How often should you audit and update your buyer personas?

[JorieMunroe]

Buyer personas can be created through research, surveys, and interviews — all with a mix of customers, prospects, and those outside your contacts database who might align with your target audience.

But like all data, even information you gather on your audience (your personas) can go out of date. After all, business models change, companies merge or shift direction, and your audience can (and likely will) evolve. In your professional opinion, how often should you audit and even update your buyer personas?

*To learn more about this, check out the Using Buyer Personas in HubSpot lesson via HubSpot Academy. 

[BZylka]

How often buyer personas should be audited and updated depends on the industry a business is in and whether they are B2B or B2C. The company I work sells industrial supplies to both B2B and B2C.  For the B2B customers, it is important to be continuosly monitoring market trends for new opportunites so montoring industry news sources daily or weekly is important to keep on the cutting edge. B2C customer purchase trends are monitored monthly to determine which products are top sellers and if there are new customer segments emerging that create the need for updating or creating additonal buyer personas.

[DAyala15]

Since we live in the communication era, likes, dislikes, trends, motivations and news fly by very swiftly, therefore we should keep up to date with the changes. Depending on the focus, approach or even industry you work in, you should update the buyer personas constantly and periodically. How often depends on your business, really. If you work with social media you should do it every quarter but if you work with factories or hardware stores you can do it every year, for example. 

[harshadmpatel]

You should audit and update your buyer personas at least once a year. However, it's ideal to revisit them more frequently, especially in fast-changing industries. Quarterly or biannual reviews can ensure that your personas stay relevant and aligned with shifts in market trends, customer behaviors, and your business goals.

Additionally, consider updating them whenever you notice:

• Significant changes in customer feedback or behaviors.
• Shifts in industry trends or technological advancements.
• New products or services introduced by your business.
• Expansion into new markets or regions.

Keeping your buyer personas fresh ensures your marketing and sales strategies remain effective.

[Muneer]

According to the market changes and upgradation.

[SJain92]

Buyer persona is one of the key metrics for business success. It is important to keep it up-to-date with the recent changes and updatation. There is no specific period according to which you update your buyer persona. It changes industries to industries. However, at least once a year, the business has to update its buyer persona to get the latest information about them. It will help them to target their audience and modify their strategy. Vice versa a company has to update its buyer persona with the changing business dynamics and strategy.

[FrancescaO]

I recommend auditing and updating buyer personas at least once a year. However, I stay flexible and update them more often if there are significant market changes, shifts in our business strategy, feedback from sales or customer service indicating changes in customer needs, or if our marketing performance starts to decline. Regular updates help me ensure our personas stay relevant and aligned with our evolving audience.

[Victorhugo233]

To keep your buyer personas up-to-date and relevant, you should audit and update them based on how quickly your industry is changing:

High Velocity Industry: Quarterly review.
Moderate Velocity Industry: Bi-annual review.
Low Velocity Industry: Annual review.

Additionally, adjust your personas if you notice significant changes in your customer demographics, the market, or if your marketing campaigns aren't having the expected impact. Collect new data through surveys, interviews, and data analysis, and communicate changes to your team to ensure everyone is working with up-to-date information.

[OCarter]

At least twice per year as things are always shifting in industry and if there is a major shift or innovation that has influenced buyer behavior.

[tarek-adel]

The frequency of auditing or updating your buyer persona depends on several factors:

1. Business Model: Whether your business is B2B or B2C can influence the frequency of updates. For instance, B2B models may require different update intervals compared to B2C models.
   
   

2. Fixed Aspects of Buyer Persona: Some elements of the buyer persona may remain constant due to their close relation to the business nature, such as the product or service offered. For example, in a B2B model, subscribing to new CRM services is typically handled by managerial levels. In a B2C model, if you sell a body lotion exclusively for females, the target gender is unlikely to change.
   
   

3. Product/Service Price and Quality: Changes in the price or quality of your product/service can necessitate updates to your buyer persona. For example, if you previously targeted Level C customers but have now moved to Level B, your buyer persona needs to reflect this shift.
   
   

4. New Production or Development Plans: Any new production or development plans might impact when you should update your buyer persona.
   
   

5. Market Conditions: Changes in market conditions may require an audit and update of your buyer persona. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, the laws regarding women's driving changed over the past six years. If you run a driving school, you would need to update your buyer persona to target both males and females.

I hope I haven't missed any other important points 🙂

[ODjiomene]

To update Buyer Personas, I'm fun of the dynamic approach whose main points consist of:

1. Scheduling an annual buyer personas review session: as the year can be busy, this will help you ensure this crucial task stays under your radar
2. After campaign performance analysis: this can be a game changer in case of poor campaign performances
3. Before any new product or campaign launch: it can be your main key to fostering campaign success

[NeOS]

The frequency of auditing and updating buyer personas can vary depending on the industry and business dynamics. Generally, it’s important to ensure that buyer personas evolve with user needs, market trends, and your service offerings. Regular updates should be made when new data is available, such as when adding more customers to the database or noticing significant shifts in customer behavior. This helps in keeping the personas relevant and accurate, catering to both new and returning customers. This approach ensures that your marketing strategies remain aligned with your audience's changing needs and preferences.

[Gamin]

There's no one-size-fits-all answer to how often you should update buyer personas, but a good rule of thumb is to audit them at least annually. However, there are some situations that might call for a more frequent update.

💥Significant market shifts: If your industry experiences a major disruption or your target audience faces new challenges, you'll want to refresh your personas to reflect those changes.

💱Changes to your business: Are you launching a new product line or expanding into a new market? These strategic shifts might necessitate updating your personas to encompass these new targets.

😥Declining marketing performance: Are your marketing efforts falling flat? Buyer personas that are no longer accurate could be the culprit. Revisit your personas if you see a sustained drop in engagement or conversions.

🔑Here's the key: your buyer personas should be a living document, not a static one. By regularly auditing and updating them, you can ensure your marketing efforts are well-targeted and resonate with your evolving audience.

[SSingh036]

Auditing and updating your buyer personas should be done regularly to ensure they remain accurate and relevant. A good practice is to review and update them at least once a year,or more frequently if there are significant changes in your market,customer behavior,or business strategy.This helps ensure your marketing efforts are effectively targeted and aligned with your customers' needs and preferences.

[Chahaksinghal]

You should audit and update your buyer personas at least once a year. However, if you notice significant changes in your market, customer base, or business strategy, you may need to update them more frequently. Regular updates ensure that your personas remain accurate and relevant to your marketing efforts.

[binughimire]

It's important to conduct audits annually to ensure our strategies are still effective and meet our evolving audience's needs.

[luisitoalp]

I audit and update my buyer personas annually and after major business changes, like new product launches or strategic shifts. Quarterly reviews benefit fast-changing industries, and post-campaign analysis should guide any adjustments. By keeping an eye on market and technological changes and regularly gathering customer feedback, I can ensure my personas stay accurate and effective. Regular maintenance ensures my personas continue to guide my marketing and business strategies effectively.

[MEspela]

Yes I agree with this specially if there are major changes in product or service features and seeing how the martech industry vastly changes which may affect how this shifts buyer personas.  In addition to annual buyer persona audit, I also like to do a 6 month data clean up maintenance. 

[Monika_G]

I'd audit the buyer personas every six months. 

[bhumikabhardwaj]

I would say depending on the industry at minimum annually.

[ENagel]

I would change it as often as your goals and tactics do, and whenever new needs are identified through your research.

[MBodack]

I would say depending on the industry at minimum annually.

It would be good to take note of role position changing so quarterly would be your best bet.