do personas work in a global marketplace?
TRANSCRIPT
Do Personas Work in a Global Marketplace?
Val Swisher CEO, Content Rules, Inc.
@ValSwisher @ContentRulesInc
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AGENDA
① A Brief Look At Personas ② Personas Are Not Universal ③ Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
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Personas① What is a persona? ② Why create personas? ③ How are personas created? ④ How are personas used?
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• Representation of your “ideal” customer.
• Stereotype of person, likes, dislikes, traits, activities, age, gender, income, hobbies
What is a Persona?
• Provide a framework around which people build content.
• Allow us to make assumptions about our buyer and develop content to fit the assumptions.
• Better than guessing.
Why Create Personas?
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How Are Personas Created?
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• Surveys • Interviews • Tools (SurveyMonkey, SurveyGizmo,
Consumer Barometer, HubSpot DemographicsPro, analytics tools)
• Review of analytics • Educated guessing • Lots of sticky notes
Personas Are Not Universal① How do Personas Break in the Global Marketplace ② Research ③ Examples
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Global stereotyping does not work. Most companies build personas for one market (U.S.) and make the assumption that everyone else in the world is just like us.
Not Everyone is Like Us
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“Perception of Facial Expressions Differs Across Cultures,” www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2011/09/facial-expressions.aspx “Internal Representations Reveal Cultural Diversity in Expectations of Facial Expressions of Emotion,” Rachael E. Jack, et al, Journal of Experimental Psychology: general 2012, Vol 141 No. 1, 19-25.
Some Research
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Test faces representing emotions: Happy • Sad • Surprised Fearful • Disgusted • Angry
What the Research Studied
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“East Asians and Western Caucasians differ in terms of the features they think constitute an angry face or a happy face. – Rachel Jack
Results
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Treat different people differently. Anything else is a
compromise. – Seth Godin
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Another Approach① What are Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions? ② How can we apply them to global content? ③ Examples
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• Dutch psychologist • Founder of comparative intercultural
research • Researcher at IBM • Did pioneering study of cultures • “Culture’s Consequences,” released
in 1980 • Defined four dimensions of national
culture
Geert Hofstede
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• Power Distance • Uncertainty Avoidance • Individualism vs. Collectivism • Masculinity vs. Femininity
Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture
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The extent to which members of organizations and institutions accept and expect power to be distributed unequally.
Power Distance
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High Power Distance =Belief in authority and hierarchy Low Power Distance = Belief in distributed power
• References to status and authority • Photographs of corporate leaders • Letters or messages from corporate leaders • Titles and Awards
High Power Distance and Content
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Highest Power Distance • Malaysia • Panama • Guatemala • Philippines • Venezuela • Mexico • China • Arab World
Country Scores on Power Distance Scale
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Lowest Power Distance • Austria • Israel • Denmark • New Zealand • Ireland • Norway • Sweden • Finland
A country’s tolerance for ambiguity
High Uncertainty Avoidance = Stresses predictability, structure, values traditions Low Uncertainty Avoidance = Willing to have ambiguity and less structure
Uncertainty Avoidance
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• Reduce anxiety, use guided navigation • Security important, particularly transactions • Support important • Work harder to gain trust • Tradition in theme • Use local idioms, colloquialisms, metaphors
High Uncertainty Avoidance and Content
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Highest Uncertainty Avoidance • Greece • Portugal • Guatemala • Uruguay • El Salvador • Belgium • Japan • Peru
Country Scores on Uncertainty Avoidance Scale
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Lowest Uncertainty Avoidance • Singapore • Jamaica • Denmark • Hong Kong • Sweden • Ireland • UK • Malaysia
Importance of the individual versus importance of the group
High Individualism = goals of the individual most important High Collectivism = goals of the group most important
Individualism vs. Collectivism
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• Privacy statement important • Theme of self-reliance and independence • Uniqueness of the product • Website personalization • Individual acknowledgements • Gift recommendations
High Individualism and Content
• Prominent community policy • Loyalty programs • National identity clearly depicted • Group activities such as member clubs, forums • Collective themes such as family, teams
High Collectivism and Content
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Highest Individualism • United States • Australia • UK • Canada • New Zealand • Italy • Belgium • Denmark
Country Scores on Individualism – Collectivism Scale
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Highest Collectivism • Guatemala • Ecuador • Panama • Colombia • Indonesia • Pakistan • China • Costa Rica
Masculinity vs. Femininity
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Masculine = assertiveness, achievement, ambition Feminine = caring, nurturing
Measure of assertiveness versus caring
• Clear gender roles in content • Practical, direct information • Tips and tricks
High Masculinity and Content
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• Attention to aesthetics • Use of imagery • Lots of colors • Emphasis on intangible aspects
High Femininity and Content
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Highest Masculine • Japan • Hungary • Austria • Switzerland • Italy • Mexico • Jamaica • Ireland
Country Scores on Masculine – Feminine Scale
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Highest Feminine • Sweden • Norway • Netherlands • Denmark • Costa Rica • Finland • Chile • Portugal
U.S. personas do not work in most countries Create personas for each target customer in each market Use general approach, such as Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Be respectful of each culture in words, images, video, audio, layout, design, and navigation
Be Culturally-Aware
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