Why B2B personas are different from B2C personas

Data-based buyer personas show which customers you want to address, how and where you reach them. In short: with a data-based persona, you define the ideal customer. But not all customers are the same. Especially in terms of marketing, sales and product development, it makes an enormous difference whether you address private customers (B2C) or other companies (B2B). While you generally reach consumers via content marketing, online advertising, radio or television, the focus with B2B customers is on targeted and personal networking. In terms of addressing, emotion comes first for B2C target groups, while facts move into focus in the B2B sector. These aspects also affect the development of the buyer persona.

What distinguishes data-based B2B from B2C personas?

While B2C personas focus on their own needs, interests and challenges, B2B personas specifically represent the interests of a company. They always belong to a department, have a specific function and decide which products and services are suitable for the company. Important: As a rule, several employees are involved in the purchase decision - who are directly or indirectly involved in the purchase or use. It is therefore important to include the interests of other stakeholders when defining B2B personas. If these differ significantly from each other, several personas are needed. They represent the respective decision-makers and help to tailor sales materials, lead-nurturing processes and communication even more specifically to them.

What are the goals of successful B2B personas?

A successful data-based B2B persona is characterised, among other things, by the fact that it takes into account both the personality of decision-makers and the company itself. It helps to identify phases of the buying decision: It lets you know which questions contribute to the purchase, when the B2B customer asks them and how they answer them in a way that convinces. The data-driven persona also tells you what content and tone of voice decision-makers prefer - important for a targeted content marketing strategy. The most important goal of a B2B persona: to optimise communication, product and service in such a way that you convince your ideal customer that you are a trustworthy business partner.

How to develop a good data-based B2B persona

The most important difference when it comes to developing a B2B or a B2C persona is the questions they ask themselves before your research. The focus of B2C personas is primarily on the private everyday life of your customers. The B2B persona needs to be perceived in the context of the company: Tasks, challenges and work processes of the persona are therefore a central part of your research. In short, 10 questions decide which characteristics you assign to the B2B persona:

1. What product/service do you offer your buyer persona? The first step is to describe the product and services in detail in order to identify important points of contact with your ideal customer.
2. Which company do you want to attract as your ideal customer? The following applies here: The better you know the company to which you are offering your products and services, the more specifically you can sell them. Therefore, find out in detail about the offer, the target group and the corporate culture, as well as about the image and communication of the potential customer.
3. Who decides whether you and your products are eligible for the company? To answer this question, find out how your ideal customer is organised, which people make decisions and release them. If they each pursue different interests or decide for different reasons, it can make sense to develop several B2B buyer personas instead of one.
4. To what extent is or are your Buyer Persona/s involved in the decision? When it comes to defining the buyer persona in detail, determine what influence it has on the purchase decision in detail.
5. In which department does the buyer persona work? The department in which the buyer persona works, what is important to them and what aspects contribute to the decision are also important when you develop the persona. For example, the pitch of a service for marketing and PR looks different than for the legal and finance department.
6. What is the function of the Buyer Persona? On the one hand, the function of your persona influences which other employees are involved in your decision and which information specifically contributes to the purchase decision.
7. What does your persona's regular working day look like? If you know how, where and when the buyer persona works, you can deduce what challenges they face every day, how they tackle problems and what helps them in their daily work. In short: with detailed knowledge about what your persona does in the company, you identify pain points and provide approaches to solutions.
8. What are the persona's goals with your work? How you sell your product to the respective decision-makers depends on their goals. Therefore, define in detail how your persona contributes to business goals.
9. How does the persona communicate with colleagues and business partners? Whether the persona prefers to communicate in person or by email and on which networks they are active determines how you get in touch with your ideal customers.

What is the character of the buyer persona? This question is especially crucial when it comes to personal contact between you and the decision-maker in the company. Because in addition to product and service, the "chemistry" must be right. The more consideration you give to the character of the other person, the faster they will build trust.