Customer Personas – Part 2 – How to build a customer persona.

How to Build a Customer Persona (Without Guessing).

Alright, now that we know why customer personas matter, let’s talk about how to actually build a customer persona—without just making things up.

A lot of businesses think they “know” their audience, but what they really have are guesses. “My customers are busy professionals.” Okay, but… who exactly? What do they struggle with? Where do they hang out online? Why would they pick YOU over someone else?

If you can’t answer those questions, then your marketing is running on assumptions—and assumptions don’t make sales. So, let’s fix that. Here’s how you build a customer persona the right way.

Step 1: Start With the Basics (But Don’t Stop There)

First, we need to define some basic details about your ideal customer. This includes:
✔️ Age range
✔️ Location
✔️ Job title or industry
✔️ Income level (if relevant)
✔️ Interests & hobbies

This is a good start, but it’s not enough. Your persona isn’t just a list of traits—it should tell a story about your customer’s challenges, needs, and behaviours.

Step 2: Find Out Their Biggest Problems

This is the most important part of your persona. If you don’t know your customer’s pain points, you won’t know how to market to them.

Think about:

• What’s frustrating them right now?
• What’s stopping them from solving their problem?
• What do they WISH existed to make their life easier?

If you can describe their problem better than they can, they’ll automatically trust you have the solution.

👉 Check out HubSpot’s guide on understanding customer pain points to dive deeper into this process.

Step 3: Where Do They Hang Out Online?

Once you know who your audience is, you need to figure out where they spend their time. Otherwise, you’ll waste effort on platforms they don’t even use.

Ask yourself:

• Do they spend time on Facebook (local business owners)?
• Are they more active on LinkedIn (B2B professionals)?
• Do they prefer Instagram/TikTok (visual brands & younger audiences)?
• Are they searching on Google for answers (SEO should be a priority)?

Once you know this, you can stop wasting time marketing in the wrong places.

👉 For more insights on social media demographics, check out Hootsuite’s latest social media trends.

Step 4: Gather REAL Data (Don’t Just Guess!)

Here’s the thing—you don’t have to guess. There are actual tools that show you WHO is engaging with your business.

✔️ Facebook Audience Insights – See demographic and behavioral data for your followers.
✔️ Google Analytics – Find out who’s visiting your website and what content they interact with.
✔️ Customer Surveys – Ask your actual customers what they need and why they chose you.
✔️ Social Media Comments & DMs – Look at what people are asking and struggling with.

Real data beats assumptions every time.

Step 5: Build Your Persona Profile

Now, put it all together into a real profile. Give them a name. Make it feel real.

Example:
👤 Name: Sarah the Solo Entrepreneur
🎯 Age: 35-45
💼 Job: Runs a small online business but struggles with marketing.
🤯 Pain Points: Doesn’t have time to create content or figure out SEO.
🌎 Where She Spends Time: Facebook & Google (searching for business advice).
✅ What She Needs: A simple marketing plan that doesn’t take all her time.

See how this is more than just age & gender? It’s a real person with a story. And once you know your customer like this, marketing becomes so much easier.

Need Help Creating a Data-Driven Persona?

If this sounds like a lot of work, it’s because it IS. A strong persona takes research, strategy, and testing. But once you have it, your marketing becomes way more effective.

If you don’t have the time (or patience) to do all this yourself, Your Business Online can help. We specialize in building data-backed customer personas so you can market with confidence.

📩 Contact us today to get started!