Personas and Journey Examples

What I want to explore is the concept of Personas in the customer journey in a bit more detail. We’ll start with an example of a role-based Persona, which we will discuss shortly. First, let's cover how to create a Persona and the elements that comprise one.

The components of a Persona can be gathered from various sources such as surveys, industry research, existing personas, workshops, visits, and interviews. If you are participating in a case competition, you will likely rely mainly on existing personas and industry research, as you may not have the opportunity to conduct workshops or interviews. Your goal is to identify the key elements of the Persona, which include demographic information, goals, social styles, motivations, pain points, values-based messaging, and the channels that the Persona engages with.

From this information, you will categorise the Persona into one of three or four types, which include goal-driven, emotion-driven, fictional, and role-based personas. The type you choose will depend on the questions you need to answer.

For instance, if the questions are more goal-driven, you should create goal-driven personas. For example, you might ask, "What do stakeholders want to accomplish with new technologies or processes?" Goal-driven personas primarily focus on the organisation’s objectives.

Emotion-driven questions might include, "How do the emotions and experiences of stakeholders affect their perception of change?" Fictional personas will explore what the roles, goals, and expected behaviours of stakeholders might be. This type is commonly used in case competitions and is often the one that most teams choose. However, it is important to remember that other types of personas exist, and a different type may be necessary to effectively convey the story of your solution.

Role-based personas ask questions like, "How do new ways of working impact the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders?" Answering these types of questions will help us build a role-based persona.

For our example, we will create a role-based persona named Carla, a seasoned consultant. We can use a quote from someone in the case as a starting point, along with information about Carla's working environment. We will then delve into her motivations, goals, pain points, values-based messaging, and the communication channels she prefers.

In this context, motivations relate to where Carla finds purpose and value. Goals represent her aspirations, while pain points are the obstacles that hinder her progress. By examining these elements, we can determine how to effectively communicate messages to her, which will inform our marketing strategies.

Additionally, we can outline Carla's hiring journey to further visualise her experience.

She’s a loyal employee looking for change, and we need to consider her journey. The journey begins with a job posting, which serves as a starting point for engagement. There is an enabling process that allows her to apply, which in turn brings some form of reward. The key moment in this process is the interview.

In this scenario, she sees the job posting and becomes interested. The engagement happens when she clicks on the job to apply through the new application process. She feels empowered because she can use this process to apply, and she feels rewarded and recognised for participating in it.

The meeting point occurs when Carl offers her an interview, and the rapport established during this time is crucial. As a result of her positive experience, she is more engaged and likely to trust management.

Overall, this journey outlines the experience of the persona, identifies pain points, and predicts what is needed to support the desired outcome. It’s essential to incorporate these elements into your solution as you develop it.