The problem with personas — Kelford Labs Daily

Here’s the challenge with marketing personas:

They’re imaginary.

They don’t describe a person—a real, actual prospect—they describe a fantasy.

Now, yes, they might be inspired by data, anonymized and amalgamated. They might be born from reality.

But then reality gets transformed into a wish once we start combining different prospects into one. Once we start imaginging a backstory for a character that doesn’t exist, once we start putting words in their mouth and thoughts in their imaginary mind.

But if our marketing is targeting a fake person, we’ll get fake results.

Instead, it’s specificity that sells. Targeting a real, actual human being with a problem to be solved. A challenge to be overcome. A “Job to be Done” in Christensen’s parlance.

When we create our marketing, we should be able to picture a real, actual person. With a name. With a job. With a life. With goals, hopes, dreams, and problems bigger than our product can solve.

So that we focus on how we can actually help, instead of just assuming they already care—like personas trick us into believing.

I’m writing this, right now, to one person. With a name. With a business. With hopes, dreams, and challenges that this newsletter might be able to help them overcome.

If they can ditch the personas and start focusing on people.

Can you?

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