They hang on office walls, complete with name, age, hobbies, and a stock photo: marketing personas. We all know them. Maybe you’ve worked with “Linda, 34, busy mother of two, loves yoga and prefers to buy sustainably.” Sounds nice – but how often has Linda actually been useful to you?
Increasingly, research shows that traditional personas no longer work in today’s world. And that’s not an opinion, but a scientifically supported conclusion.
Why personas are no longer relevant
The classic persona was once conceived as a tool to better understand your target audience. In a time when marketers worked mainly on gut feeling, it helped to give customers a ‘face.’ But the digital world has changed, and so have our customers.
Too many assumptions, too little data
A major problem is that personas are often built on assumptions, not on behavior or real data. Research by An et al. (2019) shows that personas are regularly based on limited or qualitatively subjective information. Result? They give a distorted picture of your target audience – and steer your marketing in the wrong direction.
Don’t: Make decisions based on what “Linda” would probably want.
Do: Look at what your target audience actually does – on your site, in your shop, on social.
We are not one person
People are complex. The same customer who chooses sustainable Kuyichi jeans on Monday might splurge on a new Zara sweater on Friday,
and mindlessly scroll through Instagram for inspiration on Sunday. A static profile can never compete with that.
A study by Ma & Sun (2020) shows that behavior and preferences are highly context-dependent – and can change per situation.
Segmentation works better than stereotyping
A recent article in the Journal of Marketing Behavior (Chen et al., 2021) emphasizes that data-driven segmentation
(such as through clustering based on behavior, purchase history, or interests) is much more effective than working with fictional personas.
In fact, companies that switched from personas to real-time segmentation saw increases in conversion rates of up to 25%.
What should you do instead?
At Seventury, we prefer working with real behavioral data, dynamic segmentation, and live dashboards. Why?
- Because we can then run campaigns on actual behavior, not assumptions.
- Because we can then personalize at the right moment, instead of blindly shooting based on stereotyping.
- And because we don’t have to guess what “Linda” does – we can simply see it.
Real-world example
A beauty brand we worked with had five carefully developed personas. One of them was “Sophie, 28, influencer-minded, follows the latest trends.”
The Meta ads targeting was completely focused on Sophie. What turned out? Most purchases came from women over 40 who searched Google for skincare without fragrance. No Sophie in sight.
Don’t: Cling to made-up personas.
Do: Use data as your compass – and keep optimizing based on what you learn.
Summary
Personas sound nice, but they often hold you back more than they help you forward. Especially in digital marketing.
Rather than working with fictional profiles, today you work with:
- Behavior and intent instead of age and hobbies
- Real-time data instead of filled-in outdated information
- Dynamic segmentation instead of fixed boxes
