Marketing to Customer Needs - The Power of Personas

© 2019 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved
Marketing to Customer Needs
The Power of Personas
Kellie de Leon
Vice President of Marketing & Strategy
The Mx Group
Cheri Keith
Senior Research Analyst
SiriusDecisions

@Cheri29 | @Kellie_deLeon © 2019 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved
Executive Summary
• Key issues
• What you will walk away with
• Adopting a persona-based marketing approach is essential for organizations to
achieve audience-centricity
• Despite organizational investment in developing buyer persona insights, the
payoffs are often not realized in marketing program results
• Portfolio marketing and demand creation teams must collaborate to ensure
demand programs are informed by persona data and insights
• An understanding of the insights you need to be audience-centric
• An approach to buyer personas and journey maps
• How to implement personas for successful demand creation programs

Personas to Pipeline: Their Importance
2x pipeline
achieved by organizations using a demand
creation strategy including customized
persona-based messaging

The Disconnect Between Demand and Portfolio Marketing
A disconnect between demand and portfolio marketing can happen for a variety of reasons.
Lack of
Process
Misunderstanding
of Teams’ Values
Siloed
Functions
Underlying
System or Data
Problems
Lack of
Trust
Trust

SiriusPerspective:
Buyer insight research
is the foundation of
effective persona
development
Validate personas with
internal knowledge
and interviews
Develop buyer’s journey
maps for key personas
Leverage the buyer’s
journey map to inform
demand creation programs
Buyer Insights: A Catalyst for Persona-Based Marketing
Buyer insights are a catalyst for persona-based marketing; they inform buyer persona
definitions and journey maps to influence demand creation program treatment plans.
Buyer Insights
Buyer Personas /
Buyer’s Journey Map
Demand Program
Design

SiriusPerspective:
The Data You Need to Be Audience-centric
Conduct primary and secondary research to understand B2B buyer behavior and
preferences throughout the buying process and across multiple buying scenarios.
Primary
Research
Secondary
Research
Internal / External
ValidationBuyer
Insights
Buyer
Personas
and Buyer’s
Journey Map
Demand
Creation
Program
Design

SiriusPerspective:
Sourcing Persona Insight With Digital Analytics
Whilst persona interviews provide the best and deepest buyer insights, digital
analytics can reveal certain attributes and validate existing insights.
Website
Analytics
Search
Analytics
Social Media
Analytics

SiriusPerspective:
The SiriusDecisions Buyer Persona Framework
Align the organization around a common understanding of target buyers and their
needs to drive best-in-class messaging, content and campaigns.
Functional Attributes
Job Role Common Titles
Position on
Organizational
Chart
Buyer Center Firmographics
Emotive Attributes
Initiatives Challenges Buyer Need Lexicon
Decision Process Attributes
Buyer Role Level of Engagement Decision Drivers
Behavioral Attributes
Content Asset Types Interaction Types Watering Holes
Buyer
Insights
Buyer
Personas
and Buyer’s
Journey Map
Demand
Creation
Program
Design

SiriusPerspective:
Mapping the Buyer’s Journey Using Persona Insights
Buyer’s journey mapping identifies buyers’ patterns of interactions, content
consumption and engagement to help B2B organizations align campaigns to how buyers want to buy.
Buyer
Insights
Buyer
Personas
and Buyer’s
Journey Map
Demand
Creation
Program
Design
Customer
Service Rep
9. Case Study
10. No Asset
11. Sales Presentation

SiriusPerspective:
• Will the solution
meet our needs?
• Does it help with
one of our key
initiatives?
Champion:
Business Value
• Is it stable, reliant
and efficient?
• How will it
perform?
Influencer:
Performance
• What is the
business value?
• Why should we
spend money on
this?
Decisionmaker:
ROI
• Will it help me do
my job better?
• Will it enable me
to achieve my
goals?
User: Customer
Experience
• What are the
alternatives?
• Can we get it
cheaper?
Ratifier: TCO
Result: Each Buyer Has a Unique Journey
Buyer’s journey mapping identifies buyers’ patterns of interactions, content
consumption and engagement to help B2B organizations align campaigns to how buyers want to buy.
Buyer
Insights
Buyer
Personas
and Buyer’s
Journey Map
Demand
Creation
Program
Design
Education SelectionSolution
Loosen Status
Quo
Period of Status Quo
The buying entity is not a
current client of any provider
Period of Customer Experience
The buying entity is a current
client
Period of Competitor Experience
The buying entity is a current
client of a competitor
Commit to
Change
Explore
Possible
Solutions
Commit to a
Solution
Justify the
Decision
Make the
Selection
CH CH I CH CH DM
I U
CH I
U
CH DM
R

