Generally speaking in our user experience practice we try and create channels that speak to the needs of different personae separately or integrate features that speak to those needs into the whole of the project. Also, I would strongly suggest limiting the number of personae to a manageable number: 4-5 is a good start. Beyond that it tends to become messy.

Of course this is limited by how much time and money the client has and what priority target audiences they may want to appeal to. We are then able able to use web metrics and analytics in combination with our design in order to gauge success.

One could take a look at something like Nationwide’s Retirability application, designed by my colleagues at Brulant, now Rosetta, or say, Chinese Weddings by the Knot as an example of designing for personae. There are different types of investing strategies and investor types to reach retirement and there are obviously enough Chinese in the US seeking knowledge about traditional Chinese weddings to make those lucrative enough to target them with specially designed communications. I myself led the work for Wilton, and we have tried to serve their targeted multiple publics using some fairly extensive primary research in their newly redesigned website.

Best,
Gene

I often use ‘persona-based marketing’ in developing new software products for large organisaions. I was wondering how you create your products or services when there are several potential personas (some quite different).

For example, an insurance product may be equally suitable for a young person as it is for an elderly person (each have very different personas and product needs) but dispite the different desires the core product is the same but the way they are presented (or marketed) can look very different.

So, do you create every possible persona there is for your product/service (or web experience in your case) and taylor an experience for each or do you simly choose the most dominant persona (or maybe somewhere in between)?

Thanks,
Adrian