Introduction
Marketing is one of the most important aspects that contribute to the success of a business. Especially when a business is reliant on sales and distribution, therefore, developing a proper marketing strategy could enhance the number of customers as well as create recognition for a brand or a company. Multiple steps should be taken to develop a cohesive marketing strategy (Ferrell et al., 2021). One of them is developing a buyer’s persona to enhance the efficiency of the marketing campaign and effectively communicate the product or service to the audience that is interested in it. Therefore, the paper develops a buyer persona presentation for the indigenous business called Saretta Art & Design.
Business Overview
Saretta Art & Design is a privately owned company founded by Saretta Fielding in 2010. This is an art business, which means that the main product and service provided by it is the artworks and designed developed by Saretta herself. Some of the products include unique cushions, which are decorated and stylized in unique indigenous designs and motifs. The mission of the company is to share and contribute to the development and preservation of the authentic fine arts that represent the spirit of the country. Saretta is a Wonnarua woman and the granddaughter of an Anaiwan woman. Throughout her life, she studied the art and culture of her people and absorbed the unique techniques and styles common to the indigenous people of New England. Therefore, she can produce the art and design that represent that culture and tradition, providing customers with a unique opportunity of owning an object that resembles the texture of old age-old sandstone engraved artworks (Preston, 2018). The company also provides worldwide shipping, which creates an opportunity to expand the customer base internationally.
Buyer Persona Process
Creating a buyer persona is a complex process that requires knowledge and awareness of behavioral patterns, economic concepts and processes, buyers’ psychology, culture, and the way socioeconomic status can affect the market interest of a person. Hence, the buyer persona should mention certain criteria to be relevant to the marketing plan (Oszust & Stecko, 2020). As such, the buyer persona should include demographic information obtained from the following questionnaire:
- What is the buyer persona’s age?
- Where does he/she live?
- What language does he/she speak?
- How much money the buyer is ready to spend?
- How often does he/she buy such products?
- Is he/she interested in indigenous art? Why?
- What could stop the person from buying an art object? (Morgan et al., 2019).
The utilization of social media can be helpful in this process as it provides a marketing specialist with vital information about a potential client based on the way he or she filled the profile. In the case of Saretta Art & Design, this method is relevant, as the brand has a strong internet presence and uses its website and social media to enhance sales. Therefore, the buying persona process includes the investigation of social media, studying the specific characteristics of the product, the market for art and décor in general, and indigenous art, in particular.
The Buyer Persona
The art and decorations market is primarily aimed at the audience of middle-class to luxury customers. Hence, the buyer’s persona selected is a 35 year old married woman Alice from the United States, who has two children. She has developed a broad interest in the décor of her house as she has achieved financial security and career success and now is focused on her family, the interior of the house, and the community. After watching a documentary about the indigenous people of Australia, she became fascinated with their culture and wanted to contribute to it by endorsing and supporting indigenous artists. Hence, she does social media research on brands and companies that produce indigenous art and décor.
The factors that influence her buying decision include her desire to contribute to the community, support local businesses, broaden her awareness of culture, desire to own an object that represents the culture, desire to decorate her house, and the unique and authentic qualities of the product. She expects that a product will add value to her collection of art or will start a new hobby of collecting such items (Mekonnen & Larner, 2021). The product can be communicated to her via google search or social media such as Instagram and Facebook, where she reads blog posts of like-minded people interested in indigenous art. One of the pain factors for Alice is the lack of recognition of the culture she is interested in, as it may disappear due to lack of funding, poverty, and globalization. Hence, she is willing to pay extra for the shipping of the product despite living in the United States.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a buyer persona can help brands to recognize what feature of the product may be of a special value to the customer. By emphasizing them, it is easier to increase sales and find the target audience. Therefore, in the case of Saretta Art & Design, the buyer’s persona of Alice can show that social media and SEO strategies are important tools to spread the message about the product. In addition, having an extensive story behind the artists and the artwork plays a vital role in making a buying decision. By addressing such aspects, Saretta Art & Design can increase its customer base and make it more loyal.
References
Ferrell, O. C., Hartline, M., & Hochstein, B. W. (2021). Marketing strategy. Cengage Learning.
Mekonnen, A., & Larner, L. (2021). Digital Marketing in Luxury Fashion: From Crisis to Strength. In the Art of Digital Marketing for Fashion and Luxury Brands (pp. 199-219). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Morgan, N. A., Whitler, K. A., Feng, H., & Chari, S. (2019). Research in marketing strategy. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 47(1), 4-29.
Oszust, K., & Stecko, J. (2020). Theoretical aspects of consumer behaviour together with an analysis of trends in modern consumer behaviour. Modern Management Review, 25(4), 113-121.
Preston, M. (2018). The Indigenous Art of Australia: Art in Australia: A Quarterly Magazine (No. 11). ETT Imprint.