from customers to the rest of the company
9. Simplify the customer's travel on his buying journey  

CMO responsibilities 

1. New Product Rollouts: Strategy development, program incentives, timing and media coverage
2. Agency Evaluation: Selection and evaluation of outside marketing contractors
3. Customer Database Management: Software selection, training, maintenance of customer contact Information
4. Market Research: Market definition, prioritization, project management, data gathering
5. Pricing Analysis: Pricing as a marketing tool, initiate and analyze competitor's pricing practices
6. Product Audits: Establishment of a formal means to evaluate competitive offerings
7. Public Relations: Establishment, guidance and coordination of all areas of public
8. Relations Trade Shows: Definition, participation, prioritization and audit for effectiveness of all trade shows
9. Product Promotions: Strategy formulation, program composition, premium definition, all media coverage
10. Marketing Communications: All printed / electronic communication: brochures, catalogs, price lists, case histories
11. Media Selection: Assist in selection and prioritization of all media options: print, broadcast, multimedia
12. Internal Communications: Establish and maintain all inter-company corporate communication means
13. International Marketing: Establish company presence in targeted international markets, audit for effectiveness
14. Strategic Planning: Offer strategic information and alternative insights to corporate management strategies
15. Board Meeting Participation: Communicate and reinforce the company marketing priorities, strategies and tactics
16. Corporate Vision Statement: Proliferate and reinforce the corporate vision throughout the Organization Corporate Identity and Image: Create, maintain, improve and "manage" all corporate images and symbols

As customer retention has become more of a business priority in our intensifying competitive markets, the marketing function has evolved from influencing potential customers to involving them the company's business planning and advancement. Effective marketing also has blurred the distinction between product and service and continues to apply more influence on the company's sales representation priorities.

Buyer Qualification

that in both situations the buyers:

• were the decision makers,
• had the financial ability to buy,
• had a need,
• saw Janine’s company as differentiated and the preferred solution, and
• understood the business impact of buying from Janine to be substantial.

GIVING A BRIEF TO A CREATIVE AGENCY

Creative Brief

If you want good creative work without going getting exhausted through a series of misunderstandings and iterations; please be clear about the following 11 points.   

1. Make an itemized list of what all needs to be worked upon by the agency
2. Explain why do you need this material in the first place. 
3. Area and Budget considerations
4. How is this activity linked to - and dependent on - other activities.
5. What is on offer 
6. Target audience we want to influence
7. Persona of the target audience 
8. What is the monitorable objective
9. What message/s we want to convey
10. What are the do's and dont's 
11. What is the support material
12. Time Table 
13. Who is giving the brief and who will answer the queries 

An Example of a Creative Brief in Practice

• WHAT NEEDS TO BE DEVELOPED : 2 versions of 100 cc press ad and 3 hoarding designs. 
• WHY IS THIS MATERIAL NEEDED : To make people aware of the Citibank's  new “CitiClick" service and to promote trial.  
• AREA AND BUDGET : The material will be used in western region in the months of June and July only. We estimate to spend Rs 50 Lakhs on media and Rs 5 Lakhs in development costs.
• RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER ACTIVITIES : Citiclick needs to penetrate to at least 100000 households in Mumbai and Pune to establish it as a distribution vehicle for the insurance business we want to launch before Diwali.
• WHAT IS THE PRODUCT : This is a free mobile application that works on all  operating platforms - from iPhone to Android – and makes online purchases easier and more secure. If used within 10 days, they get Domino Pizza at Rs 100 discount.  
• TARGET AUDIENCE : Existing Citibank customers in Mumbai and Pune. The primary target will be males and female, 20 to 35 years old, with at least one Citibank credit card. The target will be approximately 70% married, with a combined HH incomes of  Rs 120000 per month income.
• WHAT IS THE MONITORABLE OBJECTIVE : We want 50000 downloads in the first two weeks.
• TARGET AUDIENCE PERSONA : This audience is comfortable with new technology, and quick to test new smart phone apps that leverage their time. They like to be among the first to have the latest and greatest electronics, apps and especially phones. They make multiple online purchases monthly.
• POINTS TO CONVEY : The main point is to convey that CitiClick will simplify and speed all of your online purchases, while providing increased security irrespective of the device  you have. The secondary points you have are (a) It's free, from Citibank - your trusted financial partner (b)  Get a Domino pizza at Rs 100 discount - details come with the app (c) Backed with a 100% purchase / fraud protection guarantee (d) It has earned rave reviews from real users. (See attached quotes.) (e) takes just seconds to select from multiple pre-personalized download options via your online account.
• DOS AND DONTS : The logo and web address and help line number should be there except in hoardings. The font should be the standard Citibank font only. Please use existing photographs only : no new shoot is budgeted.
• SUPPORT MATERIAL : Attached herewith are (1) consumer insights (2) Brand positioning (3) Tag lines used recently (4) Terms of the Pizza offer.
• TIME TABLE : Roughs to send by May 15^th, approval of roughs by May 25^th, artworks ready May 31^st and releases by June 7^th.
• PERSON GIVING BRIEF : Aditya Sarin,  Assistant Manager in the marketing communications department of Citibank created this brief and takes responsibility for the information and for answering all queries.