Are you using personas for your marketing and UX?
You should be. While you’re at it, integrate personas into your design processes as well. Personas are more than just an engaging way of understanding your target audiences, using them is also a concrete step towards maximising your return on investment (ROI). Using personas, you’ll create human-centred design that your audience can’t resist.
1 Collect data
Start by collecting the usual demographics such as age group, location, income level, education, marital status and profession. But don’t put your feet up just yet. The data you collect will need to go even deeper to include shopping habits, lifestyle and values. Use tools such as Helix Personas to better understand today’s unique audiences. Take this raw data and do with it what you will, whether that be creating good old fashioned spreadsheets or post-it note collages.
2 Find patterns
Once you’ve collated your raw data and assembled into a digestible form, it’s time to look for similarities across the board. Use whiteboards, butchers paper and plenty of colour ato organise your audiences into clusters. Do your audiences share simple attributes such as gender and age? If not, look at what buying habits, tastes or values they may have in common. We’re looking for shared traits that make them want to use your product or service.
3 Speak to people
Conducting real surveys is an inexpensive and authoritative way of getting to know your audience. Too many startups flop because they think they know what their target market wants without actually finding out (wishful thinking). Speak to real people to understand how your audience think and feel, and add this information to your personas.
4 Create profiles
You should have enough data by now to be able to create imaginary people that represent your key audiences. While your personas should list key points, why not get visual? Source images from the web of your typical audience members, or illustrate your own, paying attention to their idiosyncrasies, their motivations and obstacles to making a purchase.
5 Put yourself in their shoes…
Now that you have 3 or 4 (or more, depending on your product) profiles of people who would use your product, it’s time to get these personas to work on your marketing, UX and design. What channels are your audiences on and what type of collateral would appeal to them? What matters to them as consumers and how can you convey this message through your design?
Unsure about your audience? Call The Natives for a free review of your research plan.
