Customer Persona Development

I'll never forget the moment I realized we were doing persona research completely wrong. We were just presented this in a report: "Your ideal parents read Town and Country magazine." I stared at the report. Then asked the question that changed everything. "What are we supposed to do with that information?" Silence. We didn't have the budget for Town and Country ads. We didn't have the expertise to create them. We had zero ability to act on this insight. That's when it hit me. We'd spent months collecting data that looked impressive but was completely useless. Here's what most schools get wrong about persona development. They collect data for the sake of collecting data. They hire expensive firms. Download reports from fancy systems. Conduct elaborate surveys. Then they get insights they can't act on. The truth? You can build useful personas. You need to ask one simple question: Can we actually do something with this information? Here's the framework we developed instead: Start with your resources. What marketing channels do you control? Website, email, social media, events. Ask only questions that inform those channels. Where do they search online? What concerns keep them up at night? What objections do they have? Skip the impressive but useless stuff. Magazine subscriptions, luxury brand preferences, vacation habits. Focus on actionable insights. Keywords they search. Questions they ask. Problems you can solve. We rebuilt our persona process around this principle. Instead of "reads Town and Country," we identified "searches 'best private schools near me' at 11 PM on their phone." Instead of "drives a luxury SUV," we learned "worries their child isn't being challenged in public school." The difference? We could act on every single insight. We optimized our website for those keywords. We created content addressing those concerns. We crafted emails answering those questions. Within a year, our inquiries increased significantly. Not because we had better data. Because we had actionable data. Your persona research doesn't need to be exhaustive. It needs to be useful. Before you collect any information, ask yourself: What will I do differently once I know this? If you don't have a clear answer, don't collect it. Save yourself months of work. Focus only on insights you can act on with the resources you have. That's the difference between impressive research and effective marketing.

One of the most effective ways to define your brand is by mapping it to a specific person. Not just a vague demographic, but an actual persona—real or fictional—who embodies everything your company stands for. When I launched my activewear brand, Ellie, we created Amy, a 27-year-old woman from California who represented our ideal customer. Every marketing decision we made was filtered through the question: Would Amy be into this? Amy loved the outdoors, so our ads featured scenic landscapes. She wasn’t too serious, so our content was lighthearted and casual. She had big aspirations but also made time for fun. Getting specific with her persona made our messaging feel natural and authentic. And it worked. When defining Hawke Media’s persona, we landed on me because I am the customer we serve. Before launching Hawke, I built, scaled, and sold e-commerce brands. I know firsthand the pain points our clients face, from tight budgets to inefficient marketing strategies to the constant pressure to grow. That perspective shaped the way we built Hawke Media. We are not a buttoned-up, corporate agency. We take marketing seriously, but we also have fun, challenge norms, and embrace creativity. That personality attracts the right clients and the right talent because it reflects exactly who we are built to serve. Defining your brand’s persona, whether it is a fictional character, a celebrity, or even yourself, keeps your messaging sharp and consistent. It gives your company a voice, a personality, and a clear direction. Without it, your marketing risks being generic and forgettable.

Data alone can often feel impersonal and hard to relate to but professionals have found an interesting way around it - at least in the consulting world. I found it interesting that Bain & Company tackles this by using "customer journey mapping" - an approach that transforms data into vivid narratives about relatable customer personas. The process starts by creating detailed personas that represent key customer groups. For example, when working on the UK rail network, Bain created the persona of "Sarah" - a suburban working mom whose struggles with delays making her miss her daughter's events felt all too real. With personas established as protagonists, Bain meticulously maps their end-to-end journeys, breaking it down into a narrative arc highlighting every interaction and pain point. Using techniques like visual storyboards and real customer anecdotes elevates this beyond just experience mapping into visceral storytelling. The impact is clear - one study found a 35% boost in stakeholder buy-in when Bain packaged its conclusions as customer journey stories versus dry analysis. By making customers the heroes and positioning themselves as guides resolving their conflicts, Bain taps into the power of storytelling to inspire change. Whether mapping personal experiences or bringing data to life, leading firms realize stories engage people and shape beliefs far more than just reciting facts and figures. Narratives make even complex ideas resonate at a human level in ways numbers alone cannot.

