The Power of Personas 

FedEx World Usability Day Presentation

Let’s begin with some role playing...

…a deadline looms. You find yourself thinking, “I wish I had a better handle on the customer’s point‐of‐view right about  now!!!” 

Business Strategy Design Marketing

“I wish I knew what the customer is THINKING about ___________.”

“I wish I knew what the customer is SAYING about ___________.”

“I wish I knew what the customer is FEELING about___________.”

This is your customer…

Your ability to put yourself in your customer’s shoes can make the difference between success and failure.

The customer perspective at Amazon.

Meet Pragmatic Paul, a Persona KS&R created for a global mobile phone manufacturer.

46 years old

Recently promoted to Shipping Manager at a national printing company

Spent last 10 years as Warehouse Manager

Pragmatic Paul:

Referents & Influences

The brands, personalities, and issues that have my attention

Motivators

What inspires, stimulates, excites, and drives me.

Attitude towards Technology

How technology fits into my life

A digital storyboard can bring Pragmatic Paul to life.

Creating a Persona Avatar for Pragmatic Paul can enhance interaction and usability.

A Persona  Avatar is a high‐end graphical representation of a Persona ‐‐ an animated, speaking character.    

Persona Avatars provide important benefits:• Attention‐getting• Instant emotional engagement• Efficiency, as the Avatar directs the user to 

issues of interest• Motivates the user to spend more time 

with the Persona

A persona is a fictional surrogate, or a “stand in” for your target customer / user. 

Persona (noun pərˈsōnə)

User Persona

Buyer Persona (Consumer)

Buyer Persona (B2B)

There are multiple types of Personas.

Primary

Secondary

A Persona is NOT…

A Stereotype A Role Customer Segmentation

Customer segmentation can serve as the foundation for Persona development.

Pre‐Work

Immersion

ObservationIn‐depth interviewsUsability testing

What is the process used to create Personas?

Target DefinitionDetermine the core target, 

including buyers and prospects. 

Assign “homework” to study participants to gain an early first‐hand look into the customer’s world.

ReviewSynthesize learning across primary research and secondary sources.  Create hypotheses based upon 

current learnings.

Creating Personas is the art of finding patterns and stories in the data.

Are Personas worth the effort?

A Persona can inform ‐‐ and transform ‐‐ your offerings, design, and marketing strategies in ways you may not have thought possible.

A Persona yields a deep understanding and intimate profile of your target customer –and enables you to walk in your customer’s shoes.

Top 5 Reasons You Need Personas

Understanding

Personas round out learning and serve as the basis for other research programs.

Reason #2

Integration

A Persona brings stakeholders and team members together with a shared vision of exactly who the customer is and what he/she wants and needs. 

Reason #3

Alignment

A Persona gives you an in‐depth understanding of your customer’s trusted resources, favorite publications, and where he/she spends time online.

You can make highly informed  decisions about where and how to spend solution, marketing and sales dollars.

Reason #4

Marketing Spend

A Persona tells you what the customer wants to know, and how best to tell the story ‐‐ and why.

Reason #5

Marketing Messaging

Scene Setting

A global manufacturer of mobile phones conducted a customer segmentation study based on business customers’: 

• Level of involvement (higher vs. lower)• Attitudes towards the mobile device (rational vs. emotional)

The study revealed that some customers don’t shed the “businessperson” role at the end of the workday to put on the “consumer” role. 

Professional Consumer PROSUMER

The HypothesisThe rise of the Prosumer

Mexico City

Sao Paulo

TorontoCologne

Mumbai

ShanghaiSF

Miami

London

Barcelona

Moscow

Dubai

The Fieldwork

• 12 markets WW• 8 customers recruited per market

Pre‐Work

Dashboard‐mounted video cameras film study participants in their daily routine to capture their experience with maps and nav APPS “in the moment”. 

Study participants are shadowed and documented from wake‐up through end of day.  

A 90 minute interview is conducted using ethnographic inquiry:  descriptive questions, structural questions, contrast questions.

Observation

Study participants use mobile phones to complete various tasks.  The experience is observed and outcomes recorded.  An in‐depth interview explores the participant’s perspective.

Usability Testing

The Results: Meet the Personas

Julian the Juggler 

Tomas the Techie 

Shakira the Stylist

Leiko the Life Builder 

Leveraging Personas for Innovation

Julian the Juggler 

Tomas the Techie 

Shakira the Stylist

Leiko the Life Builder 

The Assignment: Packaging Design

Use the Personas to design the optimal packaging for a new line of mobile phones

Match the right design elements with the right Persona* 

*HINT:  Each design element fits only one Persona

Julian the Juggler – Optimal Packaging

5.1” screen, fully dust resistant

JAM FREE: See real traffic

conditions in real time

LOCATE IT NOW: Real-time insight into the

location of your company’s vehicles,

shipments, people, and equipment

21 hours of talk time plus a power saving mode

Realize instant productivity without the complexity and higher

costs of many other mobile devices.

Offers a simple and convenient user experience

EMAIL SCREEN CONTROL: You decide how you view email, whether it’s simply the number of new unread

emails or full view of sender and subject

Tomas the Techie – Optimal Packaging

Easy to customize your phone so that it looks like no one else’s.

Easy integration into the existing IT infrastructure and centralized control

A unique business device that exceeds expectations with its rich array of customized solutions and

advanced features

CONFERENCE UP: Schedule and start conference calls on the go and see your conference in

action.

AUDIO ADRENALINE: Share playlists with others with a tap of your device

Smartphone of the Year

FOLLOW ME: Location based service

that allows others to pinpoint your location

and follow you anywhere in the world via social

networks

Shakira the Stylist – Optimal Packaging

Advanced camera and video functions, including continuous auto focus, better face detection, enhanced noise reduction.

Sleek, contoured shape comes in an array of vivid color.

YOU’RE HERE: Premium maps & navigation coverage, including

house number level

Best-Selling Smartphone of the Year

YOU & ME: The first truly personal digital assistant that uses natural

language

FITNESS TRACKER:

Includes pedometer, diet

and exercise records, built-in

heart rate monitor

Battery life up to 80 hours, so you can take advantage of all the new features and apps.

Leiko the Life Builder – Optimal Packaging

Makes your busy, every day life better in ways big and small.

A host of premium features without the high end price

“Touch of Class”, executive styling makes a classic statement

Secure the phone with

your fingerprint

BRAIN POWER: Neuroscience-based

music and games that boost your brain power

UR COACH: Track and upload your health and wellness activities and

history to help you reach your fitness goals, and share it on social media

ONFILE: Lets you view and edit customer

records and files and share the information

with others.

38 | KS&R | 2014