Personas: The Foundation of a Great User Experience

Today's consumers are demanding more from companies. Customers expect products, services, and information that are timely and catered to their specific needs and desires. Traditionally, companies develop and market products based on market segmentation and demographics, assuming that the features, functionality and messaging will meet the needs of all of the customers in that demographic—a "one size fits all" mentality. However, as the marketplace shifts from a mass manufacturing to a mass customization model, customers needs and desires are more accurately identified through the development of personas rather than through demographic data. "What Is a Persona? A persona represents a cluster of users who exhibit similar behavioral patterns in their purchasing decisions, use of technology or products, customer service preferences, lifestyle choices, and the like. How Are Personas Built? Analysis is then conducted on the research data over the course of one to two weeks.

Brand Personality | Saint Michael's College Saint Michael's brand identity is the associations, perceptions and experiences we want our constituents to have with Saint Michael's College. The Office of Marketing and Communication team creates and shares content that expresses our brand identity. What makes up our brand identity? At Saint Michael's, our students Learn What Matters. That includes: Understanding the world globally/holistically Considering what is ethical and moral and right in all subjects Educating the Complete Person - intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual Focusing on developing quality and purpose in life Valuing the pursuit of happiness and encouraging it in those around us The four main components of our brand identity all contribute to What Matters. Community: Saint Michael's is an intellectual institution that genuinely embodies and emphasizes interpersonal relationships, attention, hospitality, mutual support, spiritual growth and cooperation. Why It Matters

University of South Carolina - Marketing Toolbox - Brand Personality The University of South Carolina's brand personality is our unique blend of traits that makes us who we are and tell our audiences what we aspire to be. It articulates our values and aspirations. All university marketing messages and communications activities should be based on this platform so that messaging to audiences is consistent and, over time, has a greater cumulative impact. Inconsistent and competing messages not grounded in the brand platform weaken the impact of university communications efforts. Intention: What we exist to do The University of South Carolina delivers leaders — cutting-edge thinkers and practical problem solvers. Benefit: Why it matters To make a positive impact on those we serve, the University of South Carolina is: Committed: We are committed to developing the leaders who are discovering solutions to some of today's most challenging problems. Value: What the brand will stand for over time Personality and Stance: The face we show the world Download the PDF

The 5 Must-Know Traits in Building Buyer Personas The 5 Must-Know Traits in Building Buyer Personas In the theatre actors are always charged with the task of stepping into their characters’ shoes. The A-list stars can eat, breathe, and talk with all the mannerisms and idiosyncrasies of their alter-ego and this makes the final performance more genuine and believable. The same rule applies to marketing where it becomes essential to deconstruct and then reconstruct prototypes of who your clients or customers are. In order to construct a buyer persona you need to get a bit scientific and conduct extensive field research. Buyers are notorious for misleading marketers about their choices and why one product was purchased over another, which is why questionnaires are only helpful to a point. Sitting down with your buyers once a month is not only a great way to evaluate their purchase history and needs, but also to form a more concrete bond with them that will translate into customer loyalty.

What is a buyer persona? What is a Buyer Persona Buyer personas are examples of the real buyers who influence or make decisions about the products, services or solutions you market. They are a tool that builds confidence in strategies to persuade buyers to choose you rather than a competitor or the status quo. While buyer personas may include other details, the 5 Rings of Buying Insight™ described below are their most overlooked and essential aspect, revealing surprising findings about how, when and why your buyer makes the decisions you want to influence. Attend the on-demand Buyer Persona Masterclass to learn how to build insightful buyer personas and leverage them in your marketing. Marketers who segment buyer personas around key insights need, on average, half as many personas as those who focus on demographics such as job title, industry, geography or company size.

Focus Groups Focus groups were originally called "focused interviews" or "group depth interviews". The technique was developed after World War II to evaluate audience response to radio programs (Stewart & Shamdasani, 1990). Since then social scientists and program evaluators have found focus groups to be useful in understanding how or why people hold certain beliefs about a topic or program of interest. A focus group could be defined as a group of interacting individuals having some common interest or characteristics, brought together by a moderator, who uses the group and its interaction as a way to gain information about a specific or focused issue. A focus group is typically 7-10 people who are unfamiliar with each other. * Give information on how groups of people think or feel about a particular topic * Give greater insight into why certain opinions are held * Help improve the planning and design of new programs * Provide a means of evaluating existing programs * Valid information about individuals