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But like all data, even information you gather on your audience (your personas) can go out of date.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. 

[MHeimlich]

Yearly

[RHirani80]

I believe this can be a quarterly excercise.

[Yshannon77]

I would say as often as necessary.  

• When the goal changes or new ones are added 
• New products are added, taken away or changed/upgraded 
• You no longer serve your current persona/ your demographic changes 
• You serve a different market/ geographic location

I think you have to contantly be aware of and assess your buyer personas as your company grows/changes. You can't assume that the persona you serve will always be the persona you serve.  Even if you don't change, they do. Their companies, their growth, their needs.  

[SBASS]

This is the best answer I have read so far! I love it. 

[KWatson]

Depends on the industry. In healthcare, COVID has caused a change to Infection Preventionists and other around them, so that's prompting role updates that previously would be more static

[BMullen]

Personally, I would agree with yearly too. Alongside the marketing plan for that year/next

[mcaceres]

it’s wise to revisit personas at least once a year especially after big changes to check that they still match with your target customer

[EMawer]

Revisit your personas regularly, a least every year to make sure they still match your target customers

[BJacobo]

Hello.

We update our buyer personas yearly.

[XvanderMijn]

yearly

[mamorin]

We update our personas every 6 months 

[ParthaSaha]

as per business requirement but certainly for too frequent

[MWilson2]

In my opinion these personas should be re-evaulated yearly for updates; larger changes should be informed by brand research, which in our business will likely be completed in depth every 2 years. 

[StineHolmgaard]

We do it yearly as part of our content planning process (and when picking dedicated subtopics for the year)

[wabu-hello]

Hello! I think it should update yearly 

[MHolmes]

I would recommend annually 

[DFoo]

Personas should change when the business or industry have involved, the decision making and thought process of the customers could change as well. Thus reviewing the buyer personas from that perspective might be more effective, looking at search volume from the internet might give you an idea what is trending and how those trends changes the consumer behaviour

[Aaina_Bajaj]

Well said

[JLeuzinger]

I would say yearly. However, it probably depends on the type of business and on the company goals.

[ellasheldon]

yearly, probably aligned with company goal setting each year.