The 4 Personas

“Actually talk to your customers. Use the language that they use. Talk about the things they talk about. Never feed salad to a lion.”

– Ann Hadley

You talk with your spouse or partner in a specific way. You have a certain pitch and focus on some subjects more than others.  Talking to your boss and your tone and approach changes. Hit the bar later with your friends and it changes again.

We communicate every day. But we play different roles for different people, and we talk to all of them differently based on our roles, expectations, and personal history. If you try to talk to all people at the same time, your message will become so diluted that you’ll sound like a bad politician.

I talk to a lot of Garden Center owners who have developed great content but are struggling with engagement. I ask them who they’re talking to. The answer I’m looking for isn’t as simple as “their customers” – I’m looking for a Persona.

Creating is a persona requires us to step back from all the clever things we’re doing on Facebook and ask the question: Who are we doing these clever things for? If they aren’t created for a persona, they’re probably created for us, and not making us any real money.

How do you know who they are?

While big corporations invest in extensive research and sort through reams of data to zero in on their personas, Garden Center owners only have to listen. It’s that simple. Talk to your customers, learn about the direction your industry is headed, and fill in the blanks with a combination of facts, educated guesses, and gut feeling.

If you have any demographics about your customers, be it from a loyalty card, POS system, Google analytics, or a host of other sources, round them up. Get as much information together as you can.

There’s a catch. Your existing customer may not be the future of your business. Your existing customer is your base, and she is keeping your business alive (with Garden Centers, I assume it’s a “she”). She may continue to be your base, or you may want to extend your reach. It all depends on shifting demographics and where you want to take your Garden Centre.

The 4 Personas:

But wait, don’t you have more than 1 type of customer? How do you know who to crystallize into a Persona?

First: Build your “Current Core” customer persona first. This is the person who’s shopping at your store, and is putting your kids through college.

Your Core persona is probably a Baby-Boomer woman. They generate about half of American Garden Center sales right now. But, that number is shrinking.

Second: Build the persona for the customer who will (hopefully) be your core in 10 years – your Target. This may be the same customer. Even if it’s different, make sure it’s not radically different.

If you’re like most IGC’s, your Target is a late Millennial woman (early 30s ish). This is the customer causing all the head-scratching in our industry.

Sudden movements can be dangerous in marketing, so make sure that, even as you begin talking directly to your Target, you don’t say anything to alienate your Core. For example, if your Target loves organic pest control but your Base is still using Round-Up, don’t start bashing Round-Up. The transition needs to be gradual.

Third: Once you feel you have a good handle on speaking to your Core and your Target, you have the option of expanding if you want to. Every business has multiple “niche” customers. These demographics only contribute a fraction of your current revenue, but if nurtured could provide an important growth node.

You’ll probably speak to your Niche persona in a very different way than your Base or your Target. If you want to nurture that growth area, create a 3rd persona.

At my Garden Center, my Niche persona is a semi-retired man, late 60s or early 70s, who suddenly has lots of time to tinker and garden. There aren’t many of him, but they spend a lot!

Fourth: and extremely optional, is your BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) Persona. This is a group which makes up a minuscule percentage of your revenue now but which, if exploded, would benefit both your revenue and your brand.

BHAG Personas are a long way from your base. At my Garden Centre, they’re millennial men. While totally different than either my Core (Baby Boomer women), my Target (X-er women), or even my Niche (Semi-retired men), they’re the fastest growing demographic in gardening. Attracting them as customers would increase revenue but, more importantly, would mean that my brand is trendier and more modern than it is now.