At Hemispheres, we do a lot of customer journey mapping as part of our UX research capabilities. A journey map outlines a series of user actions over time and often layers on emotional ‘whys’ to create a visual narrative of your customers interacting with products or services. Simply put; journey mapping is a powerful tool that visualizes the process your customer goes through to achieve a goal.
Customer journey mapping typically involves five core components: Actors (Personas), Scenarios, Journey Phases, Actions & Emotions, and Insights.
Personas are the bedrock of great customer journey mapping, yet they’re often overlooked. Bringing personas to life and seeing them implemented across an organization is arguably one the most fun projects UX and market researchers get to work on!
Here are five essential tips to develop personas with impact:
- Clearly Understand How to Segment Your Customers
Conduct thorough research using surveys, interviews, focus groups, and analytics to gather data on different customer segments. Define clear criteria by segmenting customers based on demographics, geographic location, psychographics, behavior, and needs to create distinct groups. Make sure your segments are easily identifiable and describable—Lynn Reed’s article on the Critical Do’s and Don’ts of Segmentation is a great resource for this. - Use ‘Day in the Life’ Research to Uncover Key Customer Insights
Capture essential details about your customers’ daily routines, including where they spend their time, how they make decisions, and the challenges they face throughout their day. Immerse yourself in their world by observing and documenting their behaviors, interactions, and decision-making processes. - Visualize Your Personas
Develop detailed profiles, complete with names, backgrounds, and photographs. Use visual aids like charts, graphs, and mind maps to present data for better comprehension. Create empathy maps to depict what your personas think, feel, see, and do, capturing their emotional and behavioral states. The more realistic your personas the more traction and acceptance you’ll get with your teams! - Ensure Personas Are Understandable Across Teams
Involve UX, R&D, marketing, and commercial teams in the persona development process for collaborative creation. Provide clear and concise documentation that is easily digestible for all team members. Conduct workshops and training sessions regularly to ensure that teams understand and use personas effectively. - Avoid Relying on a Single Research Technique
Diversify your research methods by combining qualitative and quantitative approaches like surveys, interviews, focus groups, and observational studies. Keep personas current by continuously updating them with new insights and data. Ensure that your personas are based on actual research data, avoiding assumptions and stereotypes.
Following these five tips and investing in research will set you on the path to creating personas with meaningful impact and set up your journey maps for success.
Hemispheres helps people understand their customers as well-rounded individuals. It’s an approach we call Research for Humans. Let’s continue the conversation…reach out at hello@hemispheresinsights.com
Paul Smith, Vice President
Paul Smith is a Vice President at Hemispheres Insights. Paul is a seasoned expert in uncovering customer insights and unmet needs, specializing in driving innovations, shaping value propositions, and developing effective Go-To-Market strategies. With experience in launching over 50 global products and managing customer research in over 30 countries, Paul has a robust international perspective.