Persona Marketing has become commonplace in many companies: user models are created with which businesses can characterize certain target groups. Subsequently, marketing and advertising campaigns based on these models can be tailored to specific target groups. Creating a negative persona can also provide valuable insights for your marketing strategy.
Table of contents
- What is a negative persona?
- Why create a negative persona?
- How Negative personas help refine your messaging
- How to create a negative persona?
- Negative Personas in Action: examples
What is a negative persona?
Creating a negative persona is, to a certain extent, the opposite of creating buyer personas. It is therefore the model of a user who does not want to buy a product or service, does not believe in the offer and its usefulness, may has already sought out information from the competition, is not willing to make compromises or has already voiced complaints.
Why create a negative persona?
Knowing your enemies enables you defeat them. Negative personas can make potential areas of optimization visible. Knowing what discourages potential customers from buying a product or which compromises they are unwilling to make as well as becoming aware of the areas in which the competition outperforms your business can help you to improve your marketing. Furthermore, you can also save time and money by knowing the type of person that is not going to take your offers. This enables you to concentrate your resources on your target group instead. A negative persona can be identified when taking into account the following aspects:
- A person is not in the immediate vicinity of the enterprise (applies to local stores, not online shops)
- Customer acquisition would be more expensive than the potential revenue
- A potential customer expects concessions you do not want to make
- A person does not have the financial means or is unwilling to spend money
- A person has a clear preference for competing brands
Keeping these aspects in mind, marketers can define buyer personas more precisely for a much more effective lead nurturing process.
How Negative personas help refine your messaging
Knowing who not to target is just as important as knowing who you do want. Negative personas help you stay focused. When you understand which people won’t buy, don’t need your product, or drain your resources, you can stop trying to please everyone — and that’s a good thing.
Without this clarity, your messaging gets too general. You might try to appeal to both high-end and budget customers — and end up convincing no one. Imagine a luxury brand promoting discounts just to attract bargain hunters. It could scare off loyal premium buyers. That’s a missed opportunity.
With negative personas in mind, you can speak more directly to your true audience. You’ll write headlines, ads, and content that attract the right people — and naturally filter out the rest. This saves money, improves conversions, and strengthens your brand. In short: better focus, better results.
How to create a negative persona?
First of all, you have to find people willing to be interviewed. That might be customers who have bought from you only once, people who follow your social media channels but have never purchased anything or customers who have expressed complaints.
Interviews are the best way to arrive at a definition of a negative person. However, an online form on the website might also be of help, although you have to find a way to activate people to visit your website and fill it out first.
Read more: Content Marketing.
Negative Personas in Action: examples
Negative personas are more than just a list of “bad leads” — they’re powerful filters that help you focus your message and budget. Here are three simple, real-life-inspired examples to show how they work.
“Freemium Frank” – Loves Free, Hates to Pay
Description:
Frank signs up for every free tool out there but never upgrades. He asks a lot of questions, uses support, but disappears the moment payment is required.
Impact:
Marketing efforts aimed at converting users like Frank waste time and resources. Discounts or upgrade campaigns fall flat, lowering conversion rates and skewing data.
Actions:
Exclude “freemium-only” users from paid campaigns. Instead, tailor onboarding and content to highlight ROI for users who are ready to invest.
“Offline Olivia” – Not Digital, Not Interested
Description:
Olivia runs a small business but avoids digital tools. She prefers pen and paper, avoids email marketing, and has no interest in online solutions.
Impact:
Sending her emails or digital ads won’t work. She's not a match for SaaS or eCommerce tools, no matter how well-designed.
Actions:
Don’t target users with low digital adoption. Focus on tech-savvy audiences and adjust messaging accordingly.
“Bargain Ben” – Price-Driven, Brand-Loyal to Competitor
Description:
Ben only shops for deals and is fiercely loyal to a competitor’s discount brand. He compares prices constantly and won’t switch for quality alone.
Impact:
Offering premium features or service won’t convince him. He’s not willing to pay more — and probably never will.
Actions:
Avoid targeting known competitor-loyal segments. Focus instead on customers who value what sets your product apart.
👉 Tip: Think about your own “anti-customers.” Who slows you down, drains support, or never buys? Name them — then refine your messaging to focus on those who actually convert!
