Buyer Personas, Revised and Expanded, 2nd Edition

9Conduct Survey Research to Enhance Buying Insights

We are often asked about the value of conducting survey research to validate and enhance Buying Insights developed from one-on-one interviews. Survey research typically includes more structured questions (e.g. ratings, rankings, select from a list of choices, etc.) with a larger number of buyers. The thinking is logical – by collecting more information from buyers, you'll increase the confidence you have in your Buyer Persona and develop additional insights to make even better decisions about how to market and sell to them.

Ways to Enhance Your Buyer Persona with Survey Research

Based on the hundreds of studies we've been involved in, there has never been an instance where survey research invalidated what we learned from the initial, one-on-one buyer interviews. In fact, the opposite is true – survey research always validates what we have learned and increases the confidence in the findings.

However, survey research will greatly enhance your Buyer Persona in several important ways, including:

• Confirming the accuracy and validity of your Buyer Persona: There may be times where you need to collect data from additional buyers to help bolster your internal stakeholders' confidence in the insights from your one-on-one interviews even more (and that's okay). Survey research is the perfect tool to accomplish this.
• Determining which buyer expectations are most important in the buying decision: Doing so will help you prioritize ...