04/07/20231

Personas at Moz: What, How, and Why

June 2014Karen Semyan, director of product planning and strategy

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What you’re going to hear about today:

• One (Moz’s) approach to building personas• Designing for adoption and relevance• How we’re using personas today• Q&A

First, a bit about Moz…

Who we are: Subscription-based inbound marketing analyticsMission: Help people do better marketing

~21k customers ~300K community ~130 employees

Now…you

Name?

Interests and why here?

Experience with personas?

Picture one day in your organization, when…

When we all have a deeper shared understanding of our target customers, this all becomes much easier … and more fun and rewarding.

That’s where personas can help.

First, a quick review…

Persona: An archetype* description of an imaginary but very plausible user that personifies key traits – especially

their behaviors, attributes, and goals.

*Oh, and what it’s not: one actual customer, a generic customer, or a customer segment.

Inspired: How to Create Products Customer Love, pg. 106

Why personas? They help us to….

Personas help us to….

1. Agree on prioritization

Personas help us to….

1. Agree on prioritization2. Distinguish customer’s needs from your own

Personas help us to….

1. Agree on prioritization2. Distinguish customer’s needs from your own3. Deeper understanding of user needs and how to solve for

each

Personas help us to….

1. Agree on prioritization2. Distinguish customer’s needs from your own3. Deeper understanding of user needs and how to solve for

each4. Understand both target markets and non-target markets

Personas help us to….

1. Agree on prioritization2. Distinguish customer’s needs from your own3. Deeper understanding of user needs and how to solve for

each4. Understand both target markets and non-target markets 5. Rally teams around a common vision

Personas enable us to….

1. Agree on prioritization2. Distinguish customer’s needs from your own3. Deeper understanding of user needs and how to solve for

each4. Understand both target markets and non-target markets 5. Rally teams around a common vision

Describe to the company who the product is for, how they will use it, and why they will care.

Moz’s Approach to Building Personas

Goals for Moz personas

Current and relevant: Create a new set of personas that account for our growing customer base, evolving business strategy, new markets, and expanding product line.

Adaptive and usable, adopted across teams: Build functional, clear personas that become a shared tool and language for talking about the customer across teams.

Foster learning: Take a journey together that allows us to learn, share buy-in, and have better outcomes!

The basic process

1. Build prototype personas using lean principles – Outcome: Draft, usable personas

2. Validate with data, iterate, and design– Outcome: Personas validated, revised

3. Share and foster adoption-- Outcome: Richer knowledge of our customers by all Mozzers!

The team

Inclusion, not exhaustion • Some classic feature team techniques• Core team:

– Product/UX-dense– All customer-focused teams

represented– Engineering critical – Customer expertise/SMEs– Interested!

• Reviewers: Core team + execs + managers• Sponsor: Chief product officer

Part 1: Build prototype personas

Part 1: What do we already know?

Name & Basic Info Behaviors

Needs & GoalsProfile / Demographic Information

Using information gathered from: - User interviews- Conversation at conferences- Emails- Community Members- All the folk knowledge!

Part 1: What do we already know?

Name & Basic Info Behaviors

Needs & GoalsProfile / Demographic Information

Thank you, Lean UX!

Teams for three different products

Notes became sketches became drafts

Leader Steve (Analytics)Agency founder

PAIN POINTS / NEEDS BEHAVIORS

DEMOGRAPHICS

Needs: -- A single tool-- Justify inbound effort-- Good reporting-- Educate in all inbound channels-- Participate in all channels-- Actual value right away-- Pain points: too many tools, diff vendors

Values: -- Dreamer/creator-- Independence-- Empowering others

Details: More buyer (Notes – can’t read??)Could be in: Agency3-20: trenches; 21-XX: More buy decision-- entry point or decision, but not both-- something about delegated decision

25-34 (older: male; younger: balance)Education: all-- High-school prodigy-- College drop-out-- College/network

Connects/forwardsAgile: try everythingFigures out value prop/niche/clientsSavvy > ongoingLess savvy > projects are seasonalExpert in one channelAnswers email at 2 a.m.Bootstrapped Takes risks, fixes thingsEmpowers others

Defined similar personas separately for each site/product

~12 sessions with notes/feedback ongoing

Multiple rounds of review, editing, and refinement

SME Evangelist SteveAgency founder“quote”

GoalsMotivations and values: Innovation + new ideas, and moving the industry forward; knowledge sharing; efficiency; spreading the word; staying connected; disruptive technologies/insightsNeeds: Automation, more time to dig deep and think creatively; reports that allow him to analyze quickly; high-quality results and effective tools for teammates who are also creative and self-motivated

Abilities, skills, and knowledge Marketing domain knowledge: Expert Technical knowledge: Advanced to expertBehaviors:. Steve is a respected thought leader and SME in his industry, is highly collaborative, and shares information via his blog and networking. He speaks at conferences to generate leads for the agency and to build his own network. Steve’s passionate about his work, and digs deep into analyses whenever he can (but not as much as he’d like). He’s a hacker at heart, a tool-a-holic, and a risk taker, and loves playing with new and novel approaches to crunching data and metrics. For his team, he’s focused on empowering, finding efficient processes, and figuring out the value prop or niche for a service/tool/solution.

