Personas are fictional people, but to understand their motivations and challenges, you want them to feel as real as possible. Check out the simple steps to creating an effective customer persona – worksheets included!
2. Customer Persona:
A fictional person, rooted in research, that represents the needs and interests of the main types of
customers in your audience.
Hint - Learn more about personas on the Hatchbuck blog:
http://www.hatchbuck.com/blog/simple-introduction-personas/
3. Step 1: Craft an Identity
Find out who your persona is and give them a backstory. Ask:
• What is their name?
• What generation are they from?
• What is their home life like?
• What is their level of education?
Joe the single twenty-something is going to have different motivations than Mary the 40-something
divorcée with 2.5 kids.
4. Identity Day in the Life
Biggest Challenges Motivation
Age
Years on the Job
Sample Persona: Greg the General Contractor
Greg is a college graduate who is married with 2
kids, lives in the suburbs and drives an SUV. He
is very involved in his local community and
works long hours. It doesn’t leave much time to
hang out with his family.
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5. Step 2: A Day-in-the-Life
Think about the routines and processes your persona embarks upon every day. Ask questions like:
• Where do they go every day?
• How do they communicate?
• What is their role?
• How do they work?
• What is the best way to reach them?
• What personality characteristics do they
possess?
• What is their environment like?
6. Identity Day in the Life
Biggest Challenges Motivation
Age
Years on the Job
Sample Persona: Greg the General Contractor
Greg is a college graduate who is married with 2
kids, lives in the suburbs and drives an SUV. He
is very involved in his local community and
works long hours. It doesn’t leave much time to
hang out with his family.
As owner, Greg wears many hats each day from
running the operations of his business to
business development. He is on the go a
lot, and can be found out in the field or on the
golf course just as often as he is in the office.
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7. Step 3: Uncover Pain-Points
Think about the challenges your persona faces and use insights about the daily achievements,
struggles, and processes of your persona to uncover what motivates them.
• What problems does your persona have?
• Where do their obstacles intersect with your expertise?
• What specific challenges can you help them overcome?
8. Identity Day in the Life
Biggest Challenges Motivation
Age
Years on the Job
Sample Persona: Greg the General Contractor
Greg is a college graduate who is married with 2
kids, lives in the suburbs and drives an SUV. He
is very involved in his local community and
works long hours. It doesn’t leave much time to
hang out with his family.
As owner, Greg wears many hats each day from
running the operations of his business to
business development. He is on the go a
lot, and can be found out in the field or on the
golf course just as often as he is in the office.
• Balancing operations with business
development
• Keeping up with the latest technology
• Finding talented tradesmen
• Wants bigger contracts
• Hopes to grow his business
• Dreams of passing his business down to his
kids
• Wishes he could spend more time with his
family
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9. Step 4: Validate with Research
Continue to revisit your personas and help them evolve as you discover more about their real-life
counterparts.
• Meet with customers in person
• Create places for feedback at your brick and mortar location
• Send out quarterly surveys with tools like Surveygizmo or Survey Monkey
11. Identity Day in the Life
Biggest Challenges Motivation
Age
Years on the Job
12. Identity Day in the Life
Biggest Challenges Motivation
Age
Years on the Job
13. Identity Day in the Life
Biggest Challenges Motivation
Age
Years on the Job
14. About Hatchbuck
Simple, yet elegantly intelligent, Hatchbuck is sales &
marketing software that automates your sales and
marketing efforts overnight. Turn emails into
conversations, website visitors into handshakes, and
customers into raving fans. It’s time to grow.
www.hatchbuck.com