A Better Audience Persona Template
As your organization grows, you should always seek to narrow the answer to this question…
“Who do I serve?”
Volumes have been written about resources wasted by those who refuse to answer it simply and clearly.
Many leaders fear losing new opportunities. So they water down the answer. Before long, they're talking to everyone … but effectively no one.
The problem with personas.
Audience personas can be a helpful tool to answer “who are we talking to” but at a certain point they fail. Most personas are based on an "average" that oversimplifies what it means to be human. And yet, the persona still lacks enough details to help your practice make decisions.
Customer empathy portrait.
I've developed a different approach to the audience persona. I call it the customer empathy portrait.
An empathy portrait is a picture of the human you're trying to reach. It seeks to understand their challenges, environment, and the push and pull they face.
Some businesses can survive by defining their target through demographics and psychographics. But behavioral and mental health practices will find more value by understanding the emotions and state of mind of the person they're trying to reach.
Income, hobbies, and personality traits don’t cut through entire population segments. But dreams, emotions, and anxieties do.
Here is an overview of the four sections of the empathy portrait:
1. Form a basic definition.
Quickly note any uniting characteristics. Spend the least time here and don’t force any connective tissue that isn’t obviously clear.
2. Identify their key challenge.
Your solution is only one half of the equation. On the other half is the challenge your customer is facing. Identify where and when this challenge surfaces and how much pain it causes them.
3. See through their eyes.
Use an empathy map to understand what your audience is feeling. Set down your assumptions and conduct interviews so you can understand their world truly.
4. Understand the push and pull.
Understand how their current situation and hope of a new solution are pushing them forward. At the same time, seek to understand the pull of the status quo and fear of change that’s happening.
The closest to the customer wins.
I’ve created an easy-to-fill template for the empathy portrait. Download it by clicking the button above. No email necessary—just one click and it’s yours.
As you use it, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out. Take time to understand what’s happening in your audience’s mind and you’ll be rewarded tenfold.
