1. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 1 Steve Mulder Making Personas Work for Your Site

2. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 2 Business results depend on satisfying users You are not your user Learning about users requires direct contact Knowledge about users must be actionable Decisions should be based on users

3. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 3

4. 4

5. 5 Personas bring focus

6. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 6 Personas build empathy

7. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 7 Personas encourage consensus

8. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 8 Personas create efficiency

9. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 9 Personas lead to better decisions Personas for Design Information architecture, interaction design, visual design, content development, user testing Personas for Marketing Framework for marketing campaigns, branding, messaging, market research Personas for Strategy Framework for business decisions, offerings, channel usage, features

10. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 10 Creating Personas

11. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 11 Content: Word Cloud

12. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 12 User Interviews Cross-section of online customers, offline customers, non-customers, other audiences 15 interviews is a good starting point – You will need to do 2 as a minimum. Informal, loosely structured conversations

13. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 13 User Interviews: Topics History with the company Intro to company, usage/purchase history, early impressions Domain experience and knowledge Domain expertise, competitors, share of wallet Goals and behaviors Needs/triggers for usage, typical process, channel usage, feature and content usage, gaps, wish list Attitudes and motivators Description of experience, likes/dislikes, influencers, psychological drivers Opportunities Reaction to new ideas, features, content, improvements Observation of actual behavior (field studies, usability tests)

14. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 14 Segmentation Goals Behaviors Attitudes

15. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 15 Segmentation by Goals What are different people trying to do on the site? Hierarchy of Goals Other goals: Buy commercial property Find an apartment Sell a house Be happy Be independent Buy a house Understand process Learn about points Motivator Goal Need Task Get a mortgage loan Get insurance Find a moving company

16. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 16 Segmentation by Behaviors and Attitudes How do users differ based on what they do or how they think? Behaviors: Frequency of real estate activity Frequency of visits to the site Channel usage for various needs Use of competitors Attitudes: Knowledge about real estate Motivators affecting users’ likelihood to buy or sell Perception of the company/brand Etc.

17. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 17 Segmentation by Behaviors and Attitudes Explore different combinations Frequency of real estate activity Knowledge about real estate The risk-taker who thinks he knows more than he actually does The novice who needs a lot of guidance The pro who wants to use site tools and doesn’t need help The smart one who wants validation of what she already knows

18. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 18 Segmentation: The Tests Your segments should… Explain key differences you’ve observed among users Be different enough from each other Feel like real people Be described quickly Cover all users Clearly affect decision making

19. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 19 Qualitative Personas with Quantitative Validation

20. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 20 Quantitative Nirvana: Complete User Portrait Survey data What the user does Site traffic analysis CRM data Self-reported survey data What the user says What the user is worth CRM data Self-reported survey data

21. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 21 Quantitative Personas

22. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 22 Making Personas Real

23. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 23 Components of a Persona

24. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 24 Scenarios Francis and Michael have agreed that she’ll take charge of learning more about the home-buying process. She goes online, does a Google search for “Atlanta real estate,” and follows a link to the site’s home page. She sees that she can search for houses from the home page, so just for fun, she does a quick Atlanta search to see what kinds of houses show up. There are lots of houses in many different neighborhoods, and she easily narrows her results down to the area where she and Michael live, using a map. There are still many results, and she’s not quite sure which search options to use to narrow the search further. Then she notices a link for first-time home buyers and follows, it hoping for basic how-to information. The link takes Francis to a step-by-step tutorial that explains the whole process, and she immediately feels like she’s found the right site from which to begin her house search. She carefully reads some articles for first-time home buyers, taking notes as she reads. She bookmarks other articles she wants to go back and read later. She also comes across the site’s calculator and starts trying different combinations of numbers to find out what she and Michael can afford. She particularly likes the glossary of terms so that she can finally figure out what “points” are and learn more about different types of mortgages. After an hour and a half of reading, her brain is full, and she shuts her computer down for the day, feeling like she got an excellent start. The next day, she comes back to the site to look up information specific to Atlanta neighborhoods and finds lots of information on each. She’s able to focus on five neighborhoods that look particularly good. The fun begins that night, when she takes Michael through all that she has learned, and they set up a regular schedule for looking at online house listings.

25. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 25 Using Personas

26. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 26 Persona Document

27. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 27 Persona Cards

28. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 28 Features and Functionality

29. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 29 Features and Functionality: Brainstorming Francis’ Goals Learn about the home-buying process Find out what she can afford Discover what areas of Atlanta are desirable Find a house that matches her criteria Business Objectives Visit the site often Register for email alerts and newsletters Subscribe to premium services Recommend the site to others Possible Features and Content Introductory how-to articles Glossary of jargon Videos and podcasts Success stories Q&A with experts Message board Blogs Rent vs. own calculator Local experts to call/meet Checklists to print Interactive quizzes Common mistakes Animated cartoons Book recommendations

30. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 30 Features and Functionality: Prioritizing

31. Copyright © 2007 Molecular, Inc. | www.molecular.com | Linked by Isobar 31 Steve Mulder smulder@molecular.com PracticalPersonas.com Thanks!