As our series on persona development activities and the research required for supporting these efforts unfolds it has become clear there are some misperceptions regarding segmentations and personas. Some individuals use the terms market segmentation and persona interchangeably. They associate the two without a distinction. But contrary to popular belief, market segmentations and personas are different in both definition and function.
A Definitive Difference
Market segmentations can be described as any breakdown of a customer or potential customer base. More specifically though, market segmentations are fundamental groupings of a customer base. The groupings are based on one common attribute a percentage of your audience share, such as demographic or firmographic, or something related to behavior, attitude, purpose, role, geographic location, or another attribute.
Personas are also a breakdown of customer or potential customer bases, but personas differ in a significant way. Instead of having a group based on one common attribute, personas are an archetypal character created to represent real customers who share or are likely to share many common attributes. These characters – personas – have a background, and many times are given a human story which reflects the real needs, motivations, and potential experiences of your customers or potential customers.
To read more about the way we define personas – what they are and what they aren’t – read our blog, “Defining Buyer Personas.”
Given these definitions, you may be saying, “Personas are a type of market segmentations.” This is partially true. Personas are a composite of market segmentations. The idea we’re contending with here is the reciprocal belief that the terms market segmentations and personas are synonymous. This statement is inaccurate.
Terms in Action
While differing in definition is enough, the biggest issues we take with using the terms interchangeably is that market segmentations and personas differ in function.
Segmentations function as general, broad-spectrum breakdowns of your customer base. You may utilize segmentation data when you’re considering product development or looking for ways and places to initially connect with potential clients. For instance, if you segment based on age, you may advertise on social media to reach millennials and with AARP to reach baby boomers.
Personas function in a more widely impactful way and are critical to both the drafting and delivery of your messages. This is the stage when you really need to incorporate both the relevant segmentations as well as the relevant roles individuals play in deciding to use and actually purchasing your product into your personas.
The Distinction Matters
A common mistake we see in the persona development process is for companies to decide that the segmentations they created independently will function as personas. These companies take data from market segmentation marketing research or internal customer grouping and create their tactical marketing plans or sales scripts upon it. However, planning marketing and sales efforts solely from segmentations is problematic because you’re not using enough information; you need to consider the composite picture.
Ultimately, every member of a segment should have a persona which will likely include information about other segments which they call home.
True personas are data-driven. To achieve effective persona development, you must step beyond segmentations to include the motivations, priorities and roles that drive and describe your customers’ involvement and considerations in purchasing decisions. Once you’ve compiled that data, your persona-driven marketing journey can begin.
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