A customer persona is a detailed, semi-fictional representation of a business's ideal customer, based on market research and real data about existing customers. It encompasses demographic information, behavioral patterns, motivations, goals, challenges, and buying habits to create a comprehensive profile that helps businesses understand and empathize with their target audience. By humanizing the customer through personas, companies can tailor their marketing strategies, product development, and customer service to better meet the needs of their audience. In contrast, a [[customer archetype]] is typically more generalized and serves as a broader categorization of customers based on shared characteristics or behaviors without delving into the specific details that make up individual personas.