Whenever we write for marketing purposes, it is important to write for our potential customers, and not for ourselves. In other words, we have to think about what matters to them! It’s not an easy task to see the world through someone else’s eyes, but we can help ourselves with the creation of a so-called persona. A persona is a fictional character that we create to better understand our target audience.
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I have recently gone through that exercise for one of my customers. Alamo City All-Stars is the name of a stellar sports complex in Universal City, not far away from San Antonio. They are trying to grow their volleyball and basketball program for young individuals (K-8) who would like to take their skills to the next level.
I was asked to give feedback on some artwork that is supposed to be published soon. Below is a picture of the original artwork.
Customer Persona
To better craft the verbiage for this ad, I came up with a fictional mom called Edith. Here is her profile:
Edith is the mother of two children, Johnny (8) and Suzie (14). Johnny loves basketball and has a very competitive nature. Suzie likes sports, but it seems that she’s less competitive. She just likes moving and enjoys hanging out with other girls her age.
Edith herself is not too knowledgeable about sports, let alone about internal terminology such as ACA Hoops Academy. She wants her children to pursue their hobbies but is equally interested in making sure that both her children perform well at school.
As every mother, Edith cares about her children’s well-being. She only wants qualified and background-checked people to deal with her children. Even though she does not like to admit it, sending her children to a sports facility is a treat for herself. It is very rare that both kids are out of the home, and that Edith can have some free time, or run some errands. Knowing that her kids could be picked up directly from school, excites her!
Edith has to watch her finances but is willing to find out more. She is comfortable going online to find out more but knows that her friend would prefer talking to someone over the phone.
Based on these valuable insights, I proposed the following changes:
COME TO PLAY! HUGE GYM 40,000 SQ FT
Basketball, volleyball and more for kids of all ages. Whether competitively or just for fun – your kids are supervised by qualified and background checked staff only.
Pick-up from area school possible.
Homework support provided on-site by educators only.
Call or visit us online to find out more. Reasonably priced!
Can you see how each and every word of that ad is based on the customer persona? There is no guessing and no random choice of words. I chose this language based on precise and informed assumptions I made about the target audience. I will say that ideally there are no assumptions, only facts – facts that are based on insights you gain by listening to your customers and asking them many questions.
Now it’s time for your homework 🙂
First, if you live in the San Antonio area and you have active kids, go check out Alamo City All-Stars‘ stellar facility.
Next, take some time to write a customer persona for your business, or industry and share it with me. Who accepts the challenge?
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