Buyer persona in small and medium enterprises in the tourism sector in the department of Santa Ana, El Salvador. Case study: restaurants

Abstract

Restaurants in Santa Ana can target various market segments based on demographic elements such as age or social class; therefore, their products and strategies are generalized in an attempt to cover all segments. This task is complex and requires the investment of more resources.

As stated by Pau Valdés (2019), a buyer persona helps companies develop more personalized messages for different groups, making them more resonant and allowing them to obtain loyal customers. Without defining a buyer persona or a detailed customer profile, a company works blindly, basing its strategies and practices on assumptions or uninformed statistical data.

Based on this problem, a descriptive study was conducted to survey business owners in the restaurant sector in order to identify the use of a buyer persona profile and propose necessary tools for those who do not use it. Ten surveys were carried out, and the results indicate that most small and medium-sized enterprises do not use a buyer persona profile; however, they are willing to be trained on the topic. Those companies that do use it highlight an impact on marketing planning, since knowing the profile of the ideal customer (buyer persona) allows them to strategically target different campaigns according to the customer.