13 Questions to Ask Your Buyers in Persona Development Interviews

You need to know your customers inside and out to develop a successful marketing strategy. After all, if you don’t understand who your buyers are, how can you expect to relate to them – or for them to relate to you? Buyer personas are one of the best tools marketers can use to bridge this gap between their brand and target customers.

But here’s the thing, personas are only as good as the data you use to create them. And by data, we mean the qualitative and quantitative information from your past and present customers. Sometimes, qualitative data trumps quantitative details. Think about it, numbers don’t tell you what makes your customers tick — their goals, challenges, and motivations – talking to them does. Without the right questions, you risk making assumptions that waste valuable resources.

Here’s where buyer persona interviews come in. These interviews (along with the persona questions) help you discover details about your audiences and their perception of your brand. Done right, they can:

• Identify your target audience’s biggest pain points and buying barriers.
• Uncover what motivates them to make purchasing decisions.
• Allow you to personalize your sales and marketing campaigns.
• Give your team a 360-degree overview of your ideal customers.

Persona development questions delve deeper into the psyche of your buyers to uncover details that truly matter. They explore not just who your customers are but also what they do, why they do it, and how your product or service fits into their daily lives. You end up with data-driven personas that don’t just help marketing but increase profits. Case in point: According to a study, 71% of organizations that have personas in place surpass their revenue targets.

To make your work easier, we’ve compiled 13 must-ask buyer persona questions for your persona interviews. This list of questions is built to prompt meaningful conversations and reveal actionable insights about your customer base. So, you don’t have to guess who your customers are but ask them directly.

What Is a Buyer Persona?

A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer, created using customer data and research. In persona development, your target market is analyzed and divided into different groups based on their demographics, location, psychographics, goals, challenges, jobs to be done, personality traits, and behavior.

A well-rounded buyer persona typically includes:

• Demographics: age, gender, education, location, job profile, family status, and income.
• Psychographics: interests, values, social status, attitudes, personality traits, opinions, and lifestyle choices.
• Goals: what your customers want to achieve with your product.
• Challenges: the frustrations and problems they face.
• Buying barriers: the roadblocks they face in the customer journey.

You can use buyer personas to segment prospects and create targeted ads, messages, and content. They help you personalize campaigns to match audience preferences, improving engagement and conversions. Personas also improve teamwork by giving marketing, sales, and product teams a shared understanding of your customers, which ensures consistent messaging and product positioning.

Although we said that personas are fictional, they must be based on real data. You can use VoC methodologies like surveys and interviews, as well as web data and social media analytics to gather consumer insights.

Buyer personas can be created manually, but there’s a simpler way using AI persona generators like Delve AI. Our AI-powered platform quickly builds detailed personas by combining your data (like web analytics and search console data) with external sources (such as competitor insights and social media). We pull in information from over 40 public sources, including customer reviews, blogs, surveys, community forums, and news channels, to create data-driven personas for your business and social audiences.

Unlike traditional methods, our AI-generated personas are quick, affordable, and filled with actionable insights. You can generate multiple persona segments (2 to 8) for both B2B and B2C businesses. Each persona comes with a detailed profile, including a photo, name, age, gender, location, job role, bio, and a quote that sums up their goals.

You also get full information related to their:

• Goals, motivations, and pain points
• Interests, hobbies, and values
• Shopping habits, content types, and media channels
• Products, services, and tools they use
• Events or places they’re likely to visit

You get access to demographic attributes (age, gender, job profile, location), which help you understand who they are and what drives their actions. With User Distribution, you can further uncover how users interact with your website, how they find you (organic search, paid ads, etc.), and what stage they’re at in their decision-making process. You can see how well different segments convert and where users are dropping off with Sample Journeys.

Buyer persona interviews: Selecting the right people and methods

Getting the right people to interview is essential in persona development. So, you need to find individuals who offer worthwhile information about your consumers’ shopping patterns, online behaviors, goals, challenges, and preferences.

To start with, reach out to people in your company who have direct contact with customers, like your sales, customer service, and customer success teams. They can easily identify individuals within your existing customer base who can provide relevant information. But don’t just limit yourself to current customers; prospects and churned customers – those who’ve left or shifted over to a competitor – can offer different perspectives and help discover market gaps and opportunities.