If Prince Charles and Ozzy Osbourne can fall under the same “customer persona,”then your persona isn’t telling you anything. And that’s the uncomfortable truth this visual exposes. Two people who share surface-level traits: age, nationality, marital history, wealth, but whose motivations, fears, desires, and buying behaviour couldn’t be further apart. Yet many companies still build personas that look exactly like this: a demographic checklist dressed up as “customer insight.” Here’s the problem: 👉 Demographics describe a category. They don’t explain behaviour. You don’t buy a product because you’re 30–45, male, or live in the UK. You buy because: Something frustrates you Something scares you Something excites you Something blocks you Something you care about feels unresolved Those are the forces that shape behaviour, not the box you tick on a form. Good personas don’t tell you who the customer is. They tell you what the customer is dealing with. When marketers cling to demographics, they create campaigns for stereotypes. When they study motivations, they create campaigns that convert. Before building your next persona, ask: Does this describe a human? Or does it describe Prince Charles and Ozzy Osbourne at the same time? If it's the latter, start again. Image: Warwick Allchorn #Marketing #BrandStrategy #CustomerInsight #Personas #DigitalMarketing #Growth #ConsumerPsychology #Storytelling #UXDesign

“Personas are pointless.” I used to disagree. Then I agreed. Now? "It depends." Once, I spent six weeks building a set of personas (you can see one below). Blood, sweat, and not-so-fun tears. I put everything I knew into them which, to be fair, wasn’t much back then. I couldn’t sleep the night before the big reveal. And then... ↳ "Oh yeah, we already knew that." ↳ "This isn't our exact focus anymore" ↳ Nods but no action A big old flop. So, can personas be pointless? Absolutely. - If they’re made in isolation - If they aren’t tied to real decisions - If they don’t change how people work But when they do work, it’s because they’re built for decision-making, not lamination. Here are 5 ways to make personas actually useful, based on years of trial, error, and one too many sad personas gathering dust in Google Drive: 1. Run an “Information Needs” workshop before you start Ask your PMs, designers, and devs: “What do you wish you knew about our users to make better decisions?” Document their needs → design your research to answer them → bake those answers into your persona. 2. Build proto-personas collaboratively to surface assumptions early Before you do any research, map out what people think they know. Use sticky notes color-coded by: - Assumption - Analytics - Existing research This reveals gaps, misalignment, and gives you a jumpstart on where to dig deeper during interviews and information to include in your personas. 3. Anchor personas in journey stages, not personality traits Forget personality sliders or random hobbies. Instead, map: - What users are trying to accomplish - What frustrates them at each stage - Which tools they use and why If your persona doesn’t help answer: “What would break their flow here?," rewrite it. 4. Activate personas through workshops, not PDFs Don’t “present” personas, use them. Host an ideation workshop where teams solve for a key need or pain point. Or run a mini-hackathon based on persona insights. 5. Embed personas into rituals and review them quarterly Add a persona lens to roadmap planning: “Which persona does this initiative support?” Post them in your workspace, tag bugs/features with persona names, and revisit them every quarter to update insights. So no, personas aren’t inherently pointless. But pointless personas are everywhere. Always ask yourself: “Will this persona change what we do next?” // If you're struggling to put personas together and don't know what "bad" or "good" really look like, watch this video where I share and diagnose all the problems (and good parts) of the personas I created through the years: https://lnkd.in/etMeeSS9

I won't get tired of repeating that technology is developed by humans for humans. Thus, a big part of our cooperation with clients at Viseven is devoted to studying users' personas and identifying users' outcomes and benefits. • What types (personas) of users and customers should you focus on first? (Hint: Who buys your product or service? Who uses it? Who configures it?) • Why would your users seek out your product or service? • What benefit would they gain from using it? • What behavior change can we observe that tells us they've achieved their goal? Focusing on these questions not only shapes the direction for us as a vendor to move in but also determines the solutions we eventually implement and the business outcomes we measure. For example, when implementing a content authoring tool for one of our clients, we worked out the following personas: Internal Content Creators (marketer, scientific communication manager (Medical), patient support content manager); Production Partners (Developer, QC Analyst); Approvers; Production “Proof” Reviewer; Creative agencies; Marketing Operations; Tagging Manager. Obviously, all the personas had different final outcomes and benefits: • Content creators will be able to create new content more efficiently and rapidly leveraging pre-existing templates, text elements, or modules • Reviewers/Approvers will be able to see the in-channel/dynamic version during the approval step, gaining confidence that the creative and production/functional files are the same • Production partners will be able to use a single tool • Production “Proof” Reviewers might not need to review the “proof” anymore since the platform will warranty that the 2 versions are the same • Creative agencies will be able to leverage elements from the Master Design System, helping them increase and maintain brand consistency • Marketing Operations will be able to automate modular content assembly in a much more efficient way Having this final picture in mind, helped us build several hypotheses, list product and feature ideas, and deliver an MVP. What do you think of such an approach?

