How to run target audience and customer persona analysis

"Everyone is our customer" is one of the costliest mistakes in startups. A message for everyone reaches no one. Audience and persona work lets you direct a limited budget to the right people.

Audience vs persona

• Target audience: A broad group likely to be interested in your product (for example small-business owners aged 25–40).
• Persona: A fictional but data-based profile representing a typical person in that group.

Step 1: Segment

Group customers by these dimensions:

1. Demographic: Age, occupation, income, location
2. Behavioural: Purchase frequency, usage pattern, channel preference
3. Need-based: The job or problem they want solved
4. Firmographic (B2B): Company size, sector, decision-maker role

Choose the segment that creates the most value and is easiest to reach as your first target.

Step 2: Gather data

• Interviews with current customers; see the customer interview guide
• Surveys and support records
• Analytics data; see the data analytics guide
• Conversations on social media and forums

Step 3: Write the persona

A persona can include:

1. Name and short description: "Ayşe the accountant, 3-person office"
2. Goals: What do they want to achieve?
3. Pains: What challenges them?
4. Current solution: How do they do it now?
5. Purchase objections: Why might they not buy?
6. Decision process: Who influences them and where do they research?
7. Preferred channels: Where do they spend time?

A fictional name and photo help the team remember the person, but the content must rest on real data.

Using the persona

• Message and content: Use the persona's language and questions; see content production.
• Product decisions: Prioritise features by the persona's goals; see the product roadmap.
• Channel choice: Focus on platforms where the persona is; see social media strategy.
• Sales: Prepare for objections; see the B2B sales process.

Common mistakes

• Writing a persona on assumptions with no data
• Creating many personas and using none (2–3 are enough)
• Writing it once and never updating
• Describing your product's features instead of the customer's need