What is a Buyer Persona?
Buyer personas are strategic models that represent core customer segments, built from market research and real customer insight. When done well, they align marketing, product, and sales around a shared understanding of who we serve, what they value, and how they make decisions.
How Personas Are Used
Personas enable targeted messaging, smarter segmentation, and more effective campaigns. By pairing personas with lifecycle stages, teams can deliver the right message, through the right channel, at the right time, increasing relevance, engagement, and conversion across the funnel.
Below, you will find an example that my team and I created to overcome the challenges we faced connecting our ADF Reps to their customers.
Interior Designer: Sheree
Demographics
Age: 30
Gender: Female
Relationship Status: Married with 1 child
Median Wages: $53k
Years of Experience: 10+
Education Level: Bachelor’s of Arts and Design with Architectural Certification
Personality
Openness to Technology (Closed – Open)
Task Orientation (Big picture – detail-oriented)
Extraversion (Introverted – Extraverted)
Activity (Researcher – Hands-on)
Identifiers
Interests
- Museums, art shows, vendor craft shows
- Volunteer work
- Travel
- Pets
- Family-related activities
- Social networking opportunities
- Creative hobbies (i.e. jewelry design)
- Active lifestyles (i.e. Golfing, biking, running, yoga)
Bio
Sheree works in a small Architecture firm that focuses on the healthcare industry. As project manager, Sheree’s main responsibilities include project review and submittal, space planning, product selection, material management, and installation oversite. She selects all finishes in an interior space and works closely with her customers to make sure the project outcome matches their vision and meets specifications. Aside from her main role in project management, Sheree wears multiple business development hats, including connecting with prospective clients and helping out fellow colleagues with CAD drawings when needed. Providing her clients with prompt answers and solutions to their problems helps build trusting relationships. Her reputation is important to her.
Goals
- Recognition and career advancement
- Obtaining valid information from sources
- Wants to display beauty and style to the user experience
- Requires projects to stay within budget
- Wants to ensure the flooring stands up to years of wear
- Function and utility
Frustrations
- Installation errors and product issues (availability)
- Long lead times and tight schedules
- Lack of dependability and trust
- Lack of respect from Architects, Manufacturers,
- and Sales Reps
- Miscommunication and exaggerated product features
- Unavailability of project samples
Common Objections
- Prefers to work with suppliers she knows and trusts
- No comprehensive brand recognition (poor website)
- Outdated products and little variety in styles
- Few options
Preferred Channels
Communication:
- Text
- Phone
- Face-to-face
Social:
- Website
- Instagram/Facebook
Trusted Brands
Value Proposition
Helping You Take Every Concept, Vision, and Plan to Fruition. We provide Architect and Design firms a one-stop flooring resource and trusted partner theycan depend on, ready to tackle their unique and most challenging projects to ensure each desired concept, vision, and plan is achieved.
Supporting Points
We help you save time and resources. We know that in your line of work, time is invaluable. Instead of needing to meet with multiple vendors to find the right solution for your project, one meeting with Fishman will provide all the information you need to make an educated decision and efficiently get your project off the ground.
With more than 75 trusted vendor partners and over 37,000 products ranging from flooring and finished goods to moisture remediation systems and subfloor preparation, you can rest assured we will recommend the best solutions to fulfill your project requirements.
We have a proven track record of working across a range of sectors including education, healthcare, senior living, hospitality, corporate, and multi-family housing, which enables us to quickly employ best practices, saving you valuable time while meeting specifications.
Our Architect & Design Facility consultants uniquely distinguish themselves among industry representatives, bringing a diversity of experience including interior design, field sales, vendor, and product training, adding value to every stage of your project from ideation to installation.
Innovation and forward-thinking are important to us. We focus on staying ahead of the curve by participating in industry conferences and vendor training sessions to learn about the latest products and innovations, while regularly extending educational opportunities to our customers.
KEY TALKING POINTS
Who We Are
Fishman Flooring Solutions is a flooring manufacturer and wholesale distributor with more than 100 years of experience of delighting customers with every product, service, and solution we provide. As a one-stop flooring resource with over 37 locations, our products and solutions include commercial resilient floor coverings, industrial flooring, finished goods, stair treads, waterproofing systems, moisture remediation systems, hardwood flooring, setting materials, and sub-floor preparation products.
What We Do
We work with the Architecture and Design community, contractors, and flooring installers to help them achieve their most ambitious project objectives. We start at flooring, but that’s not where we finish! With more than 36,000 items from 75 vendor partners coupled with extensive experience working in both the commercial and residential sectors, we have a proven track record of adding value to every stage of a project, from ideation to installation and beyond.
Role of the ADF Team
Building relationships and trust is our key ingredient. The Fishman ADF team understands that customers have options. While purchases are sometimes made on price, that is not the norm. In the flooring distribution world, for example, it is the customer’s experience when dealing with a distributor that makes the difference. Our approach is to provide free consultation, understand your goals and needs, and develop a long-lasting relationship with a focus on helping your firm succeed and increase your client base. We take pride in using our in-depth and diverse industry knowledge to help our clients meet their unique flooring challenges.
Our Clients
We have a diverse client base and are constantly educating ourselves on how their industries are changing as well as understanding their unique needs and compliances. As they evolve, WE evolve with them.
Assisted Living | Commercial | Education | Government | Healthcare | Hospitality | Multi-Family Housing | Religious | Retail | Sports & Recreation | Residential
Why Do Business With Us
We are your one-stop resource for all your flooring needs. Instead of needing to meet with multiple vendors to find the right solution and lead time, a consultation with Fishman will provide you with the broad product knowledge you need to make an educated decision and efficiently get your project off the ground, saving you billable time and resources.
We can provide you with the best sustainable options for your project. We partner with you to identify and compare up-to-date sustainable, recycled, renewable and environmentally friendly flooring options your customers demand.
We understand your sector! We bring problem-solving skills from virtually every area of building and design, while understanding unique challenges.
We are in an ideal position to be an advocate and advisor to help ensure you receive accurate and consistent information about product installation requirements and maintenance.
We never oversell! It is our job to ensure your project meets your budget, specs, and timeline and will be upfront about possible issues along the way.
What Makes Fishman Different
Our culture. Our employee-owners are passionate problem solvers who continuously display the same initiative and drive to please the customer for 100+ years. It is impossible to characterize the Fishman culture in a few words. Conducting business with integrity is a fundamental part of Fishman’s DNA, which is reflected in how we engage with our customers.
We are future-oriented. Fishman distinguishes itself from many other companies by the fact that we have had only four CEOs in its 100 years of operation. We are constantly educating ourselves collectively to remain up-to-date on the latest trends via our fellow employees, vendors, customers, and industry thought leaders.
We love to see our customers succeed. We’ve been exceeding our customers’ expectations since 1919, through trusted partnership and collaboration – and we plan to keep it that way.