We know that user personas are commonly used with marketing agencies and product design teams, mostly in the realm of user experience.
But why are these not used in small and medium size business strategy?
There’s a gap in the use of some strategy tools in this area. And while user personas may seem like a silly exercise to some — they are foundational…..they are the core of your strategy — because it’s all tied to identity — knowing WHO you’re designing your offering for.
You probably think you know them, and you probably do have a pretty good sense of who they are in your mind — and may have even written down an overview or attributes in pieces — but the practice of putting them all down in one place, attached to a “person” is powerful.
It takes the mass market and it then becomes your neighbor, your friend.
It becomes personal — and if its going to be good, it has to become personal.
User personas drive empathy. Empathy is the key to a thriving business. When you come up with a name, picture, habits, walk a day in the life, and write a quote from their mouth, things change. There’s a perspective shift where you move from the seat of the provider to the receiver, and when you can become the receiver, you have true understanding from their perspective, and can begin to think like they think when designing your message, your offering, and how you reach them for them — when they feel known and seen by you, it’s a game changer.