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

Part IIInterviewing for Buying Insights

“Go to the source. Get their story in their own words.”

It's the advice that any news editor would tell a fledging journalist faced with the task of discovering the facts about something or someone they've been assigned to cover.

A writer asked to compose an in-depth profile about a filmmaker, author, business leader, or politician is likely to talk to the friends, family, and associates of the subject, but would be remiss if he or she didn't try to interview the central character of the article as well.

As you consider your options for conducting buyer interviews, it is helpful to think about the characteristics of a good journalist. The people who excel are innately curious, good listeners, and open to the challenges of an unscripted conversation with people they don't know.

Recall an interview by a great journalist and you may recall that it seemed like you were listening to a private conversation. Even if the journalist was interviewing a head of state, the interviewer was comfortable with a conversational dialog, effortlessly prompting for the next part of a fascinating story. When an answer was incomplete, the journalist took a slightly different tack with a follow-up question, persisting in uncovering the details that revealed the leader's mind-set. As the story unfolded, you were privileged to gain insight into a high-stakes situation and decision that you will never personally encounter.

Many people will not want to master this ...