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.
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.
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