Updated May 2026

When it comes to marketing, the adage “the more you know, the more you grow” holds an immense amount of merit. This is especially true when it comes to your ideal customers. After all, if you don’t understand who exactly you’re selling to, you’ll never know how to promote your business properly.

But if you understand what type of person you’re trying to target, you can not only tailor your marketing efforts with the right voice and message but also potentially increase your sales. Importantly, you can also save time. In fact, Salesforce reports that investing time in building these profiles can reduce a business’s time pursuing unqualified prospects.

So how can you determine what your ideal customer looks like, where they live, their education and income levels, and more? One surefire way to develop a clear understanding of your audience is by relying on a simple tool: create a buyer persona.

How a buyer persona aids your marketing efforts

HubSpot defines a buyer persona as a “semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers.” Ideally, a detailed one will include customer demographics, behavior patterns, motivations, and goals. The more thorough you are, the more effective the persona will be.

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When shopping for the holidays, who is harder to buy for: your best friend or a distant cousin you rarely see? More than likely, the latter because you know more about your best friend and have a general understanding of what they want. This same theory can be applied to your customers. It’s harder to sell your products and services to a potential customer you know little about. This is where a buyer persona becomes essential.

Developing this profile will help you better understand your prospective customers. (It is possible to have more than one.) This, in turn, will make it easier for you to tailor your content and messaging. Creating personalized content that resonates with your target audience can lead to more success with your marketing efforts.

The best ways to create a buyer persona

Step 1. Examine your current customers

When developing your customer persona, make sure it reflects your actual customers, not just the ideal ones. While it’s tempting to focus on a perfect customer who urgently needs your products or services, if that customer doesn’t actually exist, your targeting won’t be nearly as effective as you’d like. When creating a buyer persona, it’s best to start with the customers you presently serve. They can provide you with a wealth of knowledge. Consider reviewing your database to identify trends across different customers.

Step 2. Mine the data you already have

Next, look to the forms and other means you use to capture customer information. Do they draw a picture of your current customers that can inform your understanding of who they are? Research shows that how much—and what kind—of information you request affects online conversion rates, so balance thoroughness with simplicity.

At least one company has noted that businesses today pull data from various sources, including website activity, social media, and location data. This allows them to build comprehensive profiles and target ads effectively. As you build trust, consider collecting psychographic data like personality, values, and lifestyle. Interactive marketing campaigns can help you gather this data voluntarily and transparently. At a minimum, strive to get customers’ names and email addresses so that you can continue to market to them.

Step 3. Consult your team

Lastly, talk to your salespeople! They are the frontline to your prospects. See who they’re interacting with the most and what generalizations they can gather from who they speak with daily.

The takeaway

Incorporating buyer personas into your marketing strategy is a powerful way to better understand your audience, create personalized content, and boost your sales. By examining your current customers, mining data, and consulting your team, you can build detailed personas that will help you connect with your target audience more effectively. If you’re ready to take your marketing efforts to the next level, create a buyer persona today and see the difference it makes tomorrow.