That said, here are a couple of ways to find prospects for your buyer persona interviews:

• Forums and online communities on platforms like Reddit and Quora.
• Industry conferences or events. They’re perfect for meeting potential buyers and networking with industry experts.
• Social media channels, like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Allow you to find people who share unfiltered opinions and customer experiences online.
• Other organizations. Collaborating with businesses with a similar target audience lets you connect with prospects who haven’t interacted with your company yet.
• Customer referrals. Word of mouth is an easy way to reach out to people who fit your ideal customer profile.
• Reviews on competitor sites or third-party review platforms. You can identify customers who are actively looking for solutions like yours.

Once you've found the right people, conduct persona interviews in a way that feels natural and engaging. Ask simple questions and keep the conversation going to encourage honest responses. Also, consider following these three tips to get the most out of your buyer persona interviews:

• Start with open-ended questions. Ask about job roles and daily routines, along with the hurdles they face in their personal and professional lives.
• Ask follow-up questions based on previous answers. Dig deeper into specific experiences, like the career problems they faced or the solutions they’ve considered in the past.
• Incorporate "why" and "how" questions to encourage deeper thinking and get additional information about their buying behavior and shopping preferences.

Don’t be rigid, make the interview feel like a casual conversation. The more comfortable the interviewee feels, the more likely they are to share important buying insights. Some people like to talk a lot, you shouldn’t be one of them. Let the interviewee do most of the talking. After the initial interviews are done, you can discuss topics like price sensitivity and competitors.

How many personas should you create?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to how many buyer personas you should create. The number largely depends on the complexity of your business and the diversity of your target market. However, most brands should aspire to create 3 to 5 well-defined personas.

However, you should remember a few things before deciding on this number:

• Too less: If you create too few personas, you may end up placing vastly different people into a single group, which could make your marketing and sales efforts too generalized.
• Too many: On the other hand, creating too many personas can lead to confusion and chaos – you won’t know which segments to focus on.

A good rule of thumb is to start with a few personas to represent your target audience. As your business grows, you can create more personas to reflect major customer types (audience segments) or refine the existing ones.

13 Persona Development Questions to Ask in Market Research

As mentioned, creating your buyer personas should begin with asking the right persona development questions. It’s not about gathering every possible titbit of information but focusing on factors that drive customer behavior. While every business is unique, you should start with a set of core questions; it will build a solid skeleton for your personas.

Use a general list of persona questions to cover key aspects of your customers’ lives — whether personal or professional. For B2B businesses, you should prioritize work life and the decision-making process. B2C companies must look into personal preferences, behaviors, and needs. Now, you won’t always get a 100% accurate answers. Yet, there will be some emerging patterns or trends you can use.

The process definitely sounds tiresome but you don’t need to have all the answers at once. Think of this list as a starting point for your buyer persona research. It’s more of a guide to direct your persona interviews, whether you're speaking to team members or interviewing customers.

#1. Demographics: Who are they?

Understanding the basic demographic profile of your customers lays the foundation for how you shape your marketing, communication, and product development strategies. These basics give you a strong starting point to develop a meaningful connection with your target audience.

You can ask the following questions to get the buyers’ demographics:

• What is your age?
• What gender identity do you associate with?
• Where do you live (city, suburbs, or rural areas)?
• What level of education have you completed? Or what is your educational background?
• What is your annual income?
• Are you married, single, or in a relationship?

Demographic details allow you to tailor your business approach to suit their lifestyle and preferences.

#2. Professional life: What do they do for work?

Your customer’s career profile reveals a lot about their professional needs, challenges, and even their budget for purchases. It impacts how they make decisions, allocate time, and prioritize goals. Of course, if your company is B2C in nature, you don’t need to stress about it as much. A B2B organization, on the other hand, will benefit by learning about the persona’s role in decision-making and level of expertise.

You can ask the following questions to get a customer’s job profile:

• What is your job title or role?
• How long have you worked in that position?
• What do your daily responsibilities look like?
• Do you manage multiple people? How do you work with people in other departments?
• What skills or tools are critical in your job?
• Do you have any decision-making power in the company? If so, what?
• What are the biggest challenges you face in completing your work?
• What industry do you work in? How big is the company you work for?

With these answers, you can position your product as a solution that helps achieve their goals and create marketing collaterals to further your cause.

