0.3Target audience, personas & customer journey
The essentials in 30 seconds
- You don't sell "to everyone": you choose your target, then embody it in a persona — a concrete portrait, not a hunch.
- The persona makes the target tangible: needs, barriers, habits, channels — grounded in reality (customers, reviews, data).
- The customer journey (discovery → consideration → decision → loyalty) tells you what to do and when: one action adapted to each stage.
Threaded mini-case — Sofia draws Yasmine, her ideal customer
Sofia stops targeting "everyone" and draws Yasmine, her ideal customer: 32, a busy executive in Algiers, sensitive to reviews and active on Instagram. She maps her journey: discovery on social media, comparison via reviews, mobile purchase, then referral. At each stage, Sofia attaches an action: useful content, visible testimonials, simplified payment. Her campaigns stop spraying and finally hit the mark.
Sequel to cases 0.1-0.2 — Sofia puts a face on her target.
1. Target audience and personas
You don't sell "to everyone": the first marketing decision is choosing your target audience. To make it concrete, create personas — identikit portraits of typical customers (their needs, barriers, habits).
A persona turns an abstract audience into a person you genuinely speak to.
2. The customer journey
Next, understand the customer journey: the path from discovery to purchase (and loyalty), often modeled by the AARRR funnel or the "TOFU/MOFU/BOFU" funnel.
Each stage comes with different expectations — and therefore different marketing actions. It is the foundation of any effective strategy.
🔎 Concrete example — 🔎 Concrete example — A concrete persona
Embody the target.
First name, age, job, goal #1, major barrier, networks used.
Grounded in reality (customers, reviews, conversations), not intuition.
→ a person you genuinely speak to.Result: relevant actions instead of spraying at random.
Reflex: start with ONE persona, your ideal customer.
Section vocabulary
- Target (audience)
- The group of customers you seek to reach, defined by criteria (demographics, needs, behaviours).
Simple example: Young busy executives in Algiers sensitive to reviews, targeted by Sofia.
What it is not: "everyone" with no criteria at all.
Reflex: explicitly name whom you target — and whom you don't.
- Persona
- A semi-fictional identikit portrait of a typical customer: first name, situation, goals, barriers, preferred channels. Makes the target tangible.
Simple example: Yasmine, 32, executive in Algiers: goal of speed, barrier of distrust, Instagram channel.
What it is not: a profile invented in a meeting without ever talking to a customer.
Reflex: every persona must be grounded in reality.
- Customer journey
- The stages a customer goes through, from becoming aware of the need to purchase and beyond (loyalty, referral).
Simple example: Yasmine: discovery, comparison, mobile purchase, referral.
What it is not: the price or the ad budget (those are not stages).
Reflex: map before acting: where is the customer at?
- Funnel
- A representation of the journey in narrowing stages: discovery → consideration → conversion. TOFU/MOFU/BOFU.
Simple example: Many discover Sofia's shop, a few compare, some buy.
What it is not: a product catalogue.
Reflex: a different action per funnel stage.
- Touchpoint
- Each interaction between the customer and the brand (ad, site, review, email) along the journey.
Simple example: The Instagram post, the Google review, the confirmation email Yasmine receives.
What it is not: an internal stage invisible to the customer (e.g. a meeting).
Reflex: list the touchpoints before optimizing them.
In practice — Hands-on — Creating a persona and mapping their journey
- Write ONE persona of your ideal customer: first name, age, job, main goal, major barrier, networks they use.
- List their touchpoints: how do they discover a solution like yours? Where do they look? Whom do they trust?
- Map their journey in 3 stages: discovery (they become aware of the need), consideration (they compare), decision (they buy).
- At each stage, note ONE adapted marketing action (e.g. SEO content in discovery, testimonials in consideration, offer in decision).
Ready-to-say script — proposing ONE reality-grounded persona (1 min)
"Rather than targeting everyone, I suggest we describe our ideal customer: who she is, what she wants, what holds her back, where she looks for us. I'll start from our real customers and their reviews, not assumptions — and we'll set one action per stage of her journey."
To say in a meeting to frame targeting: one persona, reality, one action per stage.
Copy-paste template — persona card + journey
FIRST NAME / AGE / JOB: _______________
GOAL #1: _______________ | MAJOR BARRIER: _______________
NETWORKS / CHANNELS USED: _______________
SOURCE (customer, review, data): _______________
DISCOVERY (action): _______________
CONSIDERATION (action): _______________
DECISION (action): _______________Small business / tight budget
No costly study: 5 customer calls + reading reviews are enough for a solid first persona.
SME in Algeria
Sofia builds Yasmine from real orders and messages received: delivered wilayas, barriers (payment, trust), channels (Instagram, word of mouth).
B2B
Often two personas: the user and the decision-maker — different needs and barriers, distinct journeys and arguments.
E-commerce
Add to the persona: average basket, device (mobile?), #1 purchase barrier (delivery, payment, returns) — then one anti-barrier action per stage.
✓ Best practices
- Start with ONE persona, your ideal customer.
- Ground it in reality (customers, reviews, data), not intuition.
- Attach a marketing action to each journey stage.
✗ Common pitfalls
- Wanting to target "everyone".
- Multiplying personas until effort is diluted.
- Building a persona on mere assumptions.
Key takeaways
- You don't target "everyone": choose and embody the target in personas.
- A persona makes the target tangible (needs, barriers, channels).
- The customer journey runs from discovery to purchase (and loyalty).
- Each stage calls for different marketing actions.
48h Challenge — apply tomorrow
Write 1 persona (first name, goal, barrier, channels) from 2 real reviews or conversations, then note 1 action per stage of the journey.
- I can describe my ideal customer on one card.
- I can map discovery → consideration → decision.
- I have linked 1 action to each journey stage.
Frequently asked questions
How many personas should you create?
Start with one, your ideal customer, then add one or two more if you have truly distinct audiences — e.g. in B2B, the decision-maker and the user, who share neither needs nor barriers. Too many personas dilute effort and scatter budgets. What matters: grounding them in reality (existing customers, conversations, data), never in assumptions.
How do you learn your audience's real needs?
Talk to your customers: interviews, surveys, reading reviews and support questions. Also analyze Google searches (keywords), social media comments and competitors' comments. Every recurring complaint is a barrier to address; every compliment is an argument to highlight. A solid persona feeds on real data, never on intuition alone.
What is a persona for?