Marketing Fundamentals

Module 2: Understanding Your Customer

Learning Objectives

• Conduct basic market research
• Segment audiences effectively
• Create buyer personas
• Map customer journeys

Key Concepts

Why Customer Understanding Matters You can't solve problems you don't understand. Customer knowledge prevents wasted resources, makes messaging resonate, reveals opportunities, and builds effective strategies.

Market Research Methods

Primary Research (gather yourself):

• Surveys: Online tools, keep short, mix question types
• Interviews: One-on-one conversations, ask "why," go deep
• Focus Groups: 6-10 people discussing topics
• Observation: Watch product usage and note pain points

Secondary Research (existing information):

• Industry reports, government data, trade publications, competitor analysis, social media conversations, online reviews

Customer Segmentation Dividing customers into groups with similar characteristics:

• Demographic: Age, gender, income, education, occupation
• Geographic: Location, climate, urban/rural, cultural regions
• Psychographic: Values, lifestyle, interests, personality, attitudes
• Behavioral: Purchase history, usage patterns, loyalty level, benefits sought

Creating Buyer Personas Semi-fictional representations of ideal customers including:

• Demographics and background
• Goals and aspirations
• Challenges and pain points
• Values and fears
• Information sources
• Buying behavior

Example Persona: "Marketing Manager Maria"

• Age 32, marketing manager at B2B software company
• Goals: Demonstrate ROI, grow into Director role, improve team efficiency
• Challenges: Limited budget, pressure to prove value, keeping up with trends
• Values: Efficiency, data-driven decisions, work-life balance
• Sources: Marketing blogs, LinkedIn, podcasts, webinars

Customer Journey Stages

1. Awareness: Realizes problem or discovers brand
2. Consideration: Researches solutions
3. Decision: Evaluates specific providers
4. Retention: Post-purchase satisfaction
5. Advocacy: Becomes promoter

Exercise

Create a detailed buyer persona for a product/service of your choice. Include all key elements and write a "day in the life" narrative.