Avoid the common trap of being all things to all people. The temptation to market to everyone seems logical as your ultimate goal is to drive sales, right? So why restrict your market? But this is where the trap comes in. Simply put, by targeting everyone, your message is watered down and becomes less relevant to your audience.
By creating eCommerce buyer personas you’re approaching the way you target your customers with reasoned logic and relevant messaging rather than hitting the mass market. This will not only make your marketing more relevant, but it will also mean you spend your budget on reaching the right people who are going to be more likely to turn into customers. Repeat ones if you're lucky.
In this blog we’ll explore our top 10 eCommerce buyer personas:
- Browsers
- New subscribers
- Hesitant buyers
- First-time buyers
- Repeat purchasers
- VIPs
- Impulse buyers
- Discount chasers
- Lapsed customers
- Last minute shoppers
eCommerce buyer personas
As a quick recap, buyer personas are semi-fictional profiles that allow you to segment your audience. They help you to tailor your marketing specifically for each segment, encouraging greater engagement and ultimately driving more conversions.
For example, let's presume that 'Gardener Gareth' provides gardening services within his local town. His clients consist of mainly the elderly who are no longer able to keep up their garden maintenance as well as busy working couples and/or families. The same marketing message wouldn’t be suitable for both audiences, therefore, in creating two separate buyer personas, he is able to tailor each message to appeal to both audiences separately.
Ready to dive in and start building your own personas? Download our FREE buyer persona eBook now.
OK, so let’s consider our top 10 picks of eCommerce buyer personas in a bit more detail...
1. Brett the browser
Attracting new visitors to your website is key, but how do you turn anonymous visitor Brett into a purchaser? First of all, you want to capture his email. He may not be ready to buy, so consider newsletter subscription pop-ups as a great way to capture key contact information.
It may be that Brett is frequently browsing your site but still hasn’t bought, and you’ve tried presenting discounts but still no joy. (Sad face).
Strategy:
Brett needs some extra attention. Consider the following:
- ‘Browse abandonment’ email - triggers once Brett has viewed a product but hasn’t purchased.
- Utilise ‘abandoned cart’ emails to capitalise on where Brett has added a product to his cart, but not completed the purchase.
- You can even try asking Brett directly why he hasn’t completed a purchase, consider an incentivized survey, including a discount for responding.
2. Sarah the new subscriber
Sarah has signed up to receive your newsletter (hurrah!), lured in with the promise of fantastic emails. Now she needs to be nurtured so that she converts to a buyer.
Strategy:
- Send a welcome email campaign that introduces your brand elements.
- Send Sarah a discount code for her first purchase - and consider a timed element to this to promote impulse.
- If this doesn’t work, consider following up with the ‘browse abandonment’ email you created for Brett.
3. Harriet the hesitant buyer
Figures show that over 69% of eCommerce customers abandon their baskets. That’s not to say that there are not steps to ensure your own figures are market-beating.
Strategy:
- Social proof is a great way of conveying that others have bought that product, you can even showcase their reviews on your news feed. Look at APIs like Yotpo to truly capitalise on the power of reviews and social media.
- Ensure shipping costs are crystal clear. Surprise costs (such as shipping) are cited as the highest reason for abandonment. Consider free shipping where possible and one-click purchasing to make checkout a breeze.
- If all else fails and the cart is still abandoned, bring in Brett’s ‘cart abandonment’ email – you can incentivize - noting limited stock, alternative similar products or by offering a discount.
4. Frank the first-time buyer
So Frank has just made a purchase, great! But how do you encourage him to come back? That second purchase can be crucial. In fact, Adobe suggests that if a customer purchases twice they are then nine times more likely to become a long-term customer.
Strategy:
- Up-selling and cross-selling - utilise automated, personalised emails suggesting products based on their original purchase to get them buying more.
- Consider a loyalty scheme as a route to converting your first time buyer into a long-term customer. Loyalty schemes help promote a community around your brand, so Frank now feels part of a club (particularly when he is presented with perks for staying loyal!).
5. Rachel the repeat customer
If you sell consumables this persona is your bloodline!
Strategy:
- Send replenishment emails just in time for when their purchase is likely to run out.
- Also consider introducing complimentary product suggestions.
Be sophisticated with the emails - so if they bought a 6-month supply, issue the email mid-way through month 5 to encourage them to come back to you and not your competitor. Too soon and they won’t feel the need to replenish, too late and they have already bought elsewhere.
6. Vince the VIP
Vince’s average order value is high, and he buys regularly. We love Vince!
You don’t, however, want to provide constant discounts. Vince has the money to spend and in doing so will hurt revenue. However, as the name suggests, Vince will appreciate priority treatment, such as early access to a new stock line, or a first preview of limited editions.
Strategy:
- Don’t offer discounts.
- Increase personalisation – make Vince feel special.
- Offer perks for referring a friend and request reviews – you want brand ambassadors. Make Vince feel special.
7. Isobel the impulse buyer
Isobel takes far less coaxing and will be more likely to purchase on a whim.
Strategy:
- Time-limited discounts appeal to Isobel.
- For buyers like Isobel, consider countdowns to the start of the sale rather than the end.
- Strong emphasis on cross and up-selling will maximise on her impulsiveness.
- Social proof and stock levels can be effective in conveying the urgency. Stocks are low, get that item in your basket, girl!
8. Dan the discount chaser
Dan loves getting a good deal. The word ‘sale’ serves as a beacon, so much so that Dan will typically only purchase during a sale.
Strategy:
- First and foremost, ensure Dan knows a sale is on – update him by email, and through social media.
- To encourage purchases outside of when a sale is on, consider other routes of appealing to their price sensitivity, such as discount on item bundles, discounted/free shipping or promoting a loyalty scheme.
9. Laura the lapsed customer
Laura is a dormant subscriber. She hasn’t bought in ages and her engagement has completely faded. The key here is to try and re-engage Laura and get her buying again.
Strategy:
- Re-engagement email campaigns can remind Dan why your brand is so great.
- Offer discounts to lure him back.
- Social proof again can work here to back up the ‘we’re great’ message.
10. Larry the last-minute shopper
Larry leads a busy lifestyle and practices procrastination when it comes to shopping, and in life generally. He routinely uses his mobile for shopping and will typically wait until the very end of the campaign to make his purchase.
Strategy:
- Create urgency within subject lines such as “Last chance to purchase” and “sale ends soon."
- Ensure the CTA (call-to-action) is clearly located within the email. Come on. You need to remember Larry doesn’t have the luxury of time, you marketer, you.
- Utilise Facebook custom audiences to combine your email marketing with Facebook/Instagram adverts.
- Larry remembers birthdays the day before (or equally likely the day of!) so ensure fast delivery options are provided.
All customers are not equal, your marketing messages should cater to this and tailor the messages/method to each buyer persona you want to target.
Interested in increasing your ecommerce conversion rates and better servicing your key buyer personas? As Shopify and HubSpot partners, we're here to help you unlock a whole lotta additional revenue by combining your ecommerce site with the power of inbound marketing and HubSpot. Contact our team now to learn more.
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