Phil Lauterjung

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I have written in the past about the importance of developing a “buyer persona” that incorporates as much as possible about your typical customer.  The persona should include demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral information about that company and your persona.

Two people I greatly respect, Jeremiah Owyang and Charlene Li of The Altimeter Group, have recently proposed adding another component to this persona – socialgraphics.  They suggest that before a company can choose social technology tools they must first understand how customers use social technologies, where they are online, and it influences them in the customer lifecycle.

In order for companies to develop a sound and coherent Customer Strategy and “buyer persona” understanding socialgraphics helps to answer five key questions:

Where are your customers online?

Ask your current customers what websites they find most helpful, what social networks do they find reliable, where do they go online for product information and advice, where do they find opinions and reviews they trust?  Don’t just start using the newest, hottest social network because that’s what everyone seems to be talking about.  Go where your prospects are likely to be.

What are your customers’ social behaviors online?

How do they use social networks?  Do they comment or share?  Do they create their own content?  Use this information to decide what features you should deploy for your company.  If they show an inclination to comment, then allow them to leave comments on your sites.

What social information do your customers rely on?

Do the rely on their friends?  Do they rely on bloggers?  What are their most trustworthy sources?  Design your marketing program to incorporate resources and tools to encourage them to view you as another reliable source.

What is your customers’ social influence status?

Who trusts them?  If your customers are trusted by others, highlight your customers in that community.  Give them a forum to spread their influence regarding your brand.  Be careful not to force this, they need to be willing to be your advocate – all you should do is provide the forum.  For instance, Coca-Cola supports a fan page on Facebook; but, Coke doesn’t run it – it was started by fans of the Coke brand and still is today.

How do customers use social in context of your products?

How do they use social networks to learn, make decisions, and spread the word about products and services they like and use?  Make sure that your resources include this understanding of how your customers rely on social tools.

Adding socialgraphics to your marketing plans can help you to be much more effective, with a broader reach, in developing new business.  If you would like to learn more, The Altimeter Group will be conducting a webinar, “Developing a Social Strategy: Goals and Internal Resources”, on February 24th. Here’s the link to sign up.

Questions or comments on this topic, please leave them in the comment area.

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