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  • August 2018
  • Teaching Note
  • HBS Case Collection

Magpie: Developing and Using Buyer Personas

By: Frank V. Cespedes
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:12
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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

Buying Process; Marketing; Sales; Distribution Channels; Segmentation; Entrepreneurship; Social Media; Consumer Products Industry; Fashion Industry; United States

Citation

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

Frank V. Cespedes

Entrepreneurial Management
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More from the Author
  • Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Klopfenstein
  • Using Simulations to Upskill Employees By: Frank V. Cespedes, Trond Aas, Alex Hunt and Huw Newton-Hill
  • Aphro Beverages By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amram Migdal
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