Want your marketing to work more?
Start by completing a persona workshop...
A lot of HR consultants I speak to are frustrated that their marketing isn’t more effective at getting new clients.
I feel exactly the same. I get really disheartened when stuff doesn’t work because I put a lot of time and energy into it. Naturally, I want it to be a success.
I think all business owners are the same. You probably get annoyed too?
Here at HR marketing, I try and make marketing as easy as possible for you. Because mostly it’s a process. But getting it right can be tricky at times because there are so many things at play that can make a campaign a success or a flop.
The saying “to win new clients, you need to be in the right place, at the right time and with the right message” perfectly sums up what I mean by this.
Get one of these wrong and your marketing isn’t as powerful as it could be.
And when I drill down into why some HR consultants have become frustrated with how ineffective their marketing campaigns have become, I see a common trend.
When marketing your consultancy, the natural instinct you have is to be everything for everyone. And when you think like this, it’s easy for your marketing to become watered down, your message becomes diluted and your results aren’t as good.
Marketing is at its strongest when you’re able to address exactly how the prospect is thinking and feeling. And by answering their needs, wants and offering solutions to their pain and frustrations.
But a lot of business owners I know don’t understand how their ideal prospects think and feel.
There’s a really easy solution to this. All you need to do is get to know your prospects more and the first step to doing this is by completing a persona workshop.
What is a persona workshop?
There are loads of fancy explanations out there. For me, a persona workshop is just a bunch of questions you ask your ideal customer with the view of creating a character that you talk to in your marketing.
I’ve put that in bold because this is how you use your findings to make your marketing more effective.
Instead of addressing the masses in your marketing, you speak to one person alone. Your ideal client persona. And this makes everything you do 100000000% more focused on your prospects needs, wants, desires and pains.
If you’re a bit hazy with how your ideal clients think and feel, you need to get to know them more and a persona workshop provides the structure you may need to do this.
How to complete a persona workshop?
Big businesses go all out. They get a whole bunch of people together and spend days getting to know them. For your consultancy, it can be much simpler.
The questions you ask in your persona workshop depend on what you’re looking to find out. Don’t feel like there’s a set bunch of questions that you need to ask and that’s it. Remember it’s an opportunity for you to get to know the client / prospect as much as you can.
But typically, the persona workshop starts with simple demographics. And then personal questions about the prospect’s goals. What makes them happy / unhappy and what they are scared of. And ends with questions about the business and buying behaviours.
How to get started?
1. Email me at james@marketingforhrconsultants.com and I’ll send you a framework of persona questions to work from
Remember, you can ask any additional questions that you feel you need to find out.
2. Start by asking your favourite clients.
You’ve probably got a great relationship with these clients already and they’ll be more than happy to help you out. And when you’re done, send them a little gift to say thank you.
3. Create a target list of 10 companies that you’d love to work with
Once you’ve decided what type of client you’d like to work with, find 10 companies that fulfil this profile.
4. Reach out to the main decision maker
Ask them if they could help you with some market research. Be realistic – if you don’t have a relationship with them, they are unlikely to help you. Some might, but in my experience most wont. So, offer them their hourly rate in return for their time. Your investment will be returned in the success of your future marketing efforts.
5. Create your persona
Once you’ve interviewed 3 or 4 people, you’ll see common trends and can use their answers to create a single character of your ideal client.
6. Speak to this character directly in your marketing
In everything that you do marketing wise, imagine that you’re speaking directly to this single character and your marketing will become so much more powerful.
Need some more help?
If you have any questions about this article, persona workshops or anything else I’ll be more than happy to help. Send me an email, or book a time to speak with me here.
