From target group to persona

On the way to an even better product, companies need to better understand what the customer really needs. It’s about thinking your way into the customer. Empathy is an important prerequisite for this. Target group typologies or social milieus are not suitable for this.

In design thinking, therefore, the persona replaces the target group. Thus the typology “single, between thirty and forty years old, academic, city dweller, with small car, sporty” becomes the persona “”Cornelia, 38, architect from Hamburg, MINI driver, Zumba dancer””.

The next step is to literally paint the persona: a silhouette, around which brief biographical information is placed, often quotes, symbols and much more. In the course of the description process, the team increasingly slips into the customers’ skin and sees the world through their glasses. Because the persona has a name, an age, a profession and hobbies, it is easier to speak their language, take their concerns seriously and appreciate their ideals. But not only the persona as a result, but also the process of empathy is an important bridge to be “closer” to the customer with our offers and our communication.

Our tip: Give the persona a clearly visible, fixed place in teamspace. For example on a FlexBoard on the wall.