Establish personas practically in the company: This is how it works!

data-driven personas are stereotypes of a customer group, fictional characters with a face, a living environment, a daily routine. data-driven personas support decision-making, make abstract things tangible for employees and show what customers really want and for whom they work day in, day out.

Personas enable ...

• Make decisions that put customers in focus.
• communicate consistently - in the language of the target group.
• Develop marketing measures and products close to the customer.
• prioritise measures and investments in a profitable way.
• develop customised customer journey maps.
• react agilely when the market and customers change.

1. launch an internal image campaign

Communication is needed to integrate data-driven persona as part of the company. Internal campaigns inform employees about the persona, show what it is based on and how it supports them in their daily work. Important: Make the campaign emotional and varied. For example, present information in different formats: With a circular email, an image film or with blog posts on the intranet.

2. inform in events

Because e-mails are often lost in everyday life, information events on the Persona Project are a must. The goal: to inspire employees for their own customers. Therefore, do without "frontal instruction" and turn the meeting into an event with videos, interviews and discussion rounds.

3. workshops

Employees find out how data-driven personas can support them in their operative business in workshops : teams develop customer-centred ideas, strategies and work processes there. Those who hold workshops at the beginning of a persona project benefit from expert knowledge and involve all teams directly. If several departments, such as graphics and marketing, work together intensively, it makes sense to work on strategies and design concepts together. Especially in large companies and corporations, it is essential that experts from different departments work together to further develop data-driven personas .

4. visualise personas

Moodboards summarise important insights into the data-based persona. Above all, customers' interests, visual preferences and lifestyles can be visualised with a mood board. This usually consists of stock photos, pictures or cut-out headlines from magazines, blog and catalogue cut-outs, which are combined in a collage to form a picture. Those who have enough space display the interests and preferences of personas in business spaces. AirnB, which has modelled offices on the holiday flats of advertisers, has set an example. Less effort: Stage a room as a persona museum, for example with everyday objects and the workplace of the "typical customer".

5 Persona-Sedcard: Keeping customers in view

The rule: The more present the persona is in the company, the more lasting it will be remembered. A sedcard contains short text sections, key points and diagrams with the most important information about the persona. A picture of the persona rounds off the sedcard. In addition, mood boards, a collection of brands and a short portrait of the persona's character and environment help to get into the persona's head. Tools help to create sedcards in just a few clicks.

6. storytelling with data-based personas

Persona profiles are important and even more effective when they tell stories. Customer journey maps depict the persona's everyday life and show where, when and how they come into contact with your company. Depending on the age group of employees and customers, personas come to life in social networks: For example, on an Instagram or Pinterest profile where the persona collects and publishes content.

7. persona mentors and working groups

When it comes to introducing new data-driven personas Persona mentors are helpful when new concepts need to be introduced. They are available to answer questions, gather input and develop measures to spread the new concept. Companies in which several personas are used rely on working groups in which persona mentors from several departments come together.