Buyer Personas: How to Gain Insight into your Customer's Expectations, Align your Marketing Strategies, and Win More Business

6Mine Your Interviews for Buying Insights

It's a familiar scene from countless investigative police procedural dramas. The chief detective assembles the team and presents the evidence on a bulletin board. There are forensic photographs and images of witnesses and suspects. Pinned next to them is a detailed map of the crime scene, a timeline, photocopies of key evidence, and selected witness statements. This visual image is a powerful dramatic device that helps all observers understand the relevant personalities and clues (as well as red herrings) in the story.

Following your buyer interviews, you are going to engage in an exercise that has some parallels with the work of the chief detective. The stories we capture during our interviews will synthesize and prioritize the key elements of a narrative that has been a mystery until now.

But while the chief detective subjects the suspects' stories to a systematic analysis that gradually eliminates everyone except the prime suspect, we will do almost the reverse. We will combine all of the stories to create a single narrative that represents the mind-set of a group of buyers who think alike. When we are done, we will have a factual description of our person (or persons) of interest, and a story that details expectations, thinking, and decision-making process as that person approaches the decision you want to influence.

You Need Fewer Interviews Than You Expect

As you interview your first few buyers it's likely you will begin to hear ...