Get In The Head Of Your Buyer Before You Get In The Head Of Your Buyer

No this Title is not a typo … 😀

As a founder, you can get in the head (& heart) of your ideal buyer twice, but only if you do it in the right order …..

Here's the method to the madness (of the title)

What

As a function of influence, you need to get in the head (& heart) of your ideal buyer, so you are top of mind and you have earned their trust.

But before that ...

As a function of empathy, you need to get in the head (& heart) of your ideal buyer, so you understand their aspirations and their constraints.

So the first time you get in the head of your buyer you are there to observe, listen, learn and empathise. The second time you get in their head you are there to influence, earn trust and be top of mind.

Why

A critical lever for growth is your communication in all its forms including for:

• Marketing
• Public Relations
• Pre-sales
• Sales
• Post Sales
• Customer Success

By ‘getting in the head of your buyer, before you get in the head of your buyer’ your communications will be:

• strategic,
• intentional,
• aligned to your buyer personas and
• in lockstep with your buyer's journey

Do this in the right order and your communication efforts will land on target and be considered as ‘speaking to them’, while if you do this in the opposite order your communication efforts result in being considered ‘noise’, ‘pushy’ or ‘spammy’.

Also, by having this clear you are helping your colleagues and external service providers execute better in their various functions such as:

• product management
• product marketing
• content marketing
• event sponsorships 
• social media
• prospecting
• etc 

How

Fundamentally before you start (or continue) broadcasting you want to understand and map:

• The Ideal Buyer Persona; and
• The Buyer's Journey

The Ideal Buyer Persona

Here we are trying to get as detailed as possible about our ideal buyer's persona, here are some things to discover and document:

• Role, Title, Function
• Reporting line(s)
• Budget approval
• Headcount responsibility
• How they define the problem
• What makes them successful in their current role
• How is their performance measured by their leaders and organisation
• What is the likely next role (promotion) for them
• What strategic initiative (impacting revenue or market share) is their function or project enabling
• Who influences them and their decisions
• Who are the supporters and detractors of our potential solution
• Who will be impacted by our solution

The Buyer's Journey

If we assume our buyers go through stages of consciousness and intent in their buying journey...

starting with being ‘unaware they have a problem/need’ and ending with ‘they commit to a purchase’...

Then we want to understand for each stage:

• How do they articulate their needs & problems
• What they are thinking and feeling (consciousness)
• What are their aspirations and constraints (intent)

An example of The Stages of a Buyer’s Journey:

1. Unaware - the buyer is unaware they have a problem we solve
2. Aware - they buyer is aware they have a problem we solve
3. Search - the buyer is searching for solutions to their problems
4. Evaluating - the buyer evaluates solutions to their problems
5. Selecting - the buyer selects a provider
6. Closing - the buyer commits to a purchase

Now What?

• Use this post as a guide to map your Ideal Buyer Persona and Buyer's Journey, helping you lift your Communications, Go-To-Market & Growth.
  
  
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