Customer Personas

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 Why is it important to
understand the people for
whom you are solving
problems?
 Definition: Customer persona

A fictional character who

represents the essential traits of
your customers.
 Gathering customer information

Primary research Secondary research

How: How:
• Talk directly with your • Locate and interpret existing
customers data (StatsCan, IDC, etc.)

Benefits: Benefits:
• Great for understanding • Great for understanding broad
values and pain points trends (e.g., 60% of schools
struggle with…)
Limitations:
• Time consuming Limitations:
• Small sample size • Limited insight into individual
needs
 Building multiple customer personas

There will be different “customer segments”

who engage with your product.

So let’s create
multiple customer personas.
 Customer persona template
Name: Customer segment: ______________________
__________________________
Who are they? Purchasing decisions?

Picture

Sample quotation Goals & pain points

Name: Philip Exampleton
__________________________
Who are they?
• 28 years old
• Has been teaching
grades 7 & 8 for 3 years
• Works at a medium-sized
public school in a lower
socio-economic
neighbourhood
“I really want to make a
difference at my school, and
I want my superintendent to
help me make a difference
in other schools as well.”
Classroom teacher
Customer segment: ______________________
Purchasing decisions?
• Tries new resources
based on colleague
recommendations
• Highly active on Twitter:
#edchat, #gafe
• Can request small
amounts of money for
Goals & pain points resources, but has no
control over budgets
Highly artistic and creative,
Philip wants his students to
try new things, but is often
frustrated by the lack of
time and money to do so.
Name: Monica Profiletti
__________________________
Who are they?
• 49 years old
• Oversees 7 elementary
and 4 secondary
schools
• Was principal of an
elementary school for 4
years before moving to
her current position
“I want my schools to take
full advantage of new
technologies that increase
learning, but the costs have
to make sense.”
Superintendent
Customer segment: ______________________
Purchasing decisions?
• Attends 4 to 5
educational
conferences per year to
learn about new
resources
• Has a budget specific to
educational
technologies
Goals & pain points
• Bulk purchases must be
Monica wants to help her approved by a
teachers with innovative committee
new classroom resources,
but is often frustrated by • Prefers to work with
slow adoption rates. official vendors
 Who are you solving problems for?
Name: Customer segment: ______________________
__________________________
Who are they? Purchasing decisions?

Picture

Sample quotation Goals & pain points