Journeys With Dynamic Content and Reusable Assets

13
SiriusPerspective:
Q. Which of the following self-guided (non-human) interactions did you or your colleagues consider meaningful or impactful during
each phase? Select all that apply for each phase.
The relative importance of each type of simulated and facilitated interaction shows which non-human interactions
buyers value throughout the buying decision process, which should inform buyer’s journey mapping activities.
Impact of Non-human Interactions by Phase:
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Education Solution Selection
Accessed free trial Searched on the Internet Explored provider Web site
Explored a virtual tour or online demo Explored user reviews Attended a virtual event
Explored Facebook Explored YouTube Explored online community (vendor hosted)
Explored videos on provider Web site Explored online community (industry hosted) Explored LinkedIn
Explored advertisements Explored Twitter Used a value actualization tool (e.g. ROI calculator)
Reviewed press releases Used vendor’s mobile app Explored syndicated content sites
All Respondents

14
SiriusPerspective:
Q. Which of the following winning provider-led (human) interactions did you or your colleagues consider meaningful or impactful
during each phase? Select all that apply.
The relative importance of each type of orchestrated and influenced interaction shows which human interactions
buyers value throughout the buying decision process, which should inform buyer’s journey mapping activities.
Impact of Human Interactions by Phase:
0%
10%
20%
30%
Attended a live vendor-hosted webinar Attended a vendor hosted conference, forum or seminar
Conversation with a customer reference (buyer sourced) Attended a peer networking event
Attended a conference, trade show, forum or seminar Conversation with a customer reference (vendor sourced)
Dialogue with a thought leader or industry analyst Dialogue with a vendor sales representative
Dialogue with a vendor product manager or consultant Dialogue with a reseller, distributor, systems integrator or consultant
Participated in an executive briefing Dialogue with a vendor executive
Used online chat feature on vendor Web site Participated in online forum or discussion (vendor hosted)
Participated in online forum or discussion (industry hosted) Dialogue with a vendor customer service representative
All Respondents

15
SiriusPerspective:
Q. What do you recall were the content assets that you or your colleagues considered meaningful or impactful during each phase?
Select all that apply for each phase.
Understanding the types of content that buyers value in the different buying decision phases is critical to mapping
the buyer’s journey.
Content Impact by Decision Phase:
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Analyst report Sales presentation (PPT, PDF or slide share) Articles/publications
Case study Interactive brochure or Web page Promotional video
Static brochure (e.g. sales sheets, battle cards) White paper Infographic
E-book Blog post Webinar replay
Podcast
All Respondents

SiriusPerspective:
Persona Content Preferences Vary by Buying Phase
One size does not fit all, and marketers should align content asset type to persona
preferences at each stage of the buyer’s journey.
@
Education Solution SelectionBuying Phase
Buying Decision
Stage
Loosen Status
Quo
Commit to
Change
Explore Possible
Solutions
Commit to a
Solution
Justify the Decision Make the Selection
CIO
Content
Asset
Type
• Analyst Report
• Article/Publication
• Case Study
• Sales Presentation
• Static Brochure
• Promotional Video
• White Paper
• Case Study
• Static Brochure
• Case Study
• ROI Calculator
• Analyst Report
• Analyst Report
Education Solution SelectionBuying Phase
Buying Decision
Stage
Loosen Status
Quo
Commit to
Change
Explore Possible
Solutions
Commit to a
Solution
Justify the Decision Make the Selection
CMO
Content
Asset
Type
• Analyst Report
• Infographic
• Case Study
• Interactive Brochure
• Customer Video
• White Paper
• Static Brochure
• Case Study
• Analyst Report
• White Paper
Sample Persona Map Snapshots

SiriusPerspective:
• Audience
identification
• Data analysis
• Audience
context
• Content
strategy
• Aligned
measurement
• Market
intelligence
• Audience
identification
• Theme/
messaging
What
is the
objective?
What is
needed
to meet the
objective?
What is
the best
approach?
What
are the
results?
How can
results be
improved?
Demand Creation Program Implementation Process
This process aligns program objectives to corporate growth needs, aligns tactics to
buyer needs, and builds testing and optimization into the plan.
Program
Goals
1
Program
Requirements
2
Program
Design
3
Tactic
Deployment
4
Program
Diagnostics
5
Buyer
Insights
Buyer
Personas
and Buyer’s
Journey Map
Demand
Creation
Program
Design

