Magpie: Developing and Using Buyer Personas

Frank V. Cespedes

Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | August 2018

Magpie: Developing and Using Buyer Personas

Abstract

Teaching Note for HBS No. 818-013. Magpie is a startup with a platform that allows publishers to natively tag the products discussed in their content and thus allows consumers to purchase those products without needing to leave that publisher’s web page. A key aspect of the venture’s business model is to leverage the content and influence of publishers (i.e., those who provide content in the fashion product categories initially targeted by Magpie). The founders have developed four publisher personas and must decide on priorities among these buyer personas and the implications for messaging, media, and other aspects of marketing to each group. “Buying Journey” and “Buyer Persona” are currently popular terms for a perennial requirement of effective marketing: understanding who buys, why, and how among a venture’s potential customer groups. The teaching note discusses the process for creating buying personas in an early-stage venture; the go-to-market implications that flow from focus on a given persona; and the uses, misuses, and inherent limitations of qualitative constructs like Buying Journey and Buyer Persona in allocating resources.

Keywords: social media; buying process; Marketing; Sales; Distribution Channels; Segmentation; Entrepreneurship; Consumer Products Industry; Fashion Industry; United States;

Language: English

Format: Print

12 pages

Purchase

Citation:

Cespedes, Frank V. "Magpie: Developing and Using Buyer Personas." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 819-027, August 2018.

Fred Shilmover and Sam Clemens prepared for their fourth quarter board meeting. They were excited to have scaled their software startup, InsightSquared, to $2 million in revenue and secured an $8 million round of venture capital. However, they disagreed on the path ahead, specifically on the sales and marketing plan. Shilmover preferred a sales-centric approach to growth while Clemens preferred a marketing-centric one. Which strategy was optimal for their venture’s next phase of growth?

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 819-010. Shindigz sells party and celebratory items through its branded direct online channel, third-party retail and wholesale channels, and online marketplaces. Shindigz has for decades successfully executed a premium-priced branded strategy across its distribution channels. But market developments put this approach at risk. The teaching note discusses the impact of omni-channel buying processes on marketing requirements in an event-driven product category; the links between channel choice, pricing, and business strategy; and the requirements for change in response to market conditions that put pressure on established processes in a business model.

In August 2017, Cumplo’s Founder Shea and CEO Kirberg meet to discuss growth and strategy issues faced by this Chilean fintech startup. What sales and marketing strategy will best foster the compny’s growth? Are changes needed in the product lineup? How and when should Cumplo begin to expand beyond Chile, to other countries in Latin America? The company raised $1.4 million in its first three years, mainly from individual investors, and then issued new shares for $3 million in 2015. By June 2017, Cumplo was debt-free, had achieved break-even, and had raised an additional $2.3 million.

Faculty & Research

Magpie: Developing and Using Buyer Personas

Abstract

Citation:

About the Author

More from the Author