I spent a few fascinating days this week in the company of John Edgars, the CEO of a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company; Christine Moffett, the director of communications at an East Coast telecommunications company; and Rob Schneider, president of a Midwest public relations firm with billings of $50M annually.
In an industry and business climate where trust and integrity are so important, Edgars stays awake at night worrying about Internet rumors and guarding his company’s reputation. Moffett manages a team of five speechwriters, but often needs freelance help because of her executives’ heavy speaking commitments. Unfortunately, she’s had bad experiences with freelancers who don’t seem to “get” the corporate culture, lack the confidence to deal effectively with senior management, and produce only mediocre work.
Rob Schneider has recently begun offering speechwriting services to the PR clients he supports. He’s discovered many of them want and need the service, as they are small-to-medium-sized businesses without speechwriting staffs. These folks speak to the local Rotary, the Kiwanis or the Chamber, and are asked to be on industry panels or give keynotes at local events. Unfortunately, Rob’s had a hard time identifying excellent speechwriters with quick learning curves.
Interesting folks with interesting challenges, no?
All right, I’ll confess. These three people exist only in my mind…and now on my computer. They are “personas” I created as archetypes for three ideal clients I’m targeting in my freelance speechwriting business.
Persona marketing means you create a fictional person (a persona) to represent each of your market segments. This helps you understand your potential clients and thus do a better job of targeting your marketing activities and tailoring your messages.
Here’s an example. If, from my research, I know John Edgars is concerned that negative Internet comments could hurt his company’s reputation, perhaps my letter of introduction to him could mention the importance of frequent communications with his various constituencies to keep them in the loop and “counter” negative Web remarks quickly.
Here’s another example. In my research, I’ve talked with former IBM colleagues who’ve gone on to become heads of corporate communications at a few large corporations. I discovered that some of them are loathe to hire freelance speechwriters because invariably they don’t “get” the corporate culture, nor are they successful in writing the way the executives speak.
If I know about this pain point, I can address it in my marketing campaigns. In a letter of introduction, for example, I might highlight my experience in capturing speakers’ voices and how quickly I’m able to learn about new industries, as I have done throughout my career.
I found that creating marketing “personas” is a lot like developing the characters in a screenplay. Basically you create a back-story for these personas, based on research and your own knowledge and experience. It’s not the easiest of exercises. Why? Because it takes time for thought and reflection.
If you’re like me, you often want to “do,” instead of “think.” But if you take time for this exercise, you will better understand your ideal client (or clients), and you’ll be able to smart-market yourself more successfully to him or her.
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This is a great idea, Cynthia - I’ve never heard of persona marketing but I totally get the value of this. As someone with a background in writing for theatre and television, as well as marketing, I’ve always understood that you have to know your characters/audience before you can develop a message that will resonate with them. I really love the idea of doing this as an exercise - thanks for the tip!