How have you historically sourced people to interview while developing personas?

  If you’re looking for specific titles, I think the approach you laid out makes sense. The screener survey is super important for making sure you’re find representative folks to talk to (based on your customer base or intended customer base), and not wasting your time. For sourcing the initial list, I try to make them a mix of current customers (sourced from our database) and potential prospects.  For prospects, I use an intercept on some of our web content, and sometimes tap into panels like G ...Read More

This is a great approach. It's best if you get as specific as possible to identify prospects (ie. country, company size, verticle/industry, job title) and get clear on where you want to focus.  I shared in another answer that we partnered with a leading thought leader for a specific vertical (retail) and conducted a survey with their audience, who was our target person (retail execs). We used the survey results to share industry trends and insights and used this asset for lead generation, which ...Read More

Here's how I've done it, even when there weren't existing customers that perfectly matched the persona criteria: Internal Teams and Stakeholders: I start by collaborating closely with internal teams, such as Sales, Customer Support, Product, other marketers. They often have valuable insights and interactions with potential persona candidates. Market Research: I conduct market research to identify potential candidates who fit the desired persona. This research can involve industry reports, forums ...Read More

First things first, I believe that a representative sampling of non-customers can actually be a better source of information than current customers, so you're in a good position there. However, I wouldn't start with a survey. I would instead start internally (product and sales) to understand who this was built for, what it can do for them, why they should care and how they react when presented with it.  Quality interviews with product and sales should help you figure out your "who" for profiling ...Read More

This all depends on your company stage and customer size.  In the early stages (less than 50 customers), I would honestly try to talk with all of them. Offer free coffee, a heavy discount, or whatever you have to. This will help you understand your early adopter target audience - once you have this, you can double down on marketing channels and an early distribution strategy. But keep in mind, your more mature product will have more segments, so this is only good until about 500-1,000 customers ...Read More