February 6, 2008

How to build your customer avatar from thin air.

Well, it's that time of the year again… when I do yet another post… ok, so I have to make fun of my lack of posting - or someone else will :o)

So much is happening lately, that bloggin somehow gets pushed to the back. On the other hand, I only want to post on topics that are actually useful to you, so that cuts it down even further…

OK, enough of that.

Today's post ain't so much of an original content, but the video I am linking to is soo good - I don't see the need for me to try and say it better. I'm just the messenger… For those of you who have already seen this post (post is a few days old ;o) - why didn't you share it?

Well, I love online marketing - but I have always maintained a great respect for offline techniques and traditional marketing methods. I've know about this technique for sometime know, so when I saw this great video on the subject I thought - I have to share this with you.

What's this amazing marketing technique?

It has to do with knowing your target market and the characters that make it what it is. Creating a potential customer avatar is extremely powerful. I wouldn't dream of putting a campaign together without researching my audience's motivations, frustrations, circumstances and personal characteristics.

So this technique involves creating a virtual human being or three that will potentially clarify exactly what your campaign needs to say to your prospects to get the maximum conversions.

I have to say that I use this method all the time - and it is one of the best tools in my marketing toolkit!

The special twist in the tail for us - internet marketers - is that you can test and tweak your virtual avatars to perfection - pushing your campaigns to conversion rates you've never known before.

I won't go into detail of how to go about creating your customer avatars, because the 22 min video Rand Fishkin and Ian Lurie have created says it perfectly well - and gives examples.

So instead I'll leave you to watch it for yourself. Before I leave you to it, though, I want to say that it might seem time-consuming. You might think it's not THAT important and it's a bit fluffy around the edges… But you should try it at least once! You'll never start your campaigns otherwise.