In this episode of Clarity Digital Pod, I had the opportunity to sit down with Aitana Arias — an international marketing strategist with many years of experience, including the past five years focused solely on B2B. Originally from Spain and currently living the digital nomad life in Southeast Asia, Aitana has built a career helping early-stage startups and scaleups in tech go to market across borders.
We went deep into what it takes to create truly global buyer personas, how buying behavior shifts between regions, and why collaboration across departments — not just marketing — is key to successful go-to-market strategies.
Localizing Buyer Personas: One Size Doesn’t Fit All
If your company is expanding globally and you’re tempted to just copy-paste your U.S. buyer persona into your European or Asian marketing strategy, Aitana has one word for you: don’t.
While pain points like efficiency, cost, and performance are universal, what buyers prioritize — and why — varies by market. She emphasized that buyer personas must be adapted to cultural expectations, platform behaviors, and decision-making styles.
In the U.S., buyers might respond to speed and convenience. In Europe, decision-making might be more methodical or group-oriented. In Southeast Asia, mobile-first behavior dominates. Knowing where and how your target buyer gathers information, and what influences their purchasing journey, is non-negotiable.
Stop Thinking of Facebook as Just B2C
Aitana and I had a good back-and-forth about Facebook’s role in B2B. While most people associate Facebook with consumer products, she pointed out — and I agree — that it has deep targeting potential for B2B, especially with products offering free trials or self-serve options.
For example, we discovered the Restream platform (used in this podcast) through Facebook. Not LinkedIn. Facebook knew the intent. It’s a reminder that audience behavior and intent can matter more than platform stereotypes.
Timing Is Everything: Cultural Norms and Buying Seasons
Here’s one for U.S. marketers to think about — Europe takes summers seriously. From June to early September, people are on vacation, especially in France and Spain. If you’re running aggressive sales campaigns or trying to book demos during this time, you’ll likely hit a wall.
Instead, Aitana suggests focusing on brand-building content that’s mobile-friendly and light — content that builds awareness so your brand stays top of mind when everyone returns in September. Know your buyer’s calendar. If you don’t, you’ll waste budget and timing.
The Right Way to Build a Global Buyer Persona
Aitana outlined the must-haves for a buyer persona that actually drives strategy:
- Forget vanity metrics. Location and age don’t mean much anymore. Focus on behavior, decision-making processes, and actual pain points.
- Talk to real people. Have conversations with existing customers. Listen for tone, vocabulary, and emotional triggers.
- Use cross-functional input. Get sales, product, and customer support involved. They interact with customers daily — their feedback is gold.
And most importantly: update your persona every 6 to 9 months. Whether you’re a new startup or an established company shifting into a new phase, personas aren’t “set it and forget it.”
AI Is a Tool, Not a Strategy
AI tools like ChatGPT or Julius.ai can help summarize interview data, identify repeated phrases, and extract useful tone analysis — but as Aitana points out, they don’t replace critical thinking. She uses AI to streamline analysis and organize customer interviews, but the final messaging is always refined with human input and validated with cross-functional teams.
We shared our agency experience using AI to process call tracking transcripts — especially when direct interviews aren’t scalable. The difference in campaign performance before and after integrating real customer language? Night and day.
Don’t Ignore Product in the Marketing Equation
In one case, I explained how we were delivering MQLs that weren’t converting to opportunities. After some digging and collaboration with the product team, we learned the software’s UI was so outdated it scared off users. The product worked well but looked like it was built 15 years ago — and that kills conversions, especially among Gen X and millennial buyers.
Aitana echoed that sentiment — B2B companies often overlook branding and user experience, assuming performance and features are enough. But people still buy with emotion, even in B2B. Your website, onboarding, and product UI matter.
Aligning Teams as an Outside Consultant
As a fractional CMO, Aitana understands how challenging it is to align sales, product, and marketing — especially when you’re not in-house. Her first step is always getting buy-in from the CEO or founder. Without that, other departments won’t prioritize the collaboration.
Once leadership is aligned, she recommends a kickoff with key departments to explain why buyer persona work isn’t just a “marketing thing” — it benefits everyone. After that, you identify your 3-4 key contributors, usually from sales, support, and product, and keep the process lean.
Simplicity Over Complexity: Tools and Process
Aitana isn’t big on stacking dozens of tools. She keeps things simple:
- Google Sheets or Excel to log findings
- ChatGPT to highlight patterns and summarize tone
- Manual interviews to capture real human language
- AI as support, not direction
She also works within frameworks like the Golden Circle (Why → How → What) to structure messaging. It’s not about complicated marketing playbooks — it’s about clarity, empathy, and precision.
The Person Behind the Pro
Outside of work, Aitana is just as driven. She splits her time between consulting and content creation — developing masterclasses, eBooks, and speaking engagements.
Her therapy? CrossFit, HYROX, and weight training. She recently competed in a HYROX event in Bangkok. On weekends, she balances the intensity with hikes, cultural outings, and catching up with friends.
And when asked what superhero she’d be? Supergirl. Because flying would make life as a digital nomad even easier — and it fits her go-anywhere, do-anything personality.
Ready for international growth? Start with your buyer persona.
If you’re expanding globally — or even marketing domestically to diverse audiences — the old rules won’t work. You need buyer personas that reflect real behavior, not just demographic assumptions. You need AI to work for you, not instead of you. And you need buy-in across your entire company.
Huge thanks to Aitana Arias for sharing her insights on this episode. Her global mindset, tactical depth, and no-fluff approach are exactly what modern marketers need in this next phase of digital.