Personal detailsDefining characteristics are charisma and deep domain knowledgeEducation could be any level

Overview• Analytics + OSE: secondary• Local: secondary• Data: NA

Job/role: SEO turned founder of a medium-sized agencyCould also be found in mid-size to large agency, perhaps mid-size to large in-house brandPurchase influence: user, influencer, buyer

Activities: 3-5, chiefly work-related; TBD from customer interviews and/or industry surveye.g., researches new directions and solutions for getting unique data for clients

More roles like this: strategic senior leader of many stripes (VP/director of XYZ); senior architect; senior consultant; visionary/thought leader

Data sources and sources for assumptions:

Created a consistent format for sketch documents

Source for attributes: The Essential Persona Lifecycle: Your Guide to Building and Using Personas

Identify cross-over

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Moz Local

Moz Data

Moz Analytics

All-Business JoeBiz dev

Engineer OliverDeveloper

Technical Sage SabineSr. technical architect

Grey-Hat FrankSEO

Data-Driven DimitriInbound marketer/SEO

Storyteller SusanInbound mktr/SEO

Leader SteveAgency founder

Social-Inbound Connector MelissaMarketing manager

Get-Things-Done Kayleigh

Marketing generalist

Indie IanIndependent consultant

Jack-of-All-TradesEduardo

Office manager

Would-be apprenticeElizabethJunior SEO

Accidental consultantMackenzieWeb designer

Savvy NalaSmall-biz owner

Tech-averse ThomasSmall-biz owner

Decision-maker DanSenior executive

Black-hat IvanSEO

Reseller BobSalesperson

SME/Evangelist BenSenior consultant

A first persona map

Part 2: Behavioral Analysis

Part 2: Behavioral Analysis“The most effective behavioral models are distilled from interview and observation data of real users into an archetypal description of how a

particular type of person behaves and what their goals are” – Alan Cooper

• 20 customer interviews:– Various company types– Varying years of experience– Multiple recruitment methods

• Bucket, plot, & cluster!

Part 2: Behavioral Analysis

What are the behaviors that are important to Moz?

Part 2: Behavioral Analysis

Cluster interviews based on behavioral observations

Part 2: MORE (quantitative) data

Part 2: MORE (quantitative) data

Based on the information we know about these clusters, can we segment the:• Industry Survey?• Pricing Value Survey?

Part 2: MORE (quantitative) data

Based on the information we know about these clusters, can we segment the:• Industry Survey?• Pricing Value Survey?

Part 2: MORE (quantitative) data

Based on the information we know about these clusters, can we segment the:• Industry Survey?• Pricing & Values Survey?

Part 2: MORE (quantitative) data

Based on the information we know about these clusters, can we segment the:• Industry Survey?• Pricing & Values Survey?

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Data-Driven DimitriInbound marketer/SEO

SME Evangelist SteveSenior inbound leader

Social-Inbound Connector MelissaMarketing manager

PragmaticKayleigh

Marketing generalist

Independent IanIndependent consultant

Jack-of-All-TradesEduardo

Office manager

Would-be ApprenticeElizabethJunior SEO

Accidental ConsultantMackenzieWeb designer

Savvy NalaSmall-biz owner

Tech-Averse ThomasSmall-biz owner

Decision-Maker DanSenior executiveBlack-Hat Ivan

SEO

Reseller BobSalesperson

Grey-Hat FrankSEO

Moz Analytics

OSE Moz Local

Current targets: green (primary) orange (secondary)

Understand customer landscape

Core attributesMarketing domain knowledge : Intermediate to AdvancedBeginner Expert

Strategic vs. tactical:Tactical

Strategic

Motivations and values: Solve problems with elegant, unique quantitative insights/data to help my team get the job done. Evangelize SEO/inbound with clients and co-workersJob/role• Field: SEO, Inbound Marketing, Marketing • Level: Manager, Director, StrategistPurchase influence: User, with substantial buying influence

Data-driven Dimitri Advanced inbound marketer/SEO

Why Dimitri uses Moz: Appreciates the company culture and community, wants to help himself and his employees get solid data, and needs to report to clients and company.

“I want the deepest and most accurate data to dig for insights and trends; then I'll use my own unique approach to get down to the most meaningful story and recommendations for my client/business.”

Client/Site profile:

About 45% are in-house marketers: • 2-5 sites for a single company,• a mix of brick-and-mortar and virtual, mostly larger companies with

a team of marketers• Budget: $3,000 to greater than $10,000 a month for marketing tools

and software

30-45% work at an agency: • 10-15 clients for medium-large businesses, • mix of brick-and-mortar and virtual• Budget: $500-$3,000 monthly budget for marketing tools and

software

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Designing for Adoption and Relevance

From our art director, Derric Wise:Color: Each customer we have is part of our brand, if not the brand itself. The Moz brand is represented by the blue that is in each poster. Branding: All get a individual branding that we can memorize and recognize at a glance… a unique visual cue.

Unique props and tools: All refer to loosely to behavior and personality, and each persona has one representative them.

Stay objective and be friends with your personas

Rich, FUN, frank discussions, but couldn’t help dissect and stereotype

Lots of review and feedback brought inadvertent biases to light

5+ editorial reviews for language alone

Your personas are your friends

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How We’re Using Personas Today

IA/Nav Updates

IA/Nav updates: detail

Rankings Research

Vision and Quarterly Planning

• Help e-team validate a solid vision for the company

• Quarterly planning for the company

Pricing strategy: How can we provide better value?

And in the coming months…

• Apply to our daily work:– Adventure teams to use for feature prioritization and planning– Product Management and Design to better understand user

needs and goals– Engineers to inform decisions on how features are built– Testers to design test cases– Pricing reflects persona needs– Marketers target efforts to segments – Help Team to cater to customer needs– New employees are on-boarded with personas

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In summary, we’ve covered:

• One (Moz’s) approach to building personas• Designing for adoption and relevance• How we’re using personas today

Questions?

Fin