Persona-based personalization

Persona-based personalization starts with the work the recipient owns. Build the message around that work's pressures, decisions, and outcomes, then carry the same view into delivery and follow-up. When several people are involved, position the solution toward each persona.¹ A job title gives you a starting label, but a generic job title approach leaves the message unfinished.²

Build the persona brief

The work this person

The pressure that makes

The result they need

The concern that could

• The work this person
• The pressure that makes
• The result they need
• The concern that could

Start with a working picture of the person, not a profile full of trivia. The brief should guide what you say, where you say it, and what you leave out.

A buyer persona identifies what the person cares about and how to communicate with them.³ Use this question before you draft:

What does this person care about, and how should you communicate with them?³

Record the person's name and role, then map the job, title, and persona to the content you will use.^{4, 5} Write down:

• the work this person owns
• the pressure that makes the work difficult
• the result they need to improve
• the concern that could block action

Ask what they are responsible for, what takes up their time, and what they need to explain internally. Keep the answers in the person's language. Move on when the brief gives you a clear reason this person would care about the conversation.

Find the pressure

Use the brief to understand why the issue matters in the person's working day. Your message will have more force when it starts with the work they must get done.

Build the value proposition around the persona's day to day problems, challenges, and objectives.⁶ People in different functions can have different wants and needs.⁷ Listen for what motivates this person, then let that motivation shape the approach.⁸

Ask questions such as:

• What makes this work harder than it should be?
• Which result is receiving the most attention?
• What would make a change worth considering?
• What would cause this to lose priority?

When the person gives you criteria, use those criteria to decide how you explain what you do.⁹ Move on once you can describe the concern through the person's responsibilities and priorities.

Choose the angle

Select the part of the offer that belongs in this person's conversation. Persona-based personalization earns its place when it changes the angle, use case, or proof you put in front of the recipient.

When a product has several use cases, choose the use case according to the persona.¹⁰ Identify the relevant aspects and value for that persona.¹¹ Keep the conversation in the overlap between what the person cares about and what you can discuss.¹²

Bring one or two actionable things for that particular persona, and expect the selection to change across personas.¹³ Businesses need a unique value proposition for each buyer persona.¹⁴

Ask yourself:

• Which part of the offer answers the pressure you found?
• Which outcome will this person recognize immediately?
• What can you give them that helps them make progress or judge the idea?

Move on when the angle still makes sense after you remove the job title from the message.

Write for the recipient

Keep the copy close to the recipient's work. The message should feel chosen for this person, with enough detail to make the relevance clear.

The central message should be persona-based, and the content should be tailored to the persona and audience.^{15, 16} Put the email in the recipient's perspective so the customization is something they can relate to.¹⁷

Personalization can draw on a biography, social post, or previous coverage when those details help you understand the person beyond their name.¹⁸ Revealed personal interests can also provide an opening for email or LinkedIn communication.¹⁹ Use those details to support the work-based angle, then return to the concern you are addressing.

A practical drafting order is:

• name the work or pressure you are addressing
• connect it to the selected use case
• give the recipient a reason to assess the idea
• ask for a response that fits their situation

If you send information materials, custom-tailor them to the recipient so they reach the point that matters to that person.²⁰ Move on when the opening, angle, and supporting material all point to the same persona.

Choose the channel and follow-up

Delivery is part of the personalization. A well-matched message can still miss if the channel and timing ignore how the recipient prefers to engage.

The internal outreach approach should depend on the person you are contacting.²¹ Teams may need different channels and tactics for different personas.²² Engineering contacts generally prefer Slack over email, so vary the channel for that audience.²³ Keep follow-up relevant and timely based on the buyer's role.²⁴

Before sending, ask where this person is most likely to notice a useful message and what format fits the work they own. Keep the same persona angle across the sequence while adjusting delivery for the recipient. Move on when the channel, content, and timing all make sense for the person you are trying to reach.

When more people enter

A shared account problem does not give every participant the same reason to engage. Keep each person's concern visible as the conversation expands.

Develop personas and pain points for each audience, then approach those audiences as distinct personas.²⁵ Create a separate note for each participant that covers their work, pressure, chosen angle, and preferred route into the conversation. Keep the shared business context in the background while you change the reason for attention.

For a technical buyer, an engineer who understands the buyer's environment can be the right person to address the conversation.²⁶ Ask what this participant needs to evaluate, defend, operate, or approve. Move on when every participant has a reason that belongs to their own work.

What not to do

Treat these as failure points in the workflow:

• Do not write the same campaign for every prospect.²⁷
• Do not add personal details without considering how the prospect is likely to react.²⁸
• Do not use hacky tactics that make the message overengineered.²⁹
• Do not let personalization make the message overly sales-oriented and unnatural.³⁰

Use the persona brief to choose the concern, angle, channel, and follow-up before you write.