The customer avatar possesses five major components :
Goals and values : Determine what the avatar is trying to achieve . What values does he or she hold dear ?
Sources of information : Figure out what books , magazines , blogs , news stations , and other resources the avatar references for information .
Demographics : Establish the age , gender , marital status , ethnicity , income , employment status , nationality , and political preference of the avatar .
Challenges and pain points : What is holding the avatar back from achieving his or her goals ?
Objections : Why would the avatar choose not to buy your product or service ?
In some cases , you need to survey or have conversations with existing customers to accurately flesh out your customer avatar . In other cases , you may already be intimately familiar with the characteristics of your ideal customer . In any case , move forward . Don ’ t wait for surveys or interviews to be conducted to create your first draft of an avatar . Instead , go ahead and make assumptions despite having no data or feedback , and put completing your research on your short list of to-do ’ s . In the meantime , you can begin benefiting from the avatar you ’ ve created .
Giving a customer avatar an actual name assists in bringing this fictional character to life . In addition , your team members have a way to refer to each avatar among themselves .
Using the five elements described in this section , we created a worksheet that we complete each time we create a new customer avatar . The worksheet helps you hone in on the ideal customer and pair him or her with the right message . In the following sections , we go into more detail about this worksheet so that you can use it in your own business .
Introducing Agency Eric : A customer avatar example
In April 2015 , DigitalMarketer introduced a new offer . We began selling a new type of digital marketing training product : Certification Classes . These new trainings include exams , certificates , and badges , and they appeal to a new ideal customer . Of course , having a new ideal customer means that a new customer avatar must be built .
As a result , we defined four distinct buyer personas who would be interested in certifications and training from our company :
The marketing freelancer : Wants to distinguish herself from the other freelancers she is competing with in the marketplace .