Please login to the form below
Understanding personas for healthcare
In this article, Head of Insight Martine Leroy tackles the persona. Here, she breaks down for us what a persona is in the context of customer-centric design, and addresses some frequently asked questions about these and other tools used for improving customer engagement.
In recent years, there has been a big shift in how pharma
and healthcare companies approach the design and development of patient
services. Something we’ve talked about a lot at Blue Latitude Health is the move
toward customer-centricity and what that actually means in the healthcare
and pharma context. Out of those conversations has emerged a need for more
clarity around some of the tools used in the customer-centric
design process.
In this article, Head of Insight Martine Leroy tackles one of those tools: the persona. Here, she breaks down for us what a persona is in the context of customer-centric design, and addresses some frequently asked questions about these and other tools used for improving customer engagement.
Simply put, a persona is an individual representation of a group of customers and their behaviours, attitudes, and context. It’s a tool that gives life to the customer by illustrating their everyday activities, frustrations, pain points, and motivations. Driven by quantitative and qualitative data about actual customers, the persona is a valuable tool and point of reference used to keep the customer at the centre of the design process.
Pen portraits and customer segments are also tools that are used in the design process to improve customer engagement, but they are generated differently from a persona. A pen portrait is one level above the persona – it is broader, and is considered an overview of who the customer might be and what they might do. The pen portrait focuses on general customer lifestyle or on their role, related needs, and actions.
A customer segment is designed to support targeted communications and marketing. We do customer segmentation to identify and summarise groups of potential (or existing) customers, focusing on what drives their behaviour. In pharma, we tend to develop physician segments based on their attitudes and prescribing behaviours, and also increasingly develop segments for other healthcare professionals (HCPs). In each of those segments might exist 2-3 different personas, HCPs who exhibit similar prescribing behaviour but who are driven by different motivations.
![]()
In this article, Head of Insight Martine Leroy tackles one of those tools: the persona. Here, she breaks down for us what a persona is in the context of customer-centric design, and addresses some frequently asked questions about these and other tools used for improving customer engagement.
What is a persona, and how does it differ from a pen portrait or a segment?
First, let’s remember that personas, pen portraits and segments are all tools designed for a specific objective and that they need to be fit for that purpose. Additionally, the three tools are developed from the bottom up, which means they are grounded in customer-centric data and information.Simply put, a persona is an individual representation of a group of customers and their behaviours, attitudes, and context. It’s a tool that gives life to the customer by illustrating their everyday activities, frustrations, pain points, and motivations. Driven by quantitative and qualitative data about actual customers, the persona is a valuable tool and point of reference used to keep the customer at the centre of the design process.
Pen portraits and customer segments are also tools that are used in the design process to improve customer engagement, but they are generated differently from a persona. A pen portrait is one level above the persona – it is broader, and is considered an overview of who the customer might be and what they might do. The pen portrait focuses on general customer lifestyle or on their role, related needs, and actions.
A customer segment is designed to support targeted communications and marketing. We do customer segmentation to identify and summarise groups of potential (or existing) customers, focusing on what drives their behaviour. In pharma, we tend to develop physician segments based on their attitudes and prescribing behaviours, and also increasingly develop segments for other healthcare professionals (HCPs). In each of those segments might exist 2-3 different personas, HCPs who exhibit similar prescribing behaviour but who are driven by different motivations.
Download the full article from Blue Latitude Health
Company Details
Blue Latitude Health
+44 203 328 1840
Address:
Blue Latitude Health
Crusader House
145-157 St John Street
London
EC1V 4QJ
United Kingdom
Latest content on this profile
- Behavioural insights to navigate complex healthcare markets
- Blue Latitude Health Head of Insight Martine Leroy reveals how her team uses behavioural insights to help develop strong pharma brands and services, which successfully navigate complex situations.
Blue Latitude Health
- Biotech: it's a people business
- Nancy Hunter is the Marketing Director at a cutting-edge pharmaceutical company. Here she explains how a sharp focus on patients’ needs is driving a new operating model for marketing first-in-class drugs, and she describes how her mother’s experience as a cancer patient has shaped her own outlook on healthcare.
Blue Latitude Health
- Is the pharma business model ready for precision medicine?
- Precision medicine promises to revolutionise patient outcomes and reduce costs for industry but is pharma ready for it? Blue Latitude Health co-founder Head of Strategy Fred Bassett explores the challenges and opportunities while introducing the latest issue of 'Perspective' magazine on this weighty topic.
Blue Latitude Health
- Personas: a top tool for personalising pharma marketing campaigns
- Healthcare customers are calling for greater personalisation in care from providers. Here, we explain why personas are the top tool for ensuring your brand meets this need efficiently and effectively.
Blue Latitude Health
- Does your medical information service work for your users?
- Customer Experience Consultant Nilu Davies reveals how you can ensure your medical information service is fit for purpose.
Blue Latitude Health
- Meet the CEO behind ReNeuron’s cutting-edge stem cell therapies
- Blue Latitude Health speaks to Olav Hellebo, CEO of ReNeuron, to find out about the biotech’s latest innovation in stem cell therapy and to learn his perspective on navigating the challenges that come with developing products in this complex market.
Blue Latitude Health
- About us
- Contact us
- How to advertise
- Site map
- All content copyright © PMGroup Worldwide Ltd 2018