Struggling to Connect with Your Audience? Here’s Why Understanding Your Customer Avatar Is a Game-Changer. Many brands rely on flashy ads and catchy slogans, but these tactics often miss the mark. Without a deep understanding of your customer avatar, your marketing campaigns are likely to fall flat, failing to resonate with the people who matter most. Imagine you’re competing with another brand. Their ad just presents a product, while your messaging says “Perfect for Kids Ages 7-13.” Which one hits home? Customers want solutions to their specific problems, not generic products. If you’re not speaking directly to their needs, you’re losing sales and missing out on building trust and loyalty. Solution: The key to driving real results in your marketing strategy is understanding your customer avatar. Here’s how you can use this insight to create more effective campaigns: 1️⃣ Tailor Messaging to Solve Specific Problems Understanding your audience’s pain points allows you to craft messaging that speaks directly to their concerns. For example, if 60% of your audience values age-appropriate products and 40% cares about non-toxic materials, you can adjust your messaging to address these needs, making your product irresistible. 2️⃣ Test and Optimize for What Matters Not all customers prioritize the same features. Some care about compatibility, others about ease of cleaning. Testing different messages and images helps you pinpoint what resonates most. This continuous refinement ensures that your marketing is always aligned with customer preferences, boosting conversions. 3️⃣ Analyze Competitors to Identify Your Edge Rather than copying what works for competitors, dig into why those products succeed. Identify the unique selling propositions (USPs) that resonate with your audience, like product quality or specific features, and highlight them to set yourself apart from the competition. 4️⃣ Use Tools to Stay on Top Tools like DataDive offer valuable insights into competitor strategies, helping you adapt quickly. If your data shows customers prefer practical features while competitors focus on lifestyle images, adjust your marketing to match what your audience wants most. Final Thought: Understanding your customer avatar isn’t just a marketing tactic—it’s essential for building effective campaigns that drive results. By focusing on your audience’s unique needs, you can create targeted messaging that boosts conversions and builds lasting customer relationships. What’s your strategy for understanding and targeting your customer avatar?

Personas are for brand. Micropersonas are for performance. Let me explain. Most brands stop at broad personas: “moms,” “women 35–55.” But the ads that actually convert don’t speak to a category… They speak to a moment. A need. A lived experience. Because performance creative wins when it meets someone exactly where they are, in the specific problem, context, or frustration they're dealing with right now. Targeting “moms” won’t get you there. But... → First-time moms? They’re navigating sleep regressions, postpartum recovery, new routines, and decision fatigue. They want solutions that make them feel confident, supported, and not alone. → Stay-at-home moms? They’re juggling the household load, often craving efficiency, simplicity, and products that make daily life smoother without adding more mental overhead. → Working moms? They're battling time scarcity, burnout, guilt, and the constant tradeoff between career and family. They want solutions that save time, reduce stress, and help them feel like they’re keeping all the plates spinning. Same “persona.” Completely different motivations, emotional triggers, and purchase drivers. This is why micropersonas matter. They transform generic messaging into deeply relevant messaging. They tell us not just who we're speaking to… but what they’re actually going through. And when your creative reflects that level of specificity? Your ads feel less like ads, and more like someone finally understands you. Brand builds the world your customer wants to live in. Performance speaks to the exact moment they’re living in today. Master both, and you win 🏆

