Investigating online behaviour browsing, information searches, website visits, and purchases allows further segmentation of the business target and the identification of buyer personas.
Definition of Buyer Personas and Implications for the Export Plan
Buyer personas are subsets of the traditional target audience, enriched with data on:
- Device type (mobile or desktop)
- Browsing behaviour (search engine queries, keywords used, websites visited, which pages on our site/e-commerce are visited and time spent)
- Purchase behaviour (whether they buy and whether they make repeat purchases)
Understanding buyer personas is not an isolated exercise. The company must first define its overall target in a “classic” way by analysing each market for export: age, gender, area of residence, household profile, income level, and spending propensity. Qualitative research by specialised institutes can provide psychographic profiles.
Once the target is defined, companies can examine sub-groups based on online behaviour. This is crucial when launching e-commerce, as online promotions, product page optimisation, newsletter communications, and campaigns for existing customers perform better when tailored to navigation preferences, time spent on product pages, purchase/repurchase rates, responsiveness to promotions, and use of post-sale online services.
It is clear that the overall target usually covers a larger population segment than the sum of buyer personas, as some potential customers neither search online nor make purchases online. Buyer personas represent the portion of the target to which the exporting company allocates marketing budget for online engagement, especially relevant for SMEs focusing primarily on digital export channels.
How to Collect Data to Define Buyer Personas for Export
Mapping buyer personas identifies online behaviour and divides the potential target into sub-groups to implement differentiated campaigns that increase the likelihood of engagement and conversion.
Tools and approaches:
- Google Market Finder: Understand navigation and purchase patterns in different sectors and markets.
Google Trends: Track which keywords are used for product research and how trends evolve over time. - Social media insights: Analyse user preferences and reactions to targeted campaigns.
- Surveys: Online surveys can collect data while simultaneously acting as a first step in the sales funnel. Tools include SurveyMonkey, SurveySparrow, Google Forms, and social features like Facebook polls. Embedding forms on corporate or e-commerce sites in exchange for content (newsletters, e-books, guides, PDFs) allows richer data collection.
Note: survey results vary significantly by country, making buyer persona analysis critical for tailoring communication and offerings across export markets.
Analysing Buyer Persona Behaviour on Company Websites
Monitoring online behaviour on corporate and e-commerce sites is essential.
Tools:
- Hotjar: Analyses visitor interaction.
- Website Grader: Compares UX with competitors.
- Google Analytics: Key reports include:
- Audience: Geographical, demographic, device, and interest data.
- Acquisition: Identifies traffic sources and campaign effectiveness.
- Behaviour: Insights on UX, most-visited pages, average time spent, and navigation patterns.
- Conversions: Tracks leads (form submissions), purchases, and repeat customers.
HubSpot MakeMyPersona offers guided persona creation, requiring prior market analysis and data input.
Why Behaviour Analysis Matters
PMEs often underestimate website navigation data. Ads or PPC campaigns may drive traffic, but high bounce rates (page abandonment) can negate lead generation or sales opportunities. Causes include slow loading, outdated content, or page errors.
Monitoring buyer persona behaviour helps identify which personas continue navigation and which drop off. Retargeting campaigns with targeted forms or calls-to-action (CTAs) can probe why users left a page and what content they expected, improving engagement and conversion rates.