Created a valuable UX tool and integrated it into everyday processes
Setting
This project was for an eCommerce company that sold technical products to various public and private industries. Instead of personas based on specific job titles, I opted for ones based on unique behaviors and needs. This reduced the number of personas and helped the team focus on what the shopper was trying to accomplish.
Conducting research with in-house staff was the fastest way to a working hypothesis. The excitement over the initial proto-personas gave me the momentum to access our customer email list to solicit one-on-one interviews. After validation, personas were integrated with a design system, indicating the intended audience.
Collaborators
- Initial research with marketing, product, engineers, sales, customer support, and technical support
- Follow-on research was conducted with customers gathered from our email list
Timeframe
- Initial research – 4 months
- Follow-on validation with customers – 2 months
Methodology
- Created questions about customer demographics, job titles, and pain points our products alleviate
- Sent survey to 60 other company personnel for supplemental information
- Conducted 15 deep-dive interviews with team members with regular customer contact
- Reviewed initial findings with marketing team members for additional input and buy-in
- Met with actual customers for 30-minute interviews to learn more and validate initial assumptions
Outcomes
- Created four behavior-based personas with summaries and key metrics to assist in design exercises.
- Added “Target Persona(s)” to site content documentation to reinforce the intended audience.
- A common language for sales and marketing teams to discuss content and campaigns.