The 5 minute customer persona

Customer personas are overrated. Get them done as fast as possible. Move on.

Disclaimer: this is heavily inspired by the initial article on the 5 minute persona. I couldn't access it any more, so I made sure the content stays on the internet.

Background

I learned about the 5-minute customer persona during my discussions with Fabian in an interview on concepting software. He said personas are overrated, yet have one benefit:

Empathy.

We are not dealing with robotic users. We serve real people.

Here's a quick guide to make a person persona in five minutes.

Implementation

Do this on a piece of paper with 3 sections

Part 1 + 2

• Write the customer's job title at the top.
• Add the sections: Goals, Frustrations, Fears. Fill them out.

Part 3

Iterate on problems, solutions, and outcomes. Use the problem relevant to your product and/or the problem space you are tackling.

• Problem: Threats from competition and automation; need for better deal flow.
• Solution: A platform enhancing team training and managing deal flow efficiently.
• Outcome: Higher revenue, skilled team, more business opportunities.

Example

Head of Recruitment Persona

• Goals: Increase deal flow, improve training, enhance pipeline value.

• Frustrations: Team turnover, high expectations, limited deal flow.

• Fears: Automation, client conflicts, increasing competition.

• Problem: Threats from competition and automation; need for better deal flow.

• Solution: A platform enhancing team training and managing deal flow efficiently.

• Outcome: Higher revenue, skilled team, more business opportunities.

Important

• Redefine the problem from the customer's perspective, especially their fears.
• Tailor solutions to address specific frustrations.
• Align outcomes with their goals.

Conclusion

This is a good template to apply, and then leave in the project specs.

We don't need to go crazy on it.

Let's do it once, then move on to build the product.