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 How: Talk directly with your customers Benefits: Great for understanding values and pain points Limitations: Time consuming Small sample size Secondary research How: Locate and interpret existing data (StatsCan, IDC, etc.) Benefits: Great for understanding broad trends (e.g., 60% of schools struggle with…) Limitations: Limited insight into individual needs

multiple customer personas. 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 A blank customer profile template is available for download from MaRS. You can find it in the “Activities for Research and Discovery” section of the Building Future Leaders website.

Name:__________________________ Philip Exampleton Customer segment: ______________________ Classroom teacher 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 Purchasing decisions? Tries new resources based on colleague recommendations Highly active on Twitter: #edchat, #gafe Can request small amounts of money for resources, but has no control over budgets Goals & pain points 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. “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.” This is the end-user of an educational product.

Who are they? Purchasing decisions? Name:__________________________ Monica Profiletti Customer segment: ______________________ Superintendent 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 Purchasing decisions? Attends 4 to 5 educational conferences per year to learn about new resources Has a budget specific to educational technologies Bulk purchases must be approved by a committee Prefers to work with official vendors Goals & pain points Monica wants to help her teachers with innovative new classroom resources, but is often frustrated by slow adoption rates. “I want my schools to take full advantage of new technologies that increase learning, but the costs have to make sense.” This is the purchaser of an educational product.

Who are you solving problems for? Name:________________________ Customer segment: ______________________ Who are they? Purchasing decisions? Picture Sample quotation Goals & pain points A blank customer profile template is available to download from MaRS. You can find it in the “Activities for Research and Discovery” section of the Building Future Leaders website.