In my work as a growth advisor, I have a lot of conversations with Founders. Their most common question: “What’s the marketing secret to scaling my startup?” The answer isn’t really a secret: Develop high-converting messaging. That is, messaging that is compelling to your target audience and differentiated from alternatives in your category. Extra points for having personality. Of course, this is much easier said than done. There are TONS of messaging frameworks out there. Some are too academic and hard to put into action. Others are superficial and lead to generic messaging that doesn't land with anyone. After years of tinkering, I’ve come to rely on a proven six step framework that we use for our clients at Lantern: 1. Build a Customer Persona 2. Construct the Benefit Ladder  3. Develop the Brand Pyramid 4. Anticipate the Barriers 5. Test with Target Consumers 6. Launch & Iterate Today’s post will cover the first step and over the next few weeks, I’ll lay out the others in enough detail that you can put this framework into action for your business. Step 1: Build an In-Depth Customer Persona The most important thing to do when marketing a startup is to ground yourself in your customer. This goes beyond “we're targeting millennials.” Instead, paint a complete picture of who you are speaking to. This allows you to craft resonant messaging that speaks directly to your customers' needs and beliefs. Consider: • Basic demographics: Age, gender, location, and income level. Who is this person on paper?  • Motivations: Your customer’s pain points and desired outcomes. What problems do they want to solve? • Awareness journey: How they discover your product. Where is the friction and points of delight? • Perceptions: Your customers beliefs about your category. What opinions do they already have? • Decision process: Their path to purchase. How do they research? Who is involved in their decision to buy?  • Ideal experience: The best case user interaction with your product. How can you deliver their dream scenario? Here’s an example of how this work informs marketing strategy: Both Signos and Sequence are weight management startups, targeting women in their 30s and 40s who want to lose weight. Yet they have totally different consumer personas based on different core insights. The Signos insight: many consumers want to be in control of their journey and don’t believe in easy solutions. They want to put in the work — they just need guidance on how to make their weight loss efforts more successful.  The Sequence insight: another segment of consumers have tried everything to lose weight and have given up. They feel stuck. They need a significant push to restart their weight loss journey. These are two companies in the same category with totally different consumers. These insights led my team to devise totally different messaging for each company. What are some other pieces that traditional "target consumer" frameworks miss? 

Ok, founders and marketers… I gotta say it: If you’re still building your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) by segmenting on age, income, job title, or demographics in 2026… you’re stuck in old-school marketing. I did an exercise recently while figuring out the target persona for a new business idea I’m working on, and it completely changed how I think about content, offers, and messaging. Let me explain... Traditional marketing was obsessed with the customer’s identity, in other words, who they are on paper. But today, things have shifted. The best founders and marketers are focusing on something far more powerful: 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬. Demographic personas made sense when distribution was all about mass media and buying ad slots. You needed a clear picture of “who” to target so you could reach them efficiently. But in 2026, you’re writing content and building communities, not buying ad slots. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞. This is where Spiral Dynamics completely changes the marketing and sales game. Spiral Dynamics is a powerful model of human value systems and worldview development. Each stage represents: • different ways of seeing the world • different motivations • different definitions of success • different decision-making filters Here’s why it matters for your audience/customer: 🟠 Orange stage → Achievement, success, efficiency, ROI. They speak in metrics and want to win. They buy tools that make them faster, sharper, and more competitive. 🟢 Green stage → Purpose, people, and meaning. They’re skeptical of pure hustle culture. They want to build or join something that matters. They buy tools and communities that align with who they’re becoming. 🟡 Yellow stage → Systems thinkers. They integrate multiple worldviews and see nuance everywhere. They don’t fit neatly into any box. They buy based on depth, truth, and long-term effectiveness. Two people with the exact same job can buy your product for completely different reasons: → One buys for status → One buys for security → One buys for meaning Understand the worldview, and you stop guessing what to say. When you create content, build offers, or show up in someone’s feed, you’re not speaking to a demographic. You’re speaking to a worldview. And buying decisions ultimately map to: - Beliefs - Motivations - Decision-making frameworks Not just demographics. Have you tried Spiral Dynamics in your marketing messaging? Would love to hear your thoughts! PS: Join the weekly EverythingStartups newsletter for more on where early-stage capital is flowing + tech insights across USA, Europe, and Israel: https://linktr.ee/ivelinad