#3. Company: Who do they work for?

Company details are a must for creating B2B buyer personas. Firmographic segmentation is the best method to segment this type of customer – businesses and organizations – based on company size, performance, revenue, culture, industry, location, and ownership. You can then personalize your messaging to suit different workplace settings and hierarchies.

You can ask the following questions to learn about your persona’s company:

• What industry is your company in?
• What is your company’s total employee count?
• How much is their annual revenue?
• What are your company’s main goals and objectives?
• What major challenges is your company facing?
• What makes your company stand out from the crowd?
• How does your company make buying decisions?
• What tools or technology do you use, and what limitations do they have?
• How does your company manage remote or hybrid work arrangements?
• Is your work-life balance positive, negative, or neutral?

You need to ask these questions to identify company objectives and goals, so you can create marketing plans that cater to the interests of your end-users, buyers, and the company at large.

#4. Personal and professional goals: What motivates them?

Personal goals influence decision-making and buying habits. A person’s aspirations shape how they define success, what motivates them, and how they approach professional and personal problems. These factors can enable you to demonstrate how your brand fits into their life.

You can ask the following questions to get consumer goals:

• What are your life goals?
• What personal values matter most to you?
• How do you prioritize these goals?
• What kind of impact do you want to leave?
• What factors motivate you in life?
• For B2B marketing, ask specific questions like:
• How do you measure success in your job role?
• What key metrics (KPIs) do you need to meet with our services?
• What long-term career or professional goals are you working toward?
• What challenges or roadblocks could affect these goals?
• Is there anything important our product could help your company accomplish?

#5. Pain points: What challenges do they face?

To deliver real value, focus on the specific challenges standing in the way of your customers’ goals. Their problems show you where your product or service can step in as a practical solution. The more detailed you get, the better you can design your products and features.

You can ask the following questions to identify your buyers’ pain points:

• What obstacles stop you from reaching your goals?
• What frustrations do you face daily?
• How do these challenges impact your work or personal life?
• Would resolving these problems improve your personal and professional outlook?
• What solutions have you tried before, if any?
• How much time or money could you save by fixing these issues?

Once you know their pain points, you can easily build campaigns addressing all of their problems, presenting alternative solutions personalized to their specific needs.

#6. Buying behavior: How do they make purchase decisions?

Information about a customer’s buying behavior can empower you to predict when, where, how, and why they buy your products. Knowing how they research products, compare alternatives, the factors they weigh in their decision-making, and what pushes them to take action can guide your marketing and sales processes.

You can ask the following buyer persona questions to identify your customers’ buying behavior:

• What kind of products do you typically buy?
• How do you find, research, and compare products before making a decision?
• What factors are most important when choosing a product?
• Is trust a big factor in your purchase decisions? If so, what makes a brand trustworthy?
• Do you prefer shopping online, in person, or through another channel?
• What types of discounts or promotions are most likely to influence your decision?
• Do you consult with other people or acquaintances before making a buying decision?

With these insights, you can promptly solve customer concerns, list your products on sites they frequently buy from, and anticipate shifts in buying behavior and marketing trends.

#7. Personality: How do they see themselves?

Getting to know your customers' personalities is key to aligning your brand’s tone and values with their preferences. Personality traits affect how they see themselves, engage with your brand, and make decisions. When your messaging matches their personality, your brand becomes more relatable and appealing.

You can ask the following questions to know your buyers’ personality:

• Are you more introverted or extroverted?
• Do you prefer structure or flexibility in your daily life?
• What motivates you — achievement, creativity, security, etc.?
• How do you respond to challenges?

Recognizing consumer personality traits helps you communicate in a way that feels natural and authentic, building a stronger connection between your brand and your customer.

#8. Online and offline habits: Where do they spend their time?

You should know where your customers spend their time. This can make or break your brand strategy. It shows you where to find them, which platforms to prioritize, and how to engage with them. This includes their social media preferences, and hobbies, along with the types of content they consume.

Ask the following persona questions to identify your users’ online and offline habits:

• Which social media platforms do you use?
• What hobbies or activities do you love?
• Do you participate in online communities or real-world groups?
• What kind of media do you consume — blogs, videos, podcasts, etc.?

This info helps you create content that resonates and places it where your customers are already spending their time, making your marketing efforts more effective.

