Tom is a 45-year-old finance manager with an annual salary of €80.000. He is married to Sara, 42, press spokeswoman of the local police station. They try to handle their pubescent daughter Mia and their cheeky terrier Pit. Tom loves reading the Harvard Business Manager. He enjoys his monthly golf tournaments and has a secret gusto for icky Walt Disney Films. Tom could be your customer. Get to know him!

The Basics

Customer Archetype (or customer persona) means getting to know your customer in detail. The goal is to know enough in order to draw up a day in a life of a customer. Ask yourself – Who are they? What is their age? Sex? Status? Budget? Who influences them? What motivates them? What do they do? Find out all the characteristics of their lives and at the same time where there actually is demand for your product. When you have all the information, create an imaginary person who embodies all the traits of your customer. In doing so you build a visual picture of an ideal customer and you can question how you would get them to buy your product. By knowing one specific customer, your customer archetype, it is easier to imagine what this person needs and how to sell it to them. Moreover, knowing your customer helps to understand your value proposition.

Find here a short video about the definition of customer archetype, explained by Steve Blank through animation.