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Your aim is to generate ideas that can turn into products, services, or solutions that solve problems for planet Earth and your customer base- the people who will buy from you or use your service.
You have to think like your customer base.
You might even have a customer base in mind who you think will buy your product.
It might even be people like you in other organisations.
It's best if you, are actually a representation of your customer base!
Within your customer base there are different groups of people that can be grouped around certain characteristics and demographics. These different personas are all interested in your solution but for different reasons and motivations.
By defining buying personas early on it can provide tremendous structure and focus for your ideas.
"No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world."- Robin Williams
Daniel’s example
For Daniel, when selling his reuse product to organisations, he knew that there were different personas within organisations that are involved in asset reuse. He knew that the Procurement Manager, Waste Manager, Space Manager, and Sustainability Manager would all be intrigued by Warp It, so he had to create personas that would resonate with each one individually. Whilst it may, on the surface, appear hard to make generalisations about people, there are common traits and motivations among people working in these roles that Daniel could use to build interest.
Solutions are not solutions for everyone
Daniel’s product solves problems for all of those personas, but the problems aren’t the same for each of the personas. For example, the Waste Manager wants to reduce the amount of waste going into skips (dumpsters), whereas the Procurement Manager wants to change policy so that the organisation is not purchasing assets it already owns.
Joseph’s Example
When I approach new customers, persona research is vital. If I’m pitching a Managing Director, it’s very different from pitching a Marketing Director. With a Managing Director, they want to know the bottom line (how much money can I bring them?), and with a Marketing Director, they want to know about results and how many leads or how much traffic I can bring them. This influences how we talk about the project.
Why is it important to consider this at the idea stage?
You yourself are a persona.
If you’re here on Sustainability Entrepreneur, you might be a Sustainability Manager, Biodiversity Officer, Water Analyst, or Waste Manager.
Whatever role you have, that’s your persona, and that’s going to help you come up with an idea.
The most effective idea that you are going to come up with is one that solves a problem met by others who share your persona.
But, why?
Because you understand your role and persona inherently, you understand the challenges that your persona faces. The reason we like to work with people who have specific job roles in organisations is because they’re more likely to come up with a great idea as they are so familer with the problems in their role/ persona. So the chances of creating a solution that fits are increased.
Another benefit to solving problems for your own persona
Once you’ve refined your solution and introduced it to the market, you are likely going to be the one selling that solution to personas just like you. Because you understand that persona, you understand the challenges and the ins and outs of the role day-to-day. You understand the behaviours, the information sources, and the way that relationships function. Because you understand, you will find it so much easier to build and nurture relationships, and as a result of that, you can build rapport and be seen as a solution to their problems. Because you’re known that way, you’re going to find it much easier to sell your product or services to them. As a result, your route to market, the sales pipeline, or the time taken to make a sale is much easier.
Our advice to you
When you’re right at the start of this journey, you need to focus and zoom in on the problems that you actually face on a day-to-day basis in your current job. Because of your familiarity and understanding of the problems, the execution of your idea is going to be far more well-rounded and useful to your potential customers. Your well-refined idea is then ideally going to be sold to people you know and understand (who do your role in other orgs) , meaning you can build strong relationships and a tribe of loyal supporters.
Essentially, work with your own persona, it will lead you in the right direction.
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