SiriusPerspective:
A Tale of Two Treatments
While multiple programs may have the same objective, thoughtful consideration of
the audience context and treatment plan will result in very different program designs.
Buyer
Insights
Buyer
Personas
and Buyer’s
Journey Map
Demand
Creation
Program
Design
Program Objective: Activate
Activate 250 new demand units (new logo accounts)
Signal
Account • Segment: U.S. named accounts
Buying
Group
• Demand unit
• Buyer role: Champion
Individual
• Persona: Director of IT
• Permission: Opted-in contacts
• Intent: Committing to change
Response
Offer
• Proof: How have others seen
success?
• Tone: Focused, professional
Delivery
• Pace: Frequent activity/max
exposure
• Offer: “Are you ready for
change?” tool
• Delivery mechanism: Email,
executive briefing, live event
Signal
Account • Segment: U.S named accounts
Buying
Group
• Demand unit
• Buyer role: Influencer
Individual
• Persona: Software end user
• Permission: Opted-in contacts
• Intent: Loosening the status quo
Response
Offer
• Proof: How is this different from
what I’m doing today?
• Tone: Personal, informal
Delivery
• Pace: Low activity, prolonged
exposure
• Offer: ”Why now?” video case
study
• Delivery mechanism: Social, paid
search, online chat, SMS/text

SiriusPerspective:
A Tale of Two Treatments
While multiple programs may have the same objective, thoughtful consideration of
the audience context and treatment plan will result in very different program designs.
Action
Behavior
• Champion engaged with Tool
• Additional Intent signals detected
for the Named Account
Scoring
• Account score increased
• Multiple individuals with scores
below scoring threshold identified
• Buying Group score met threshold
Routing
• BDR notified of Account Intent and
Buying Group score
• BDR outreach to Champion
• BDR outreach to additional target
personas
Action
Behavior
• Influencer not currently engaged
• Intent signals detected for the
Named Account
Scoring
• Account score increased
• Known individuals scores remain
unchanged
• Buying Group score remains
unchanged
Routing
• Tactics adjustment to test different
messaging/offer based on new
Intent signals detected
Buyer
Insights
Buyer
Personas
and Buyer’s
Journey Map
Demand
Creation
Program
Design

Example: Delivery Mechanism Selection
Persona = Champion
Persona Preferences =
Video not a preferred channel
Watering Holes =
Live events, Web, social and mobile
Activity and Behavior =
Retargeting not effective
Buying Cycle Stage =
Committing to change
Knowledge Inflection Points =
All channels suitable
Goal = Qualify
Budget = Minimal
Data Governance Requirements =
No permission to text
Systems Requirements =
Community requires login
Tracking and Measurement =
All considered for selection
Skills and Expertise =
Tele team cannot handle chat
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Delivery Mechanisms
Live Events
Text messaging
LinkedIn
Social Community
Chat messages
Podcasts
Paid Search
Web
Mobile
Retargeting
Email
Teleprospecting
Video

44% à 77%
Marketing sourced pipeline
more than doubled YoY
Challenge
CA Automic had historically leveraged a one-size-fits-all
demand creation approach. Their data was problematic
(much of it was purchased), and processes were very basic.
Marketing relied heavily on email and events.
Result
The results have been impressive, with marketing qualified
leads (MQLs) increased by 57%, velocity from MQLs to sales
accepted leads increased from 81 days to just five, and
a significant improvement to marketing contribution to
pipeline.
Key Takeaways:
• Start with the data
• Take a steady and systematic
approach
• Leverage audience-centric
content delivered across
multiple channels to provide
the fuel
• Don’t underestimate the
importance of testing,
followed by a period of
iteration and improvement
Solution
CA Automic introduced a systematic approach to
nurturing– that treats leads differently depending on
whether they are first time engagements or existing leads.
They’ve cleaned up their data, introduced personas, and
moved away from their traditional comfort zone of email.

CA | Automic: Program Impact
MQL to SAL velocity went
from 81 days to five days
Clickthrough and open rates
doubled for most assets
Unsubscribe rate at 3.15%
(met goal of less than 5%)
Webpage conversion
increased from 1% to 7.09%
Marketing sourced pipeline
more than doubled
(+44% Y1, +77% Y2)
77%
Grew opted-in
database by 60%60%
MQLs rose 57%
from 1H16 to 1H1757%
5
x7
x2
3%

Cheri’s Takeaways
• Define the interlock between portfolio and demand marketing teams,
including responsibilities, deliverables and process
• Be proactive about sharing and using buyer insights within the
organization
• Develop deep buyer insight about audience as key inputs to marketing
planning and deliverables

Kellie’s Takeaways
• Commit to a demand generation approach that responds to customer
needs and pain points
• Make a plan for how you’ll keep persona insights fresh over time
• Go beyond messaging to apply personas to delivery mechanisms, pace,
etc.

More Resources:
TheMxGroup.com
• Buyer Personas
• Buyer’s Journey
• Content Mapping
• Persona-based Interactive Content
• Persona-based Website Planning
• Worksheets, guides, webinars and more…

Stay in Touch:
kellie.deleon@themxgroup.com
TheMxGroup.com
/MxGroup /TheMxGroup

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