Maximising Impact with Dual Personas
Does your sales team engage with the same people in the same way as your post-sales team? (I hope the answer is no!) Yet so many businesses still rely on a single persona strategy. In reality, each team—marketing, product, leadership, and customer success—has its own vision of what makes a relationship successful. This is why creating distinct prospect and customer personas is essential.
Prospect personas capture the needs and motivations of decision-makers in the sales process, helping your team focus on what will convert potential customers into buyers. Customer personas, on the other hand, focus on the end-users who interact with the product daily, from administrators to internal advocates and general users. Crafting both types might sound complex, but it provides clarity across teams, eliminates ambiguity, and defines a strategy that’s both targeted and actionable.
And the benefits extend beyond team alignment—this approach can streamline AI prompts and configuration, enabling more precise automations and insights. (Let me know in the comments if you’d like a deep dive into AI setup advantages for personas!)
1. Understanding the Value of Dual Personas: Why Bother?
Having separate prospect and customer personas creates clarity in your business processes and aligns your product’s journey from sale to sustained usage. Each persona type serves a unique purpose:
Prospect Personas help target marketing and sales strategies by focusing on the needs and motivations of decision-makers. They’re essential for understanding what will push potential clients to take action.
Customer Personas zero in on the end-users' experiences and challenges, enabling product development, support, and customer success teams to meet the actual needs of those interacting with the product daily.
When done well, these personas can:
Increase conversion rates by targeting the right messaging to decision-makers.
Improve user adoption, satisfaction, and retention by aligning the product with end-user needs.
Create efficiencies across sales, product, and customer success functions, enabling a more streamlined, customer-centric approach.
2. Questions to Guide Your Persona Development
To make these personas actionable, consider these guiding questions for each type. These questions will help identify key characteristics, challenges, and motivations and ensure that your personas serve the business well.
For Prospect Personas (Decision-Makers):
Who holds the purchasing power? Are they executives, procurement officers, or managers? Define their roles and influence on the buying process.
What are their key goals and pain points? Consider ROI, budget constraints, or strategic alignment. What would make your solution a ‘must-have’ in their eyes?
What objections might they have? Identifying potential objections helps you address concerns proactively.
What metrics or KPIs do they care about? Understanding this ensures your product’s benefits align with what matters to them, making your solution compelling and relevant.
For Customer Personas (End-Users):
Who will use the product day-to-day? Think about administrators, SMEs, general users, and advocates. Each role will interact differently with the product.
What problems does the product solve for them? Focus on practical, hands-on benefits that improve their daily workflow or simplify complex tasks.
What could make them champions of your product? Identify the features or benefits that would motivate users to become vocal advocates within the organisation.
How does your product impact their job recognition and efficiency? A product that enhances a user’s effectiveness or earns them recognition is more likely to succeed.
3. Gaining Cross-Functional Buy-In: Why It’s Essential
To build personas that truly resonate, you’ll need input from various teams across the business. Sales, marketing, product, and customer success teams each have unique insights into different customer touchpoints and challenges. Creating a collaborative process not only enhances the accuracy of your personas but also fosters ownership and engagement across the organisation.
Action Steps for Cross-Functional Persona Development:
Host workshops or brainstorming sessions with representatives from each department. Ask them to share insights about the customer journey, common pain points, and observed behaviours.
Assign ‘persona champions’ within each team who can advocate for the persona’s needs and ensure these insights are consistently integrated into team processes.
Collect continuous feedback from these teams to refine and update personas as you learn more about your customers and prospects.
By involving your teams, you’re not just creating personas in isolation. You’re building a shared understanding that enhances alignment across departments, ultimately leading to a more cohesive customer experience.
4. Why Personas Improve Efficiency and Drive Growth
Effective personas do more than just guide marketing—they create operational efficiencies and drive meaningful growth. Here’s how:
Clearer Communication: When everyone understands the personas, they can tailor messaging and interactions to meet specific needs, improving the quality of engagement.
Targeted Product Development: Customer personas provide insights that inform product design and features, making development more targeted and efficient.
Enhanced Customer Support and Success: With customer personas in hand, support teams can anticipate common challenges and provide proactive solutions, increasing satisfaction and retention.
Informed Sales Strategies: Prospect personas enable the sales team to prioritise high-potential leads and address specific objections, shortening the sales cycle.
5. Final Thoughts: Creating Personas that Drive Results
Creating well-defined prospect and customer personas is essential for understanding and serving the unique needs of decision-makers and end-users alike. By aligning your teams and tailoring your strategies, you can create a seamless experience from the initial sale to long-term satisfaction, positioning your company for growth and efficiency. If you’re ready to explore how focused personas can enhance your customer journey and drive sustainable success, book a time with me here to discuss how we can elevate your approach.