#9. Buying motivations: Why do they buy?

Every purchase has a reason behind it. Figuring out why customers buy helps you give out offers that speak directly to their motivations. Are they driven by practical needs, emotional triggers, or a mix of both? Knowing what drives their decisions lets you market your product in a way that aligns with their basic desires.

• What motivates you to buy a product or service?
• Are your decisions more emotional or logical?
• How much does money influence your choices?
• Are they looking for lasting solutions or quick fixes?

When you tap into these motivations, you can create copy that hits the right triggers and encourages them to take action.

#10. Content and communication preferences: How do they communicate?

Communication is the foundation of successful customer relationships. Learning how your audience prefers to interact shapes your communication and PR strategy, impacting everything from customer support to marketing messages. The more your approach matches their preferences, the more likely you are to grab their attention and build trust.

Ask your interviewees:

• What’s your go-to communication channel — email, text, phone, or in-person?
• Do you prefer a formal tone or a casual, conversational style?
• How do you like to get support — through live chat, FAQs, or direct calls?
• What content format resonates most — video, podcasts, or written articles?
• Are you more engaged by interactive experiences or passive content?

When your communication style aligns with their preferences, your brand feels more approachable and trustworthy. But this is not enough unless you know how your customers consume content, their preferred content formats, and trusted sources of influence.

• So consider asking these follow-up questions:
• How do you like to learn about a new concept — through videos, blogs, or webinars?
• Where do you usually look for information when making purchasing decisions?
• Which publications, thought leaders, or influencers do you follow?
• Do you participate in industry events or conferences?
• What type of content helps you evaluate products — online reviews, case studies, or demos?

#11. Values: What kind of brands do they like?

Figuring out which brands your customers trust can help you position your product as a natural fit in their lives. People tend to stick with brands that align with their values and reflect their identity. If you know their brand preferences, you can present your product as a complement to what they already use or as a better alternative.

Ask these questions to identify customer values:

• What values guide your buying decisions?
• What keeps you loyal to a brand?
• Which brands do you trust the most, and why?
• How important is it for a brand to share your values?
• Do social, economic, or environmental issues shape your choices?
• Would you switch to a competitor for better alignment with their beliefs?

Your customers’ values go beyond the product itself. Highlighting how your brand aligns with their ethical, social, or environmental concerns builds trust and loyalty. When you show that your values match theirs, you create a stronger connection that can lead to long-lasting relationships.

#12. Technology: How tech-savvy are they?

Your customer’s comfort level with technology impacts how you develop your product and how you communicate with them about it. Some customers prefer simple, easy-to-use tools, while others are comfortable with cutting-edge technology. It’s important to know where they are on this spectrum as it allows you to provide solutions catering to their technological proficiency.

You can ask the following questions to identify your buyers’ tech-savviness:

• How proficient are you with technology?
• What devices do you use daily?
• How do you use technology in your life (e.g., apps, websites, smart home devices)?
• Would you consider yourself to be an early adopter or a cautious person when it comes to new technology?

#13. Negative personas: Who is NOT a customer?

Understanding who isn’t a good fit for your product is just as important as knowing who is. This helps you avoid wasting time and resources on prospects who will never convert into customers. You should create negative buyer personas for your business to filter out such prospects. For instance, here’s an example of a negative persona for a fast-fashion brand.

Ask yourself questions along the lines of:

• Which audience segment doesn’t align with your brand or product offerings?
• Which prospects have shown little to no interest in your brand or product?
• Which demographics have consistently resulted in poor conversions?
• Are there customers who are too costly to nurture?

Building negative personas ensures you focus your marketing efforts on the right audience and maximize your return on investment (ROI). It helps eliminate those who are unlikely to purchase and allows you to invest your resources in promising leads.

Wrapping Up

Creating buyer personas might feel like a time-consuming task, but the payoff is worth it. A detailed persona helps you reach your perfect customers with the right messaging at the right time and place. Whether it’s display ads, email outreach, or social media campaigns, persona development gives you the tools to effectively target your audience and get better results.

Customer personas aren’t set in stone. As your business grows and customer needs evolve, keep refining and updating them to stay relevant. Conduct buyer persona interviews, ask the right persona questions, and use what you learn to improve your business strategy.

Want some help with your persona development interviews? Try our free buyer persona templates!